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: : THE SPEAKERS OF ! !
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

BV THE SAME

AUTHOR

THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF JOHN

DELANE

THE

HISTORY OF ST.

ETC. ETC

JAMES'S

SQUARE

THE SPEAKERS OF

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO
THE PRESENT DAY WITH A
TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION
OF WESTMINSTER AT VARIOUS
EPOCHS & A BRIEF RECORD OF
THE PRINCIPAL CONSTITUTIONAL
CHANGES DURING SEVEN CENTURIES

BY ARTHUR IRWIN DASENT
WITH NOTES ON THE ILLUSTO^IONS
BY JOHN LANE & A PORTRAIT
OF EVERY SPEAKER WHERE ONE
IS KNOWN TO EXIST ffi « fig

LONDON : JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD
NEW YORK : JOHN LANE COMPANY lyiCMXI

WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON, LTD., PKINTERS, PLYMOUTH

DEDICATED WITH.SINgERE REGARD

ARTHUR WELLESLEY PEEL

SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

1884-1895

NOW 1ST VISCOUNT PEEL OF SANDY

PREFACE

IT is now more years ago than I care to remember
since the outline of this book suggested itself
to me. Undeterred by the adverse opinion of
some who insisted that there was little or nothing,
worth the telling, to be said of the earlier Speakers —
with the possible exceptions of Coke, Lenthall and Arthur
Onslow, to mention the three names which most readily
occur to the superficial enquirer — I received sufficient
encouragement from the late Sir Archibald Milman and
other friends to induce me to supplement and revise
the earlier labours of Townsend and Manning in the
same field.

The outcome of these years of toil, performed in the
intervals of officieil duty, is a blend of history and bio-
graphy based on authentic records, and leavened, here
and there, with topographical matter tending to throw
light upon some of the obscurities which surround the
origin of Parliaments. I have endeavoured to show the
close nature of the ties which united the greatest of
Benedictine Monasteries to the popular assembly in
the earliest days of its existence, though I must admit
that the allusions to Parliament remaining in the archives

viii PREFACE

of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster are disappoint-
ingly few.

There are occasional entries in the carefully kept
accounts of the monks of wine bought by the abbots
for the entertainment of distinguished personages re-
pairing to Westminster in obedience to the Royal
summons, but, with the exception of the extremely
interesting entry on page 45 of this volume, I have
found little which adds to our previous knowledge of
the relations of Church and State in the Middle Ages.

One minor survival of this ancient connection may
be mentioned here. This is the custom, still annually
observed, of opening the gate leading from Dean's
Yard into Great College Street on the first day of a
new session, but on no other.

This practice, far from being a mere police regulation
of modem date, carries the mind back to that remote
period when the Plantagenet Kings, in conjunction
with the Abbots of Westminster and the Archbishops
of Canterbury, watched with jealous care the growth
of representative institutions.

In the middle of the fourteenth century that great
ecclesiastic Simon Langham, who sleeps to-day in the
chapel of St. Benedict, walked with mejisured steps to
his place in the House of Lords, resplendent in jewelled
cope and mitre, escorted by a long train of attendant
priests and acolytes, and with his processional cross of
gold borne high before him.

In his progress to the Palace he would have met a

PREFACE ix

throng of knights, scarcely less picturesque in their
glittering armour than his own cort^e, making peaceful
invasion of his monastic house.

Drawn from every shire in the land, they filled the
cloisters and choked the vestibules leading to the Chapter
House or to some other chamber temporarily set apart
for their use, there forthwith to deliver a mighty shout
of assent (or the contrary, as the case might be) to the
demands of their sovereign lord for the support of the
realm and the maintenance of his Royal estate.

There would be little or nothing in the way of dis-
cussion. Their voices were collected then and there
by some official of the Court, as they stood leaning on
their swords. It is true that the carrying of arms
within the Palace during the sittings of Parliament had
been discountenanced by Edward II, but the prohibition
was so commonly disregarded that his successor formally
sanctioned the practice in the case of Earls and Barons,
save only in his Royal presence. Once their duty had
"been performed, the Knights of the Shire were at liberty
to depart to their homes, and, until they were again
summoned to Westminster to repeat the process with
little or no variation, save in the amount of the subsidy
required of them, the monks could pursue their ordinary
avocations undisturbed by the clank of spurs and the
tramp of armed men.

Having very briefly outlined the nature of an early
Parliamentary assembly, I may here indulge in a frag-
ment of autobiography by way of excuse for having

X PREFACE

attempted the history of over two hundred separate
elections to the Chair, covering between them a period
of more than seven centuries.

Bom as I was under the shadow of the Abbey — in
the Broad Sanctuary — it was my good fortune to re-
ceive my first intelligent impressions of Westminster
from the lips of my father's friend and neighbour, the
late Dean Stanley. In a sense I may be said to have
assisted at the funeral of Lord Palmerston, and, inci-
dentally, at the inauguration of a new Parliamentary
epoch, for I retain to this day a vivid recollection of
being held up at a window by my nurse to see that great
man's cof&n carried into the Abbey by the west door. As
a boy I was present at the last Westminster election
fought under the old system, and I remember the
hustings in Trafalgar Square.

But my most enduring memories of the Abbey and
its priceless historical associations are those which I
received from the holder of an ecclesiastical office, unique
in its dignity in this or any other country, and it would
be strange, indeed, if I had not acquired from the teach-
ings of so fascinating a guide an abiding interest in
Westminster, and all that it means to Englishmen.
Somehow my life has been bound up with the place of
my birth. Returning to it in 1882 — on the nomination
of Sir Thomas Erskine-May (Lord Famborough), my
first ofiicial chief, to devote myself to the service of
the House of Commons — for more than a quarter of a
century the greater part of my days, and, in the aggregate.

PREFACE xi

an appalling number of hours after midnight, have been
passed within the walls of St. Stephen's.

I need hardly say that this book is written in no party
spirit, nor is it designed to serve any purpose other
than that of accuracy.

My publisher has shown such zeal and enthusiasm
in the preparation of the portraits and other illustrations,
that it will be unnecessary for me to add a word con-
cerning them. I may say, however, that, to the best
of my belief, no likeness of either Catesby, Dudley, or
Empson has ever been published before. The various
printed authorities consulted are, in the majority
of instances, indicated in the footnotes, but I desire
to acknowledge here my frequent indebtedness to
Messrs. Longmans' recently completed Political History
of England.

Sir Courtenay Ilbert, k.c.b., the present Clerk of the
House, gave me the benefit of his views on Mediseval
Parliaments, but my especial thanks are due to Mr.
T. L. Webster, the second Clerk Assistant of the House,
for many valuable suggestions throughout the course
of my labours, and for unreservedly placing his know-
ledge of the more technical questions dealt with in
these pages at my disposal. Mr. M. W. Patterson, of
Trinity College, Oxford, was good enough not only to
help me in the revision of the proof sheets, but to save
me from many errors both of omission and commission.
The Rev. R. B. Rackham, of the Deanery, Westminster,
searched the Sacrist's and other Rolls in the Abbey

xii PREFACE

Muniment room with a view to helping me in this branch
of my researches. Miss Lenthall, of Besselsleigh, Berks,
a descendant of the celebrated Speaker of that name,
also gave me much valuable information, as did Colonel
La Terriere, the present owner of Burford Priory.

Last, but by no means least, I must tender my grateful
acknowledgments to Mr. J. Horace Round, the first
living authority on peerage law and the most discrimin-
ating, as well as the most fascinating, genealogist of the
present age.

He kindly brought to my notice the very instructive
account of the election of Sir Thomas Lovell to the Chair
in the first year of Henry VII. Though unfortunately
received too late for incorporation in my Tudor chapter,
I trust that it will gain importance by appearing, as it
does, in an Appendix at the end of the book. The same
remark applies to the speech of Sir Thomas More, on
presentation for the Royal approval, which I have also
placed by itself, on. account of the eminence of the man
who made it.

I shall be grateful for any additions or corrections
which I may be favoured with, and, especially, for any
unpublished letters or documents relating to individual
Speakers.

ARTHUR IRWIN DASENT.

The Dutch HoasB, Hampton-on-Thames,
February yk, igir.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

PACE

Westminster in the Reign of Henry III. The Isle
OF Thorns. The Palace and the Abbey. Prefer-
ence OF Henry for Westminster. Dawn of the
English Constitution. Westminster the earliest
Meeting-place of the Complete Parliament. . 3

CHAPTER II

The House of Commons under the Plantagenets . 22

CHAPTER III

The House of Lancaster and the Influence of the
Wars of the Roses upon Parliamentary Institutions 6 1

CHAPTER IV

The House of Commons under the House of York,
A period, for the most part, of subserviency to
the Crown 87

CHAPTER V

Westminster and Parliament in Tudor Times. Re-
striction OF THE Powers of the House of Commons
and increased Power of the Privy Council . 99

CHAPTER VI

The Stuarts and the Liberties of the People . 164

xiv CONTENTS

CHAPTER VII

PAGE

The Houses of Hanover and Saxe-Coburg Gotha.
Rise of the System of Cabinet Government, with
Ministerial Responsibility TO Parliament . .251

Catalogue of Speakers from the Earliest Times to
THE Present Day, with the Places they sat for,
THE Dates of their Appointment to and close of
Office, etc 341

Appendix I 419

Appendix II 421

Index 425

ILLUSTRATIONS

Sir Thomas Hungerford, 1376-7 . Frontispiece {in colour)

From a stained-glass window in Farleigh Hungerford Church.
Drawn by Stanley North.

FACING PAGE

The Jewel Tower, Westminster

From a drawing by L. Hussell Conway,

Staircase and Ancient Doorway in the Jewel Tower

From a photograph by Sir Benjamin Stone.

Vaulted Chamber in the Jewel Tower .

From a photograph by Sir Benjamin Stone.

Sir Thomas Hungerford, 1376-7

From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery.

Sir Thomas Hungerford, 1376-7

Trom a drawing b^

at Farleigh Casti

From a drawing by Stanley North of the monumental effigy in the chapel
" ' ■ ■ " ;le.

Formerly in the north side of the nave of Salisbury Cathedral. Reproduced
I Goi

10
12

Henry IV claiming the Throne of England . . . 60

From the Harleian Manuscripts.

Sir Arnold Savage, 1400-1, 1403-4 . . . . 66

From a brass in S. Chancel of Bobbing Church, Kent.

John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester . . . 70

From a monumental effigy in Ely Cathedral.

Thomas Chaucer, 1407, 1409-10, 1411, 1414, 1421 . . . 72

From a print of the memorial brass in Ewelme Church, Oxfordshire.

Sir Walter Hungerford, afterwards Lord Hungerford, 1414 74

Tormerly in the north side of the nave of I
from Gough's Sepulchral Mouumenis.

Roger Hunt, 1420 . . . ... 76

From a memorial brass of 1473 in Great Linford Church, Bucks. It may
possibly be that of his son.

Effigy of Sir Richard Vernon, 1425-6 . . . . 78

In the Church of Tong, Shropshire.

Sir John Say, 1448-9. 1463. 1467 . • ... 80

From a brass in Broxbourne Church, Herts. Reproduced from Waller's
Monumental Brasses, 1864.

William Catesby, 1483-4 • • ... 96

From a memorial brass at Ashby St. Ledgers, Northants.

XVI

ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING PACE
. 102

Sir Thomas Lovell, 1485 {in photogravure) .

From the bronze medallion in Henry VII Chapel, Westminster Abbey, by
Torregiano (photogravure).

Sir John Mordaunt, 1487 . . ...

From a monumental effigy in Turvey Church, Beds.

Sir Richard Empson, 1491, and Edmond Dudley, 1503-4,
WITH Henry VII . . . ...

From a painting in the possession of the Duke of Rutland.

Sir Robert Drury, 1495 • • •

From a monumental effigy in St. Mary's Church, Bury St. Edmunds.

Sir Reginald Bray, 1496 . . .

From a drawing in the possession of Mr. Justice Bray of a window in the
Priory Church, Malvern.

Sir Robert Sheffield, 1511-12 .

From a print.

Sir Thomas Nevill, 1514-15

From a memorial brass in Mereworth Church, Kent.

Sir Thomas More, 1523 ....

From a painting at the Speaker's House.

Sir Thomas Audley, 1529

From a painting at the Speaker's House.

Sir Humphrey Wingfield, 1533 .

From a painting in the possession of Major J. M. Wingfield, Tickencote Hall,
Stamford.

105

106

108

118

Sir Richard Rich, 1536 . . ...

From a print.

Sir John Baker, 1545, 1547 . . ...

From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery.

Sir James Dyer, 1552-3 . . . ...

Reproduced from an original painting in the possession of Canon Mayo, of
Long Burton, Farley.

Sir Robert Brooke, 1554 . . . .

From a drawing at the National Portrait Gallery.

Sir Clement Heigham, 1554 . . . .

From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery.

Sir William Cordell, 1557-8

From a portrait at St. John's College, Oxford.

Sir Thomas Gargrave, 1558-9 . . . .

From a painting in the possession of Milner Gibson Gery Cullum, Esq.

Thomas Williams, 1562-3 . . . .

From a memorial brass at Harford Church, Devon.

124
126

128
130
132

132

136
138

ILLUSTRATIONS

Sir Christopher Wray, 1571

From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery.

Richard Onslow, 1566 .

From a painting in the Speaker's House.

Sir Robert Bell, 1572 .

From a print.

Sir John Popham, 1580-1

From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery.

Sir John Puckering, 1584, 1586.

From his tomb in Westminster Abbey. From a print.

Speaker Snagge's Monument, 1588-9

At Marston Morteyne, Beds. From a drawing.

Letter from Lord Burghley to Speaker Snagge, 1588-9
Sir Edward Coke, 1592-3

From a painting at Holkham.

Sir Christopher Yelverton, 1597

From a print.

Sir John Croke, 1601

From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery.

Sir Edward Phelips, 1603-4

From a painting at Montacute, Somerset.

Montacute, Somerset .

Built by Sir Edward Phelips.

Sir Randolph Crewe, 1614

From a painting in the Speaker's House.

Sir Thomas Richardson, 1620-1 .

From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery

Sir Thomas Crewe, 1623-4, 1625 .

From a painting in the Speaker's House.

Sir Heneage Finch, 1625-6

From a painting at Guildhall, by J. M. Wright.

Sir John Finch, 1627-8 . . . _

From a painting by Van Dyck in the possession of Lord Barnard.

The Knights, Citizens and Burgesses of the Counties,
Cities and Borough Townes of England and Wales and

THE BARONIE of THE PoRTS NOW SITTING IN PARLIAMENT,

holden at Westminster the 17 of March, 1627-8, in the
Third Year of the Raigne of our Soveraigne Lord
King Charles, etc. (Speaker, Sir John Finch)

From a woodcut in the possession of Sir Walter Spencer-Stanhope,

XVll

FACING PAGE

140

142

144

146
148

160
166

168
170
172

176
176

178

xvm

ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING PAGE
. 182

Sir John Glanville, 1640 , . . .

From a painting at the National Portrait Gallery.
William Lenthall, 1640, 1647, 1654, 1659 (2), 1659-50 . . 184

From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery.

Westminster as Speaker Lenthall knew it . . .186

From Hollar's etching of New Palace Yard.

John Rushworth, Clerk Assistant of the House of Commons,

1640 . . . . ... 192

From a painting at the Speaker's House.

BuRFORD Priory, formerly the Residence of Speaker

Lenthall, as restored in 1908-9 . ... 204

Henry Pelham, 1647 . . . / ... 208

From a painting in the possession of the Earl of Yarborough.

Francis Rous, 1653 . . . ... 210

From a print.

Sir Thomas Widdrington, 1656 . . ... 212

From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery.

BULSTRODE WHITELOCKE, 1656-7 . . ... 212

From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery.

Chalonbr Chute, 1658-9 . . ... 214

From a painting at the Vyne, Basingstoke.

Sir Harbottlb Grimston, 1660 . . ... 214

From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery by Lely.

The Mace . . . . ... 216

From a tshotograph in the possession of the Serjeant-at-Arms (Mr. H. D.
Erskine, of Cardross).

Sir Edward Turnour, 1661 . . ... 218

From a painting in the Speaker's House.

Sir Job Charlton, 1672-3 . . ... 222

From a painting in the Speaker's House.

Sir Edward Seymour, 1672-3, 1678, 1678-9 . . . 224

From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery.

Sir Robert Sawyer, 1676 . . ... 226

From a painting in the possession of the Earl of Carnarvon.

Sir William Gregory, 1678-9 . . ... 228

From a painting in the Speaker's House.

Sir William Williams, 1680, 1680-1 . ... 228

From a painting in the Speaker's House.

Sir John Trevor, 1685, 1689-90 . . ... 230

From a painting in the Speaker's House.

ILLUSTRATIONS xix

FACING PAGE

Henry Powlb, 1688-9 • • . ... 232

From a print.

Stoke Edith, Herefordshire. Built by Speaker Foley . 234
Paul Foley, 1694-5, 1695 . , ... 234

From a miniature in the possession of Paul Henry Foley, Esq., at Stoke Edith.

Sir Thomas Littleton, 1698 . . ... 236

From a print.

Robert Harley, 1700-1, 1701, 1702 . ... 238

From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery.

John Smith, 1705, 1707 . . . ... 240

From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery.

Sir Richard Onslow, 1708 . . . • . . 242

From a painting in the Speaker's House.

William Bromley, 1710 . . ... 244

From a print.

Sir Thomas Hanmer, 1 7 13-14 . . ... 250

From a print.

Sir Spencer CoMPTON, 1714-IS, 1722 . ... 252

From a print.

Arthur Onslow, 1727-8, 1734-S, 1741, 1747, 1754 . . 254

From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery.

Speaker Arthur Onslow's House in Soho Square . . 256

No. 90, formerly Falconbergh House.

Westminster as Speaker Onslow knew it ... 262

From Lediard and Fourdrinier's Map of 1740.

Jeremiah Dyson, Clerk of the House of Commons 1814-20 . 268

From a portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds in the possession of Mrs. Myddelton.

Sir John Cust, 1761, 1768 . . ... 27^

From a painting in the Speaker's House.

Sir Fletcher Norton, 1770, 1774 . . ... 278

From a painting by Sir Wm. Beechy in the possession of Lord Grantley.

Sir Fletcher Norton . . . ... 280

A caricature by Ingleby lent by Lord Grantley.

Charles Wolfran Cornwall, 1780, 1784 . ... 282

From a painting by Gainsborough in the Speaker's House.

William Wyndham Grenville, 1789 . . . . 286

From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery.

Henrv Addington, 1789, 1790, 1796, 1801 . . . 290

From a print.

XX ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING PAGE

Sketch of the Interior of St. Stephen's, with Portraits of
Addington, Speaker Abbot, and John Ley (Clerk of the
House) . . . . ... 292

From a print by Js. Gillray.

Sir John Mitford, 1801 . . ... 294

From a painting in the Speaker's House.

Charles Abbot, 1802 (2), 1806, 1807, 1812 . . . 298

From a print.

Charles Mannkrs-Sutton, 1817, 1819, 1820, 1826, 1830, 1831,

1833 . . . . ... 304

From a print.

Speaker Manners-Sutton. "Make Way for Mr. Speaker" 314

By H. B.

Jambs Abercromby, 1835, 1837 . . ... 318

From a print.

Charles Shaw-Lefevre, 1839, 1841, 1847, 1852 . . . 320

From a print.

John Evelyn Denison, 1857, 1859, '866, 1868 . . . 326

From a print.

Henry Bouverie William Brand, 1872, 1874, 1880 . . 334

From an engraving in the possession of the Serjeant-at-Arms after F. Sargent.

Arthur Wbllesley Peel, 1884, 1886 (2), 1892 . . . 336

William Court Gully, 1895 (2), 1900 . ... 338

James William Lowther, 1905, 1906, 1910, 191 1 . . . 340

A NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS
BY THE PUBLISHER

yABOUT two years ago Mr. Arthur Dasent wrote,

/ ^ as a stranger, offering me his book on the

y ^ Speakers of the House of Commons from the

earhest times to the present day, hoping that

I would publish it and that I would afford the book

eight or twelve illustrations. He was informed, when I

replied, that if I undertook the publication I would give

a picture of every Speaker of whom we could find a

portrait. Later on we recollected that our common

interest in prints had brought us together on several

occasions many years earlier.

The present is one of the rare opportunities which a
pubhsher interested in portraiture has of giving rein to
his fancy. I certainly have never published a book which
has afforded me greater interest in this direction.

It has also confirmed a conviction which I have had
for many years, that there should be a Royal Commission
on historical portraits on the same Unes as the Royal
Commission on historical manuscripts, for I have abundant
proof of surprising ignorance on the part of many owners
of portraits of distinguished Englishmen, who neither

xxii NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS

know the names of the subjects of the portraits they
possess nor those of the artists who painted them. The
head of one notable house sent me three portraits of
successive ancestors, each bearing the same Christian
name, but which was which and which was the man
I wanted for my purpose I had to find out for
myself.

I seldom wander round the picture gallery of a country
house, however remote, without finding one or more
unidentified portraits, and occasionally examples of what
I believe to be paintings by English Primitives.

From some points of view, this is the most interesting
collection of portraits known to me ; its range of date,
from the close of the fourteenth century to the present
day, the historical and decorative importance of the
subjects and the various forms of portraiture, all but
unique, make it a veritable pageant of English History.

Within these covers are gathered two portraits from
church windows, eight memorial brasses, six monu-
mental effigies ; and there is one noble example of the
art of Torregiano in the beautiful medallion of Sir Thomas
Lovell, now — thanks to the munificence of Sir Charles
Robinson — preserved in Westminster Abbey. This is
appropriately placed in Henry VII Chapel, guarding, as it
were, the same artist's masterpiece, the recumbent figure
of Margaret Beaufort, likewise in bronze. There is also a
miniature, that of Paul Foley, reproduced by kind per-
mission of Mr. Paul Henry Foley. There are forty-seven
paintings, some of which are of rare interest ; and seven-

NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxiii

teen fine prints, mostly after famous portraits, the
originals of which in many instances cannot now be
traced.

It has been a difficult matter to get together so many
early portraits. One obstacle has been the fact that
Mr. Dasent has added sixteen important characters to
the Dictionary of National Biography : William Alington
(1429), Wilham Alington (1472), Richard Baynard (1421),
Henry Beaumont (1331-a), John Bowes (1435), Sir
Robert Brooke (1554), Sir Thomas Charlton (1453-4), Sir
John Cheyne (1399), John Dorewood (1399), Sir Thomas
Englefield (1496-7), Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam (1488-9),
John Green (1460), Sir John Guildesborough (1379-80),
Peter de Montfort (1258), Henry Pelham (1647), and
WiUiam Stourton (1413). It is comparatively easy to
hunt up portraits when these are given in the D.N.B. ;
but it is not always certain even then that the picture
is available for reproduction. For instance, the D.N.B.

states that a portrait of is in the possession

of a peer whose ancestor was a Speaker in the eighteenth
century, but although I have written three times to the
noble possessor he has not vouchsafed a reply ; which
recalls the famous story about this same ancestor — a
well-known Counsel before he was elected to the Chair —
who was notorious for his disagreeable, abrupt manner,
and broad dialect. On one occasion, when pleading before
the Court on some disputed question of manorial rights,
he remarked to the presiding judge that he could speak
from personal experience on the subject, "for I myself

xxiv NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS

have two little manors." The judge bowed and said,
" We all know that, Sir "

The earliest Speaker of whom we have any kind of
portrait is Sir Thomas Hungerford, who was also the
first " Speaker for the Commons " mentioned on the
Rolls, of whom I have reproduced as frontispiece a
drawing by Mr. Stanley North from the portrait at present
in the window of the church at Farleigh Hungerford,
As Sir Walter Hungerford did not build the church until
1443, forty-five years after the death of Sir Thomas, it may
not be exactly contemporary, though experts agree in as-
signing it a very early date. It is possible, too, that the
window may have been removed from Farleigh Castle
Chapel after the church was built. A drawing, also by
Mr. North, of the freestone monumental effigy in Farleigh
Castle has been included. I have, in addition, reproduced
a drawing from an Album of the Speakers — which will be
dealt with later — ^in the library of the National Portrait
Gallery. This drawing is inscribed as being copied from
a picture in the possession of Richard Pollen, Esq. It
will be observed that all three portraits have a striking
resemblance to each other. The nondescript costume
of the picture is, of course, of a later date.

The son of Sir Thomas Hungerford, Sir Walter, was also
Speaker in 1414. His tomb is in Salisbury Cathedral,
where there was a monument with his efi&gy in brass. I
have reproduced the brassless figure in the hope that,
if the brass should be in some private collection, the
owner will see fit to restore it to its proper position. I

NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxv

will now consider the other seven portraits represented by
memorial brasses, namely, Thomas Chaucer at Ewelme
Church, Oxon ; Sir Arnold Savage at Bobbing Church,
Kent ; and William Catesby at the Church of Ashby St.
Ledgers, Northants. These three names impart a strange,
opalescent character to one's vision, for apart from the
Speakership they suggest pilgrimages, romance, poetry,
prose, and even conspiracy. There are also brasses of Sir
John Say, slightly restored, in Broxboume Church, Hert-
fordshire ; Sir Thomas Nevill in the church at Mere-
worth, Kent ; and Thomas Williams in Harford Church,
Ivybridge, Devon. In this church there is also a fine
brass in colours to the memory of the ancient family of
Prideaux, one of whom was the mother of Thomas
Williams. The epitaph on Thomas Williams is so quaint
that it has been thought desirable to reproduce it : —

^ttz Ip^tl) t^e corpgf of Clioin^ aj^illmsf eisquiw
Wiake vmitt ^e in Court appountfO toa0
Miioge gfacm mimt to bertu rtit} agfpire
^t parlament lie fe)peaker ^eme nib pagdse

Clie comcn p^ace l)e jstuliirt to pwiscrue

^nD tteh rel^ffion ^uer to xtm^nte^ne

31n place of 3|ug(t?ce toljere ae( lit tipti mm

anti notoe in ^^atien to'S migiitie 31"^^ ^ft& KaiffM

The brass of Roger Hunt, dated 1473, in Great Linford
Church, Bucks, may possibly be that of the Speaker of
1420 and 1433, but it is more probably that of his son.

Of monumental effigies and tombs the following have

xxvi NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS

been reproduced : Sir Thomas Hungerford ; Sir Richard
Vernon in Tong Church, Salop ; Sir John Mordaunt in
Turvey Church, Bedfordshire; Sir Robert Drury in
St. Mary's Church, Bury St. Edmunds ; Sir John
Puckering, in Westminster Abbey ; Thomas Snagge, at
Marston Morteyne, Beds, which has been reproduced
from a drawing kindly supplied by his descendant, Sir
Thomas Snagge.

In addition to the portrait of Sir Thomas Hungerford
in the window of Farleigh Hungerford Church, it should
be stated that the portrait of Sir Reginald Bray is from
a window in the Priory Church at Malvern. Mr. Justice
Bray possesses a drawing of it, from which our reproduc-
tion has been made. Sir Reginald Bray died without
issue, but he left the greater part of his estates, including
the manors at Shere, to the eldest son of his younger
brother John ; Edmund became Lord Bray, and he gave
his estates at Shere to Sir Edward Bray, his next brother,
from whom Mr. Justice Bray is descended, and to whom
the manors at Shere still belong. Judge Edward Bray
is also descended in the same line, being a brother of Mr.
Justice Bray.

It must be owned that the -piece de resistance of the
collection is the wonderful picture at Belvoir, which the
Duke of Rutland has most kindly allowed us to repro-
duce, of Henry VII, with Empson and Dudley on either
side of him. This extraordinary picture is on panel, 37J
by 29I inches, but, unhappily, the master who painted
it is unknown, though there can be but little doubt that

NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxvii

it is the work of an English artist. It is, of course, the
earliest and finest representation of the painter's art in
our ValhaUa.

In the National Portrait Gallery are the following
paintings, all of which have been used excepting the one
of Sir James Dyer : William Wyndham Grenville,
Arthur Onslow, Sir John Popham, Sir Christopher Wray,
Sir John Glanville, William Lenthall, Sir Harbottle
Grimston, Bulstrode Whitelocke, and Robert Harley. In
the case of Sir James Dyer a reproduction has been made
from a painting in the possession of the Rev. Canon Mayo,
of Long Burton.

There is also, as mentioned above, a kind of Speakers'
Album in the Reference Library of the National Portrait
Gallery, which contains forty-five clever water-colour
drawings copied by an early nineteenth-century anony-
mous artist, probably S. P. Harding or Sylvester Harding,
most likely the former, who did much work of this kind.
We have, however, only used the following from this in-
teresting collection : Sir Thomas Hungerford, Sir John
Baker, from an original picture in the possession of
William Baker, Esq., of Norwich ; Sir Robert Brooke ; Sir
Clement Heigham, from a picture in the possession of
John Higham, of Bedford ; Sir John Croke ; Sir Thomas
Richardson ; Sir Edward Seymour ; John Smith ; and
Sir Thomas Widdrington. This last-named Speaker was
buried in the Church of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, where
there was an imposing monument to his memory ; but
this was broken up and, curiously enough, it is believed

xxviii NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS

to have been buried in the course of some church restoration,
as was undoubtedly done in the case of a ponderous
memorial of the Bellasis family in the same church
which had fallen into disrepair.

I must not omit to enumerate the names of the other
Speakers whose portraits figure in the Album referred
to above, for in some cases the names of the contem-
poraneous owners of the original pictures from which the
water-colour drawings were made are given : Sir Thomas
More ; Sir Thomas Audley ; Sir Richard Rich, from a
drawing after Hans Holbein, in the possession of Mr.
Simco ; Sir James Dyer ; Richard Onslow ; Sir Chris-
topher Wray ; Sir Robert Bell, from a miniature in the
possession of J. Bell, Esq. ; Sir Edward Coke ; Sir Edward
Phelips ; Sir Randolph Crewe ; Sir Thomas Crewe ; Sir
Heneage Finch, from an original picture at the Guild-
hall ; Sir John Finch, from a picture at the Speaker's
house (a similar portrait by Van Dyck is at Raby
Castle) ; Francis Rous, from an original picture at
Pembroke College, Oxford ; Sir Harbottle Grimston ; Sir
Edward Turnour ; Sir Robert Sawyer, from an original
picture at Barbers Hall ; Sir William Gregory, from an
original picture in the possession of Mr. Gregory ; Henry
Powle ; Paul Foley, from an original picture at Coldham ;
Robert Harley ; Sir Richard Onslow ; Sir Thomas Hanmer ;
Sir Spencer Compton ; Arthur Onslow ; Sir John Cust ;
Sir Fletcher Norton ; Charles Wolfran Cornwall ; William
Wyndham Grenville ; Henry Addington ; Sir John
Mitford; Charles Abbot, from an original picture at

NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxix

Christ Church College, Oxford; and Charles Manners-
Sutton.

We are indebted to the Earl of Yarborough for per-
mission to reproduce his portrait of Henry Pelham ;
to the Earl of Leicester for the portrait of Sir Edward
Coke ; to Lord Barnard for that of Sir John Finch ; to
MajorWingfield for the picture of Sir Humphrey Wingfield ;
to Mr. George Gery Milner-Gibson CuUum for that of
Sir Thomas Gargrave ; to Mr. William Robert Phelips,
of Montacute, for the fine portrait of Sir Edward Phelips ;
to Mr. Charles Chute for the portrait of Chaloner Chute
at the Vyne ; to Lord Grantley for that of Sir Fletcher
Norton ; to the President of St. John's College, Oxford,
for the distinguished portrait of Sir William Cordell,
who was executor to the Will of Sir Thomas White,
the founder of the college ; and to Mr. Bernard Kettle,
of the Guildhall Library, for the very interesting por-
trait of Sir Heneage Finch, by John Michael Wright.
Finch was also one of the " Fire " Judges whom Lely
fortunately declined to paint. The Corporation then
commissioned Wright, a native of Scotland, to paint
a number at ^36 each. This artist's work is not
sufficiently appreciated. He is the only man, we can
recollect, who was endowed with two Christian names
in the seventeenth century, but perhaps he felt over-
weighted by the fact, for he frequently signed himself
" Michael Ritus."

The following have been reproduced from rare en-
gravings, a few^ from my own collection, but chiefly from

XXX NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS

those loaned to me by that most intelligent and obliging of
dealers, Mr. Bruen, of Greek Street : Sir Robert Sheffield ;
Sir Richard Rich ; Sir Robert Bell ; Sir Christopher
Yelverton ; Francis Rous ; Henry Powle ; Sir Thomas
Littleton ; WiUiam Bromley ; Sir Thomas Hanmer ; Sir
Spencer Compton ; Henry Addington ; Charles Abbot ;
Charles Manners-Sutton ; James Abercromby ; Charles
Shaw - Lefevre ; John Eveljm Denison ; and Henry
Bouverie Brand. This last was kindly lent by the
Serjeant-at-Arms, Mr. H. D. Erskine, of Cardross.

I have reserved till the last the important collection
of portraits which adorns the Speaker's official resi-
dence. These Mr. Lowther with great kindness placed
at our entire disposal. The collection is of varied interest
and the pictures are of different sizes ; some are un-
questionably copies. We have reproduced the following :
Sir Thomas Audley ; Sir Job Charlton ; Charles Wolfran
Cornwall, by Gainsborough ; Sir Randolph Crewe ; Sir
Thomas Crewe ; Sir John Cust ; Sir William Gregory ;
Sir John Mitford ; Sir Thomas More ; Richard Onslow ;
Sir Richard Onslow ; Sir John Trevor ; Sir Edward
Turnour ; and Sir William Williams.

There is also a portrait of the last-named, by KneUer,
in the Members' Dining-room of the House, where a
collection of paintings of English statesmen is in process
of formation.

In addition to the above, the collection contains the
following, which have not been used for the reasons that
some were fixtures, and in a position where it was im-

NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxxi

possible to obtain satisfactory results for reproduction,
whilst others, it will be seen, have been reproduced from
other sources : Charles Abbot, by Lawrence ; James
Abercromby ; Henry Addington, by Phillips ; Henry
Brand, by Frank Holl; William Bromley; Sir Edward
Coke ; Sir Spencer Compton, by Lely ; John Evelyn
Denison, by Sir F. Grant ; Sir John Finch ; Sir John
Glanville ; WiQiam Wyndham GrenviUe ; Sir Harbottle
Grimston ; William Court Gully, by Sir George Reid ;
Sir Thomas Hanmer ; Robert Harley ; Charles Shaw-
Lefevre, by Sir Martin Archer Shee ; William Lenthall,
by Van Dyck or his pupil, Henry Peart ; Arthur
Onslow; Arthur Wellesley Peel, by Orchardson; Sir
Edward Phelips ; Francis Rous ; Sir Edward Seymour ;
John Smith ; Charles Manners-Sutton ; and Sir Christopher
Wray.

Since the time of Mr. Speaker Addington it has become
a rule that each Speaker's portrait should be added to the
collection on his retirement. It is a national loss that
this rule has not been longer in operation. The most
effectual manner to gauge that loss is to compare this
collection with that great historical collection across the
river at Lambeth. I shall always remember being shown
after lunch one day, by Archbishop Benson, the portraits
in Lambeth Palace. The Archbishop told me that Lam-
beth was the only official residence known to him where
could be found the portraits of all the successive occupiers,
at any rate for any considerable length of time. During
our tour through the various rooms I well remember the

xxxii NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS

Archbishop stopping in front of the portrait of Laud, and
impressively informing me that this identical portrait
fell with a terrible crash from its position a few days
before Laud was beheaded, and that the incident caused
the gravest apprehension, for it was held by Laud's
friends to be a bad omen. As we passed from this gallery
into another room I was shown a large engraving (some
sixteen feet long) of Rome, before which the Archbishop
stood, and told me that some time previously he had had
an old Oxford friend to lunch with him there, Father
Edward Purbrick, the head of the Jesuit College, to
whom he repeated the Laud story. As they passed out
of the room into the corridor they heard a tremendous
thud on the floor, and on re-entering the room the huge
engraving of Rome had fallen to the ground. The Jesuit
Father stood by, placing his hand over it, and cried out,
" Oh, that I should live to see the fall of my beloved
Rome ! " and straightway left the Palace. I hope I may
be pardoned for dragging in this story, but I do not
remember having seen it in print. It was certainly not
in the Life, and it occurs to me that it may not be in-
appropriate to record it here.

In addition to the eighty-one portraits of Speakers
it has been decided to add three other portraits, not
of Speakers, to the series. But perhaps no apology
is here necessary. The first is that of John, Earl of
Worcester, and the son of the redoubtable Speaker of the
same name. The magnificent portrait of this wonderful
face is from the cenotaph in Ely Cathedral. He was a great

NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxxiu

patron of learning and art. Indeed, Caxton says of him :
" he floured in vertue and cunnyng ; to whom he knew
none lyke, among the lordes of the temporaHtie in science
and moral vertue," and Ftdler exclaims of his beheadal,
" The axe did at one blow cut off more learning than
was left in the heads of the surviving nobility." The
Dukes of Rutland are descended from the Tiptofts.

The next character is that of John Rushworth, Clerk-
Assistant of the House of Commons, who on that memo-
rable day, January 3rd, 1641-2, embalmed for all time
the kingly speech, and the never-to-be-forgotten, if
equivocal, and certainly epigrammatic reply of Speaker
Lenthall.

The third portrait is that of Jeremiah Dyson, after
Sir Joshua Reynolds, the original picture being now
in the possession of his great-granddaughter, Mrs.
Myddleton, of Chirk Castle. Dyson was Clerk and after-
wards a member of the House.

In the course of my researches I have discovered
the whereabouts of several portraits and monumental
effigies of Speakers, which have not been used in this
work for various reasons. As some of these may be
useful to students, it is proposed to place them on record.

In Westminster Abbey there is the fine bronze bust
of Sir Thomas Richardson, by Le Sueur, whose
equestrian statue of Charles I still stands at Charing
Cross. There is a painting of Sir Thomas Audley, by
Holbein, in the possession of Lord Braybrooke, and Lord
Onslow has portraits of his three Speaker ancestors in

xxxiv NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS

the Speaker's Parlour at Clandon. He has also the well-
known picture of Sir Robert Walpole as Prime Minister,
with Arthur Onslow in the chair. This is partly painted
by Hogarth, and partly by his father-in-law. Sir James
Thornhill, who was a member of Parliament, and painted
the faces. Lord Redesdale possesses a fine portrait of
Sir John Mitford by Sir Thomas Lawrence. At Barrow
Church, Bury St. Edmunds, there is the effigy of Sir
Clement Heigham. In Felstead Church, Essex, there is a
monumental effigy of Lord Rich ; in Claverley Church,
near Wolverhampton, one of Sir Robert Brooke ; and at
Checkenden, Bucks, where Sir Walter Beauchamp was
buried, there is an allegorical brass, his coat of arms,
and the following inscription : " Hie jacet Walterus
Beauchamp filius Willi : Beauchamp Militis cujus aie
ppiciet : Deus Amen." A monument was also erected
in St. Chad's Church, Shrewsbury, to Richard Onslow,
the Speaker of 1566. In Eastwell Church, Kent, where
Sir Thomas Moyle is buried, there is an altar tonlb with
his coat of arms, and apparently it was intended to place
an effigy upon it, but none exists. There is also in the
same church a bust and mural tablet of Sir Heneage
Finch, who was a grandson of Sir Thomas Moyle, and
at Coverham Church, Yorkshire, where Sir Geoffrey le
Scrope's body was taken after his death at Ghent, there
is a coloured window with the arms of the Scropes.
At Wellington Church, Somerset, is a monumental effigy
of Sir John Popham. Mr. Harold St. Maur, m.p., is
the possessor of a painting of Sir Edward Seymour,

NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxxv

and there is a fine monumental ef&gy of him at
Maiden Bradley. Lord Crewe also possesses paintings
of Sir Randolph Crewe and Sir Thomas Crewe, and the
Right Hon. James Round has an oil painting of Sir
Harbottle Grimston at Birch Hall, Colchester. At Oxford
there are portraits of Sir Thomas More (in the Bodleian),
of Francis Rous, at Pembroke (the portrait engraved by
Faithome, 1656), of Arthur Onslow at Wadham, by
Hysing (engraved by Faber in 1728), three of William
Wyndham Grenville, one at Oriel, by Owen, another at
Christ Church also by Owen, and a third in the Bodleian,
by Phillips. At Christ Church there is a portrait of
Charles Abbot, by Northcote (engraved by Picart,
1804), also one of William Bromley, by Dahl, at the
Bodleian.

The reproduction of the Broadside or List of Members,
in the possession of Sir Walter Spencer Stanhope, Bart.,
is one of the earliest if not the earUest known representa-
tion of the House in session. It is dated March 17th,
1627-28, with Sir John Finch in the chair. It is greatly
to be regretted that no earlier authentic illustration of
a sitting of " The Mother of Parliaments " is available,
for such must surely exist — either from early wood-
blocks or from still earlier miniatures. It is hoped,
however, that this Note may prove to be the means of
bringing others to light.

Mr. Dasent has placed on record some hundred and
thirty Speakers, and there are doubtless others whose
names, when verified, will some day be added to the

xxxvi NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS

list, when the State Papers shall have been exhaust-
ively examined and carefully calendared, possibly by
Americans.

When we reflect on our rough island story as portrayed
by Mr. Dasent from the Parliamentary or Speakers'
point of view for the past six and a half centuries, we
discover that, in addition to the beheading of Lord Wor-
cester, no less than nine Speakers have lost their lives
for performing what they considered to be their public
duty, and in most cases their estates were sequestrated
and their wealth confiscated. Thus life and property
were less secure than in these democratic days. For
the Speaker of our time is known as " the first
Commoner in England," with a salary of £5000 per
annum, a palatial residence, picturesque privileges,
and a retiring pension of £4000. Surely this ought
to be some consolation, even to the most Conservative
minds. The names of the Speakers who suffered death
were : Sir John Bussy, Thomas Thorpe, William Tresham,
Sir John Wenlock, Sir Thomas Tresham, Wilham Catesby,
Sir Richard Empson, Edmond Dudley, and Sir Thomas
More.

Unfortunately I have not been able to discover any
portraits of the following Speakers, though it is almost
certain that many of these exist in the shape of paintings,
miniatures, stained-glass windows, memorial brasses, and
monumental effigies.

William Alington (1429), William Alington (1472),
Thomas Bampfylde (1659), Sir Walter Beauchamp

NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxxvii

(1416), Sir John Bussy (1393-8), Henry Beaumont
(1331-2), William Burley (1437), John Bowes (1435),
Richard Baynard (1421), Sir Thomas Charlton (1453-4),
Sir John Che5Tie (1399), John Dorewood (1399), Sir
Thomas Englefield (1496-7), Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam
(1488-9), Roger Flower (1416), Sir John Guildesborough
(1379-80), Henry Green (1362-3), John Green (1460),
Sir Nicholas Hare (1539), Sir Lislebone Long (1659),
Sir Peter de la Mare (1377), Peter de Montfort (1258),
Sir Thomas Moyle (1542), Sir William Oldhall (1450),
Sir James Pickering (1378), Sir John Pollard (1553),
Sir John Popham (1449), Sir Henry Redford (1402),
Richard Redman (1415), Sir John Russell (1423), William
Say (1659-60), Sir Geoffrey le Scrope (1332), William
de ShareshuU (1350-1), Wilham Stourton (1413), Sir
James Strangeways (1461), Sir William Sturmy (1404),
Thomas Thorpe (1452-3), Wilham de Thorpe (1347),
Sir John Tiptoft (1405-6), WiUiam Tresham (1439), Sir
Thomas Tresham (1459), William Trussell (1326-7),
Sir John Tyrrell (1427), Sir Richard Waldegrave (1381),
Sir Thomas Walton or Wauton (1425), Sir John Wenlock
(1455), John Wood (1482-3).

After the names of the Speakers I have added the
year of election to the Chair, so as to make it easier to
identify the various holders of the office, and I hope that
correspondents will continue to help me towards the com-
pletion of the Ust.

In response to a letter recently published by the editors
of The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Standard, The

xxxviii NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS

Aihenaum, and Notes and Queries, asking for information
on the subject of Speaker Portraits, I was fortunate
enough to obtain valuable information from the readers
of each paper. It would be extremely useful too if
readers would help to locate other portraits than those
already reproduced or recorded in this work, espe-
cially of Speakers down to the end of the eighteenth
century.

The topographical illustrations require little notice
here, as they are, for the most part, fully explained in
the text. The views of the interior of the Jewel Tower
are from photographs kindly supplied by Sir Benjamin
Stone. Hollar's view of New Palace Yard has not often
been reproduced in so perfect a state. The one herein
inserted is taken from the late Sir Francis Seymour
Haden's own copy, now in Mr. Dasent's possession.

The view of the House of Commons in session is
interesting from the idea it gives of St. Stephen's Chapel
in the reign of Charles I. It will be noticed that there are
two Clerks at the table, thus disproving the usually
accepted belief that Rushworth was the first Clerk-Assis-
tant. Speaker Onslow said, on the authority of Hatsell,
that he had seen a print of the House in 1620 in which
two Clerks were shown sitting at the table ; if his state-
ment is correct, this is probably a re-issue of the same
view.

The illustration of the Jewel Tower is from a drawing
specially made by Mr. L. Hussell Conway. The map of
Westminster in 1740, which Mr. Dasent discovered in the

NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxxix

British Museum, is valuable as showing streets projected
as well as actually completed. Parliament Street was
not built until many years later, nor did Abingdon Street
come into existence before 1750.

The caricatures of Gillray and H. B. explain them-
selves, and the views of Montacute, Burford, and Stoke
Edith are from photographs supphed by the present
owners.

The illustration of the Mace is from a photograph
kindly lent by the Serjeant-at-Arms (Mr. H. D. Erskine).
The Mace dates from the Restoration. Although there
is no decipherable mark upon it, in all probabiHty it
originally bore both date and hall-mark. The wear and
tear have, however, been so great that these may have
been obhterated, for the Mace has lost in weight, since it
left the silversmith's, no less than 23 ounces. Originally
it weighed 251 ounces, now it scales only 228 ounces.

Arthur Onslow's house in Soho Square is an especially
interesting London view, as it stands on the site of Old
Falconbergh House, once the residence of Cromwell's
daughter. The author regrets that an illustration of
the house in which Coke was born, still standing at
Mileham, near Swaffham, has not been included, but the
information only reached him at the last moment when
the book was in the hands of the binders. If it should
be so fortunate as to reach a second edition the omission
shall be repaired.

It now only remains for me to express my thanks
to : Earl Beauchamp, Earl and Countess Cairns, The Earl

xl NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS

of Crewe, The Earl of Iddesleigh, The Earl of Onslow, The
Earl of Radnor, Earl Waldegrave, Viscount Peel, Vis-
count Powerscourt, Lord Barnard, Lord Hylton, Lord
Redesdale, Lady Poltimore, Lady Victoria Manners, Mrs.
Stanley Lane Poole, The Rev. Charles H. Coe, The Rev.
H. H. B. Ayles, d.d.. The Rev. C. T. Eland, The Rev.
J. A. HaUoran, The Rev. C. W. Holland, The Rev. E.
Hutton-Hall, The Rev. John T. Steele, The Rev. C. B.
Hulton, The Rev. R. Wall, The Serjeant-at-Arms, Mr.
C. J. Holmes and Mr. J. D. Milner, of the National
Portrait Gallery, Mr. R. P. Chope, Mr. J. G. Earle, f.s.a.,
Mr. Henry Greensted, Mr. A. L. Humphreys, Mr. Geo.
Robinson, Mr. J. Horace Round, ll.d., Mr. J. L. Rutley,
Mr. Henry Yates Thompson, for much valuable aid, and
to Mr. Dasent himself for his kindness in permitting me
to append this note to his exhaustive researches.

JOHN LANE.
The Bodlet Head.

: : THE SPEAKERS OF : :
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

THE SPEAKERS OF

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

CHAPTER I

WESTMINSTER IN THE REIGN OF HENRY III — THE ISLE OF
THORNS — THE PALACE AND THE ABBEY — PREFERENCE
OF HENRY FOR WESTMINSTER — DAWN OF THE ENGLISH
CONSTITUTION — WESTMINSTER THE EARLIEST MEETING
PLACE OF THE COMPLETE PARLIAMENT

NOTWITHSTANDING the inevitable ten-
dency of the age to disparage the past, the
opinion is still widely held that the House of
Commons is amongst the greatest of human
institutions. The primary object of the following pages
has been to present a fuller and more accurate account
than has previously been attempted of the presiding
officers of this great instrument of popular liberty.
At the same time it has been the author's aim to de-
scribe how the Lower House of Parliament came into
existence ; the place where it first held its deliberations
(with a topographical and architectural description of
Westminster at various epochs) ; the circumstances under
which Parliament assembled, with a brief retrospect of

xxxii NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS

In addition to the eighty -one portraits of Speakers
it has been decided to add three other portraits, not
of Speakers, to the series. But perhaps no apology
is here necessary. The first is that of John, Earl of
Worcester, and the son of the redoubtable Speaker of the
same name. The magnificent portrait of this wonderful
face is from the cenotaph in Ely Cathedral. He was a great

NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxxiii

patron of learning and art. Indeed, Caxton says of him :
" he floured in vertue and cunnyng ; to whom he knew
none lyke, among the lordes of the temporaJitie in science
and moral vertue," and Ftdler exclaims of his beheadal,
" The axe did at one blow cut off more learning than
was left in the heads of the surviving nobility." The
Dukes of Rutland are descended from the Tiptofts.

xxxiv NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS

the Speaker's Parlour at Clandon. He has also the well-
known picture of Sir Robert Walpole as Prime Minister,
with Arthur Onslow in the chair. This is partly painted
by Hogarth, and partly by his father-in-law. Sir James
Thomhill, who was a member of Parliament, and painted
the faces. Lord Redesdale possesses a fine portrait of
Sir John Mitford by Sir Thomas Lawrence. At Barrow
Church, Bury St. Edmunds, there is the effigy of Sir
Clement Heigham. In Felstead Church, Essex, there is a
monumental ef&gy of Lord Rich ; in Claverley Church,
near Wolverhampton, one of Sir Robert Brooke ; and at
Checkenden, Bucks, where Sir Walter Beauchamp was
buried, there is an allegorical brass, his coat of arms,
and the following inscription : " Hie jacet Walterus
Beauchamp filius Willi : Beauchamp Militis cujus aie
ppiciet : Deus Amen." A monument was also erected
in St. Chad's Church, Shrewsbury, to Richard Onslow,
the Speaker of 1566. In Eastwell Church, Kent, where
Sir Thomas Moyle is buried, there is an altar tomb with
his coat of arms, and apparently it was intended to place
an ef&gy upon it, but none exists. There is also in the
same church a bust and mural tablet of Sir Heneage
Finch, who was a grandson of Sir Thomas Moyle, and
at Coverham Church, Yorkshire, where Sir Geoffrey le
Scrope's body was taken after his death at Ghent, there
is a coloured window with the arms of the Scropes.
At Wellington Church, Somerset, is a monumental effigy
of Sir John Popham. Mr. Harold St. Maur, m.p., is
the possessor of a painting of Sir Edward Seymour,

NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxxv

and there is a fine monumental effigy of him at
Maiden Bradley. Lord Crewe also possesses paintings
of Sir Randolph Crewe and Sir Thomas Crewe, and the
Right Hon. James Round has an oil painting of Sir
Harbottle Grimston at Birch Hall, Colchester. At Oxford
there are portraits of Sir Thomas More (in the Bodleian),
of Francis Rous, at Pembroke (the portrait engraved by
Faithome, 1656), of Arthur Onslow at Wadham, by
Hysing (engraved by Faber in 1728), three of Wilham
Wjmdham Grenville, one at Oriel, by Owen, another at
Christ Church also by Owen, and a third in the Bodleian,
by PhiUips. At Christ Church there is a portrait of
Charles Abbot, by Northcote (engraved by Picart,
1804), also one of William Bromley, by Dahl, at the
Bodleian.

The reproduction of the Broadside or List of Members,
in the possession of Sir Walter Spencer Stanhope, Bart.,
is one of the earliest if not the earhest known representa-
tion of the House in session. It is dated March 17th,
1627-28, with Sir John Finch in the chair. It is greatly
to be regretted that no earlier authentic illustration of
a sitting of " The Mother of Parliaments " is available,
for such must surely exist — either from early wood-
blocks or from still earlier miniatures. It is hoped,
however, that this Note may prove to be the means of
bringing others to light.

Mr. Dasent has placed on record some hundred and
thirty Speakers, and there are doubtless others whose
names, when verified, will some day be added to the

xxxvi NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS

list, when the State Papers shall have been exhaust-
ively examined and carefully calendared, possibly by
Americans.

When we reflect on our rough island story as portrayed
by Mr. Dasent from the Parhamentary or Speakers'
point of view for the past six and a half centuries, we
discover that, in addition to the beheading of Lord Wor-
cester, no less than nine Speakers have lost their lives
for performing what they considered to be their public
duty, and in most cases their estates were sequestrated
and their wealth confiscated. Thus Hfe and property
were less secure than in these democratic days. For
the Speaker of our time is known as " the first
Commoner in England," with a salary of £5000 per
annum, a palatial residence, picturesque privileges,
and a retiring pension of £4000. Surely this ought
to be some consolation, even to the most Conservative
minds. The names of the Speakers who suffered death
were : Sir John Bussy, Thomas Thorpe, William Tresham,
Sir John Wenlock, Sir Thomas Tresham, William Catesby,
Sir Richard Empson, Edmond Dudley, and Sir Thomas
More.

WiUiam Alington (1429), WUliam Alington (1472),
Thomas Bampfylde (1659), Sir Walter Beauchamp

NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxxvii

(1416), Sir John Bussy (1393-8), Henry Beaumont
(1331-2), William Burley (1437), John Bowes (1435),
Richard Baynard (1421), Sir Thomas Charlton (1453-4),
Sir John Cheyne (1399), John Dorewood (1399), Sir
Thomas Englefield (1496-7), Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam
(1488-9), Roger Flower (1416), Sir John Guildesborough
(1379-80), Henry Green (1362-3), John Green (1460),
Sir Nicholas Hare (1539), Sir Lislebone Long (1659),
Sir Peter de la Mare (1377), Peter de Montfort (1258),
Sir Thomas Moyle (1542), Sir William Oldhall (1450),
Sir James Pickering (1378), Sir John Pollard (1553),
Sir John Popham (1449), Sir Henry Redford (1402),
Richard Redman (1415), Sir John Russell (1423), William
Say (1659-60), Sir Geoffrey le Scrope (1332), Wilham
de ShareshuU (1350-1), Wilham Stourton (1413), Sir
James Strangeways (1461), Sir William Sturmy (1404),
Thomas Thorpe (1452-3), William de Thorpe (1347),
Sir John Tiptoft (1405-6), William Tresham (1439), Sir
Thomas Tresham (1459), William Trussell (1326-7),
Sir John Tyrrell (1427), Sir Richard Waldegrave (1381),
Sir Thomas Walton or Wauton (1425), Sir John Wenlock
(1455), John Wood (1482-3).

In response to a letter recently published by the editors
of The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Standard, The

xxxviii NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS

Ath&nceum, and Notes and. Queries, asking for information
on the subject of Speaker Portraits, I was fortunate
enough to obtain valuable information from the readers
of each paper. It would be extremely useful too if
readers would help to locate other portraits than those
already reproduced or recorded in this work, espe-
cially of Speakers down to the end of the eighteenth
century.

The view of the House of Commons in session is
interesting from the idea it gives of St. Stephen's Chapel
in the reign of Charles I. It will be noticed that there are
two Clerks at the table, thus disproving the usually
accepted belief that Rushworth was the first Clerk- Assis-
tant. Speaker Onslow said, on the authority of Hatsell,
that he had seen a print of the House in 1620 in which
two Clerks were shown sitting at the table ; if his state-
ment is correct, this is probably a re-issue of the same
view.

The illustration of the Jewel Tower is from a drawing
specially made by Mr. L. Hussell Conway. The map of
Westminster in 1740, which Mr. Dasent discovered in the

NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS xxxix

The caricatures of Gillray and H. B. explain them-
selves, and the views of Montacute, Burford, and Stoke
Edith are from photographs suppUed by the present
owners.

The illustration of the Mace is from a photograph
kindly lent by the Serjeant-at-Arms (Mr. H. D. Erskine).
The Mace dates from the Restoration. Although there
is no decipherable mark upon it, in all probability it
originally bore both date and hall-mark. The wear and
tear have, however, been so great that these may have
been obliterated, for the Mace has lost in weight, since it
left the silversmith's, no less than 23 ounces. Originally
it weighed 251 ounces, now it scales only 228 ounces.

Arthur Onslow's house in Soho Square is an especially
interesting London view, as it stands on the site of Old
Falconbergh House, once the residence of Cromwell's
daughter. The author regrets that an illustration of
the house in which Coke was bom, still standing at
Mileham, near Swaffham, has not been included, but the
information only reached him at the last moment when
the book was in the hands of the binders. If it should
be so fortunate as to reach a second edition the omission
shall be repaired.

It now only remains for me to express my thanks
to : Earl Beauchamp, Earl and Countess Cairns, The Earl

xl NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS

of Crewe, The Earl of Iddesleigh, The Earl of Onslow, The
Earl of Radnor, Earl Waldegrave, Viscount Peel, Vis-
count Powerscourt, Lord Barnard, Lord Hylton, Lord
Redesdale, Lady Poltimore, Lady Victoria Manners, Mrs.
Stanley Lane Poole, The Rev. Charles H. Coe, The Rev.
H. H. B. Ayles, d.d., The Rev. C. T. Eland. The Rev.
J. A. Halloran, The Rev. C. W. Holland, The Rev. E.
Hutton-Hall, The Rev. John T. Steele, The Rev. C. B.
Hulton, The Rev. R. Wall, The Serjeant-at-Arms, Mr.
C. J. Holmes and Mr. J. D. Milner, of the National
Portrait Gallery, Mr. R. P. Chope, Mr. J. G. Earle, f.s.a.,
Mr. Henry Greensted, Mr. A. L. Humphreys, Mr. Geo.
Robinson, Mr. J. Horace Round, ll.d., Mr. J. L. Rutley,
Mr. Henry Yates Thompson, for much valuable aid, and
to Mr. Dasent himself for his kindness in permitting me
to append this note to his exhaustive researches.

JOHN LANE.
The Bodlby Head.

: : THE SPEAKERS OF ! :
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

THE SPEAKERS OF

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

CHAPTER I

4 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

its principal legislative and administrative achievements.
An attempt has also been made to trace throughout the
history of the House of Commons the close connection
which formerly existed between the Abbey and the seat
of government. These points are severally of importance
not only to the student of constitutional history, but to
all who value the conditions under which modem England
is governed.

The cities of Oxford and Lincoln are entitled to take
precedence of London as the places in the kingdom
selected for the holding of the earliest known Parlia-
ments; but to Westminster tmdoubtedly belongs the
distinction of having witnessed the dawn of the English
Constitution. King John frequently visited Oxford, and
in 1204 he held a colloquium there for the purpose of
procuring a grant in aid. In November, 1213, writs were
addressed to the Sheriffs requiring them to send all
knights in arms in their bailiwicks, and four knights from
each county, " ad loquendum nobiscum de negotiis regni
nostri " ; and two years later the same king again came
to Oxford in the vain hope that his nobles would meet
him there.

Lincoln was the city chosen by Henry III in 1226,
whilst he was still a minor, as the rendezvous of four
knights elected by the milites et probi homines of the
bailiwicks of eight specified counties, in order to settle
long-standing disputes with the Sheriffs as to certain
articles of their Charter of Liberty. But of the proceed-
ings of these embryo Parliaments no record has been
preserved.

No returns to these tentative and restricted assemblies
have been discovered, and the earliest germ of popular

THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER 5

representation is to be found in connection with the Isle
of Thorns. The history of that traditionally sacred spot,
revered by Edward the Confessor above all other parts
of his dominions, is inextricably associated with the
second founder of the Abbey.

Bom at Winchester, Henry III was the first of the
Plantagenet line to identify himself with Westminster.
Distrusting the city of London, he felt himself secure
within the sheltering walls of the great Benedictine
Abbey, the re-edifying and beautifying of which was
to be the darling project of his later years. Between
1245 and his death in the place of his adoption Henry
is believed to have spent more than half a million
of money on the rebuilding of the Confessor's church,
and, according to the somewhat exaggerated view of the
late Dean Stanley, his enormous exactions have left
their lasting trace on the English Constitution in no
less a monument than the House of Commons, which
rose into existence as a protest against the lavish
expenditure dn the mighty Abbey which it con-
fronts.^

As if to point the moral, the only contemporary
memorial of Simon de Montfort is to be seen to this day,
carved with the arms of other benefactors, upon the
Abbey walls.* The tendency of modem historical re-
search has been rather to deprive De Montfort of his

* Stanley's Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey, 1896 edition,
p. 1 10. At the same time a large amount of money was raised by sub-
scriptions which entitled the donors to indulgence in purgatory, and
much of the money spent in the rebuilding of the church was derived
from the King's private income.

'■' Simon de Montfort's shield, a double-tailed lion, is reproduced
on the outer cover of this volume.

6 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

claim to be the originator of the representative system,^
but there can be no manner of doubt that, in the closing
years of his strenuous Parliamentary life, his efforts in
the cause of popular government caused his name to be
regarded as a talisman among the English people.

Henry IH was the first of the English kings who could
properly be called a great patron of the arts. Though,
in his remodelling of the Abbey, his conception of archi-
tectural effect was derived from foreign sources, yet it
is to his encouragement of native art that London
and the nation owe that triumph of the Early English
style (happily little altered internally since the thirteenth
century), the choir and transepts which replaced the
church of the Confessor. Some doubt exists as to
how far westward Henry carried the rebuilding of the
nave, but Dean Stanley was of opinion that the beautiful
diaper pattern upon the walls marked the limits of his
work, leaving only the remaining bays to the westward
to be completed by his successors on the throne. The vault-
ing of the nave was not finished till a much later date, but
the jimction of the thirteenth- and fourteenth-century
work, where the diaper pattern ceases, is stiU readily dis-
cernible in the altered level of the triforium string courses. ^
The delay in the completion of the nave, as it now stands,
was probably due to the fact that the first three Edwards
cared less for the Abbey than did Henry III, and pre-

' The representative principle in England may be said to date from
the introduction of the jury system for purposes of inquests, etc., by
William I and its further development under Henry II.

' Since Dean Stanley wrote, the researches of Messrs. Micklethwaite,
Lethaby, Bond and, more recently, the Rev. R. B. Rackham, have
added enormously to our knowledge of the fabric of the Abbey and
the exertions made by individual abbots to complete the original
design of Henry III.

THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER 7

ferred to concentrate their attention on the rebuilding
of St. Stephen's Chapel in the palace, the building
which, as we shall show later on, was destined in after
years to become the home of the Commons, and so to
continue for well-nigh three centuries. The influence of
Amiens and Rheims, which Henry III knew and loved, is
apparent in the apse of Westminster Abbey, in the am-
bulatory, and in the nest of chapels radiating from the
central shrine, yet, to their lasting credit be it spoken,
the erection and adornment of almost the whole of the
great church was due to native craftsmen.

It was customary for the Kings of England to wear
their crowns at least once a year at Winchester, and
preferably at Eastertide. In the case of Henry III
this symbol of sovereignty was a mere circlet of gold,
for his father had lost the ancient crown with the other
regalia in the Wash. And at Winchester, the place of
his birth, Henry continued to keep his money and
his treasure. The office of the Exchequer at West-
minster, where the money was in the first instance
paid in, has been frequently confused with the Winchester
Treasury, where it was permanently stored. Gradually
the Winchester storehouse was superseded for all pur-
poses by that at Westminster, and from Plantagenet
times both Treasury and Jewel House formed part of the
appurtenances of the Palace. But little known, owing
to its remote situation, in a quiet mews off Great College
Street, the venerable Jewel Tower stiU stands much as
it left the builder's hands not later than the reign of
Richard II. To a chamber in this historic bmlding
Charles I and Rushworth, the Clerk Assistant of the
House of Commons, retired to compare their respective

8 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

notes of the proceedings on the occasion of the attempted
arrest of the Five Members in 1642.

An illustration of this interesting relic of old West-
minster will be found reproduced in this volume. In
it are now stored the standard weights and measures
in the custody of the Board of Trade. Surrounded
as it is on nearly every side by high modem buildings,
it is difl&cidt to obtain a good view of the exterior. The
view here given is taken from the leads at the back
of the house lately in the occupation of Mr. Henry
Labouchere, and tradition says that under it have
been discovered the traces of an underground passage
leading from the Palace to the Abbey. It is perhaps not
known to many of those who frequent the Palace at the
present day that a portion of the outer surface of the
western wall of Westminster Hall has been preserved
precisely as it left the hands of its Norman builders,
and with their masons' marks still intact on many of
the stones.^

The lower storey of the cloister, * added to the Hall
by Mr. Pearson in 1888 on the demolition of Sir John
Soane's Law Courts, replaces, according to the views
of that capable architect, an earlier lean-to structure
on the same site. For some 800 years the outer air
has been excluded from the Norman masonry, and to
the protecting influence of this cloister and its prede-
cessors is due the preservation of this relic of the Palace
of Rufus. Even after the great fire of 1834, one of the

' I give this information on the authority of Mr. Pearson, though
good judges have also been of opinion that no part of the ashlar work
of the Hall is of earUer date than Richard II.
( ' Now used as the Journal office and Private Bill office.

THE JEWEL TOWER
ProfH a d}'awiit£: i'y L. Hi^sscll Coniy

THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER 9

original Norman windows remained at the south end of
the eastern side of the Hall, immediately above the string-
course added by Richard II, and a good illustration
of it wiQ be found in Brayley and Britton's Palace of
Westminster,^ but it was most unnecessarily destroyed
in the course of some repairs to the Hall in the reign of
William IV.

By an ingenious contrivance Mr. Pearson filled the
spaces between the buttresses (added by Richard II to
support the great thrust of the incomparable roof) with
a two-storeyed gallery, which, though much criticised
at the time of its erection^ should preserve for centuries
to come the only genuine fragments of Norman work
remaining in and about the Hall. If, when Mr. Pearson's
additions were made, the sills of the windows on the
west side had been lowered to correspond with those
on the east, the symmetry of this noble building would
have been enhanced, but unfortunately the opportvmity
was missed.

The same architect desired to rebuild the principal,
or northern, fagade, the towers of which have a spurious
air, but a parsimonious Treasury withheld the necessary
funds, as it withheld them from Sir Charles Barry when
he proposed to cover the roof of the Hall with copper
and to carry his Victoria Tower up a hundred feet
higher than it is now. On entering the gates of New
Palace Yard the least observant will notice that the
ground falls rapidly towards the great door of the Hall.
In the course of centuries the level of the soil has been
raised many feet in the vicinity of the Abbey, but were
the ground to be excavated to the same depth as in

> Plate VIII.

lo SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

the ornamental garden between St. Margaret's Church
and the Hall, it would at once be apparent to the most
casual observer that the Abbey as originally designed stood
on considerably higher ground than the ancient residence
of the Saxon and Norman kings. Thus its commanding
situation in the centre of Thomey Island caused it to
dominate the surrounding buildings, producing a grand
architectural effect which is now, unhappily, lost. Both
Palace and Abbey were surrounded, not only by strong
walls of defence, but by running water on every side.

A considerable stream, having its source in the
wooded northern heights, ran through what is now the
Green Park to join the estuary of the Thames. This
was the Aye bourne, from which Hay [Aye] Hill, Tyburn,
and Ebury derive their names. Eye Cross, an oft-
quoted boundary in the precincts of the Abbey, stood
on the same stream. Successive alterations of the
surface have obliterated many of its channels, but, by
carefully comparing the terrain with the most trust-
worthy maps, the limits of Thomey Island can even
now be traced. A stream ran from near Storey's Gate
to De La Hay Street, through Gardeners Lane, and
emptied itself into the Thames near Cannon, or, as some
have called it, Channel, Row. This waterway in its turn
was connected with a long ditch or moat occupying the
site of Princes Street, whilst another brook flowed by
Great Smith Street and Great College Street to the river
near Millbank. Westward of this again lay a great marsh
known to the Anglo-Saxons as Bulinga Fen.^

It must be remembered that in Norman, and probably

^ The name has been wisely revived by the London County Council
in forming a new street by the Tate Gallery of British Art.

STAIRCASE AND ANCIKNT DOORWAY IN THE jKWKI. TOWKR

/■'yon; a ^Itotogt af^Jt hy Sir Bc'ijinithi Stone

THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER ii

much later, times the whole site of St. James's Park
and Tothill Fields was a tidal swamp, and that where
Buckingham Palace now stands bitterns' boomed and
snipe drummed. St. James's Park is said to have been
formed by Henry VIII to gratify Anne Boleyn after
the Court had removed from Westminster to White-
hall. To this day there is water in the cellars of the
houses in Birdcage Walk at certain states of the tide,
and when the new building for the Office of Works
at Storey's Gate was in course of erection, a few years
ago, the greatest difficulty was experienced in procuring
a solid foundation, owing to the boggy nature of the sub-
soil at this spot. Whenever an old house on the site
of the Long Ditch is rebuilt similar difficulties are en-
countered, and the fact that the soU underlying the
Abbey and the Palace is composed of pure water-worn
sand is the probable explanation of there being no crypt
under the church, and no subterranean chamber under
the great Hall. The gardens and orchards, and even
the vineyards, of Westminster were famous for centuries
before the atmosphere of London became laden with
soot, and foul from the smoke of innumerable chimneys ;
and in a place called the Herbary, " between the King's
Chamber and the Church," Henry III ordered pear
trees to be planted, so that he might see the Abbey
rising in all its fairness, in the springtime, above a wealth
of white blossom.

Before the destruction of Gardeners Lane simul-
taneously with King Street — for centuries the only
approach to Westminster from the north, for Parlia-
ment Street is, as it were, a thing of yesterday — it was
easy to trace in its bends and curves the tortuous course

12 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS •

of the bed of the stream which once divided the Isle
of Thorns from what we now call Whitehall.

The King Street avenue to Westminster only came
into existence when the Empress Maud, at her own
charge, threw a bridge across the stream at this point,
additional proof, if such were needed, of the detachment
of the city of London from the residence of the Norman
kings. When the river was yet imembanked, the usual
mode of approach to Westminster was by water, and,
shifting the scene to Great College Street, it requires
no great effort of imagination to picture in the mind's
eye the clear, cool water flowing alongside the wall of
the Infirmary garden, and the Ab^ot issuing from his
water-gate to take barge upon the Thames. Archi-
tecturally, London may have gained by the formal align-
ment of the Embankment, but much that was picturesque
was destroyed when, on the destruction of the foreshore,
a great natural force was hemmed in between solid walls
of stone, and a mighty river reduced to the commonplace
proportions of the Liffey or the Seine. Before the
Thames was urbanised, so to speak, Thorney Island was
subject to periodical inundations, and Matthew Paris
relates how the untrammelled waters swept into West-
minster Hall and boats floated within its gates.^

The space enclosed in the thirteenth century by these
various streams, of which the Gardeners Lane channel
formed the northern boundary of the island, the Thames
the eastern, the Long Ditch the western, and the College
Street brook the southern, measured rather less than
five hundred yards from north to south, and less than

1 Only within the last decade a violent thunderstorm which burst
over Westminster once more flooded the Hall, so that the water stood
a foot deep at its principal entrance.

VAULTED CHAMBER IN THE JEWEL TOWER
From a photogi-apk by Sir Beujamiu Stone

THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER 13

three hundred from east to west. Yet this circumscribed
area is beheved to have supported a population of many
thousands, if there be taken into account, in addition
to all the King's dependents, those of the Abbot. Every-
thing required for the Court was produced within the
walls, and such was the profusion of the Plantagenets,
that they maintained within the verge of the palace
a small army of artificers.

When we remember that, in addition to the multitude
of servants and men-at-arms (Richard the Second never
moved without an escort of four thousand archers),
the great officers of state — many of whom were in con-
stant attendance on the Sovereign — were all housed
within the Palace, and when, further, we take into
account the vast establishment of the adjoining Abbey,
it is probable that the total population of Thomey,
at the period when it first became the meeting-place
of Pariiament, amounted to some twenty-five thousand
souls.

The difficulty of reaching Westminster in the Middle
Ages is brought home to us by numerous recorded in-
stances of failure on the part of the Commons to comply
with the royal summons. In most cases the delay
was attributed to the state of the roads. Never good
at the best of times, in rainy seasons and severe winters
the main highways became almost impassable. The
long and expensive journey to London from the northern
parts of the country could only be accomplished after
many halts by the way. Leaving Fumess, for example,
the Abbot would cross the sands at Morecambe Bay on
his way to York to join the Archbishop. Five-and-
twenty miles would be as much as he would accomplish

14 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

in his first day's progress, and, after putting up at a rest
house on the line of route, he would cross the moors
separating Lancashire from Yorkshire on the next day.
One or more of these ancient rest houses are still stand-
ing. There is one at Halton and another near Clitheroe.
From York to London the Abbot would enjoy the
protection of the Archbishop's retinue on the road.
The Abbots of Abingdon and other great ecclesiastics
had town houses in Westminster from a very early
period. Many of the episcopal sees owned mansions in
the Strand with gardens sloping to the waterside, and
the Archbishops of York only lost their hold on White-
hall with the fall of Wolsey.

Some of those who came from the home counties, and
who dwelt within reach of the Thames, were able to make
a portion of the journey to London by water. Archbishop
Wake, who died in 1737, is said to have been the last
Primate who habitually came from Lambeth to West-
minster in his state barge. But the hardships cheerfully
endured by the Knigh+s of the Shire and the burgesses
whose homes lay in remote districts must have been
considerable in the thirteenth century. Such was the
habitual insecurity of the roads that the faithful Com-
mons, in their efforts to reach Westminster, were
accustomed to travel in large bodies ; the knights on
horseback, each with his retinue of men-at-arms, whilst
the humbler burgesses in a straggling cavalcade formed
their own body-guard. Wheeled vehicles were seldom, if
ever, used on long journeys, and for the aU-sufficient
reason that there was no conveyance to be had between
the clumsy waggons employed by the Sovereign on his
royal progresses and the two-wheeled agricultural carts.

THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER 15

which were as yet little better than square boxes of
rudely-fashioned planks.

The luxury of private coaches dated from a much
later period, and their use only became practicable
when the condition of the main roads had been materially
improved. An illustration of the almost universal prac-
tice of making long journeys on horseback is afforded
by a letter written by Dame Margaret Paston to her
husband, who was lying ill of " a great dysese " in London
in the fifteenth century. She begged him to return to
Norfolk as soon as he could bestride his horse. Though
the Pastons were rich people as the times went, the idea
of his returning home in a carriage seems never to have
occurred to either of the pair.

Peers and prelates did not start on a journey without
a great train following in their wake. On such occasions
they took with them a number of body servants of
different degrees, like kings in miniature. Attended
by their squires, their men-at-arms, their jesters, and
their menial servants, they descended like locusts on the
reluctant inhabitants of the region through which they
desired to pass.

Purveyance was in the main a royal prerogative,
yet the demands of lesser men often weighed heavily
on the rural population. At sundown the traveller
of high degree, and likewise his retainers, sought shelter
for the night. ^ In the monastery hospitality was held to
be a religious duty, and as most of the greater ecclesi-
astical houses had been, in part at least, endowed by the
nobility, its members felt no compunction in asking for
the accommodation so freely accorded. But only people

' Compare Jusserand, English Wayfaring Life in the Middle Ages.

i6 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

of exalted rank were entertained in the monastery itself.
The great mass of their dependents fared less sumptuously
in the guest-house.

The habits of courtesy prevailing in mediaeval England
ensured the knight the asylum of the guest-chamber
in the house of his equal in rank. Thus, whilst the monks
received the poor from charity and the rich from necessity,
the country gentleman upon his travels quartered him-
self upon his like. The common inns were only used
by the lower middle class, and they as a rule did not
move far from their homes. Too expensive for the poor
and too miserable in their appointments for the better
class of traveller, these inns did not emerge from the
chrysalis stage until the advent of the public coach in
the seventeenth century. What kind of accommodation
the Knights of the Shire found at Westminster it is difficult
to say. Probably the evils of overcrowding were thus
early in evidence. Sanitation was so far unknown
that the cleansing of the streets was left to that volunteer
army of scavengers — the kites. Soaring in mid-air
around the Abbey they fell, like bolts from the blue, on
the offal and carrion with which the narrow streets were
strewn, to bear it away to their nesting-places in the
wooded northern heights.

The condition of the main thoroughfares in London
was not much better than that of the country roads.
In 1314 several members of the Court petitioned
Edward II to have the road from Temple Bar to the
Palace Gate at Westminster repaired. It was said
to be so dangerous that rich and poor alike, whether
on horseback or on foot, were impeded in their passage
to and fro. Those who were compelled to use it " en

THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER 17

mauvais tempz " were " desturbez de lor busoignes suire
par profoundesce del dit chemyn." Nothing was done
for some years, but Edward III ordered the road to be
paved from end to end, and the expense defrayed by a
tax on all merchandise going to the Staple at Westmin-
ster. At the same time the Staple was defined to extend
from Temple Bar to Tothill.^ But all journeys, whether
by sea or land, must have an ending, and at last the
faithful Commons, with a perseverance only equalled
by that of the Canterbury pilgrims, came in sight of the
massive towers and frowning walls of Westminster, and
passed, awestruck at the novelty and magnificence of
the scene, within the portals of the Palace. There
in the heart of the ancient buildings stood, until the
disastrous fire of 1834, the actual room in which the
Confessor died — the painted chamber of European
renown — ^the very hub and centre of the governance
of England since Anglo-Saxon times.

The names of several other buildings in the old Palace
have been preserved. Marculph's Tower stood on the
river bank and overhung the water. In one of its
chambers the triers of Petitions, the precursors of legis-
lation by Bill, met for centuries. There was the Little
Hall, in which the Commons were ordered to assemble
in the reign of Edward III.^ The chamber of the Chaun-
tour 3 was near the Palace Gate, and here the triers
of Petitions for Gascony met.

The Star Chamber is mentioned in the Rolls for 1427,
and the Council Chamber " pres la grande Chambre du
Parlement " in 1436, but both of them were probably

' Hot. Pari., Vol. I, p. 303. ^ Ibid., Vol. II, p. 294.

3 Of St. Stephen's Chapel.
C

i8 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

in existence long before. The green chamber was an-
other apartment, the exact position of which it is not
now possible to identify. In it a miscreant secreted
himself at the bidding of the Bishop of Winchester, with
the intention of murdering Henry VI, when Prince of
Wales, after which no more is heard of it. The Chamber
of the Cross was the scene of the meeting of the first
Parliament of Henry VII, and the White Hall, which
must not be confused with the later palace of that
name, was the usual meeting-place of the House of
Lords.

Many of these time-honoured haUs remained till the
close of the eighteenth century, when the all-destroying
Wyatt was unfortunately appointed Superintendent of
the Works. What escaped his iconoclastic hand, with
the exception of Westminster Hall and the crypt of
St. Stephen's Chapel, perished in the great fire of 1834,
to which further allusion will be made in these pages.
The great bell tower which forms such a conspicuous
object in Hollar's View of Westminster was not in existence
in the thirteenth century, nor had the chapel of St.
Stephen, afterwards the home of the Commons of
England, thus early assumed the shape it bore for five
hundred years.

What must have been the feelings of the Knight of
the Shire when, having never perhaps been absent from
his broad acres before, he entered Thomey, the shrine
of the Confessor, and found himself for the first time
in the presence of his sovereign lord the King ! A visit
to the Confessor's tomb in the adjoining Abbey would
undoubtedly be paid during his sojourn in London,
and if, by chance, any of his friends or neighbours were

THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER 19

at legal variance, was not justice administered from
the fountain head within the same precincts ?

One of the greatest changes which have taken place
in the Palace of Westminster since Henry III took up
his abode there has been the formation of the compara-
tively modem thoroughfare between the Abbey and
the Houses of Pariiament which leads to Millbank and
on to Pimlico. In the Middle Ages there was no road
at all through Old Palace Yard. This open space repre-
sents the Inner Bailly, whilst New Palace Yard to the
northward formed the Outer Bailly of the original
structure. Access to City, Palace, or Abbey could only
be obtained by one or other of the strongly fortified
gates in the high wall of defence which girt alike the
residence of King and Abbot. Of these there were four,
and one at least — the High Gate towards London — was
held to be of surpassing beauty. Nor was there then
any road leading up from the river-side, along the line
of the modem Great George Street, towards St. James's
Park and the agricultural lands of the great Benedictine
house. Until the Thames, the fluvius maximus piscosus
of Fitz-Stephen, was bridged at Westminster the course
of traffic north and south adhered to the horse ferry
at Lambeth and avoided the populous suburb on the
river bank.^

Thomey in the thirteenth century we know to have
been a fortress, a prison, a palace, and a great religious
house. Defended from the outer world by lofty walls
and formidable battlements, upon which the royal archers

' The late Sir Walter Besant thought otherwise, and maintained
that Thorney was a thickly populated spot long before the building
of the Abbey, but unfortunately he failed to adduce any convincing
evidence of his contention.

20 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

kept watch and ward night and day, the extent and
magnificence of ancient Westminster must have been
an impressive sight for provincial eyes. Surrounded by
its great and lesser sanctuaries, its almonries, its bell
towers, its chapels, gate-houses, and prisons, Thomey
stood for all that was most inspiring to the average
English subject, whether of high or low degree.

Mention of its prisons recalls the grim fact that the
Abbots of Westminster possessed amongst their many
privileges the franchise of " furca et fossa," a gallows for
male offenders, and a pit filled with water for the women.
In the vicinity of Dean's Yard, to call it by its modem
name, the Abbot set up his tree of death on a spot known
as " the Elms," whilst Old Palace Yard was for centuries
the place of execution for malefactors confined in the
King's prison. And, even after it ceased to be so used,
the practice of exposing the heads of felons on the fa9ade
of Westminster Hall carried on the sinister traditions
of the place.

In contradistinction to these sombre associations,
an age of chivalry provided for the King's loyal subjects
an ever-changing feast for the eye. It was, on the whole,
a merry England which ushered in the dawn of the
Constitution. The warmth and colour of the Middle
Ages, the tramp of armed men in the Palace, the stately
processions, and the gorgeous ritual of the Catholic
Church in an age of almost universal piety, are gone
from us, with a corresponding loss of reverence in the
minds of the people, never more to be regained amidst
the dull conventionalism of the twentieth century.
Beauty, if perceived at all, must be felt, and the manhood
of England gained enormously by the teachings of

THE GENESIS OF WESTMINSTER 21

chivalry, loyalty, and honour so abundantly manifested
in the period under review.

Coronation feasts, solemn jousts and tournaments in
Tothill Fields held amidst the pageantry which the times
produced, allegories, mystery plays, tiltings at the ring ;
all these were part and parcel of the Ufe of a Londoner
in the Middle Ages. Though there were as yet no theatres,
the Bankside in Southwark offered more questionable
attractions to the profligate, who took boat at Stew Lane
and landed on the Surrey side at Cardinal Cap AUey. The
great fairs granted to the Abbots by Henry III, to the
annoyance and the lasting detriment of the City of
London, were another joyous feature of mediaeval West-
minster. There, too, could be witnessed, imtil it was finally
superseded by Trial by Jury, the moving spectacle of
the ordeal by battle.

\Vhen life's task is done, it has ever been the summit
of an Englishman's ambition to sleep within the hallowed
walls of St. Peter's. And, here at Westminster, within
one encompassing rampart, were congregated the resi-
dence of the Sovereign, the Courts of Law, the greatest
of Benedictine monasteries, and the accustomed meeting-
place of the Council of the nation. Well may Thomey
be called, when our purview opens, the seed-plot of
sovereignty, liberty, justice, and piety !

CHAPTER II

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS UNDER THE PLANTAGENETS
{Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries)

The Early Speakers and their Precursors

Petey de Montfort
William Trussell
Henry Beaumont
Geoffrey Le Scrape (Chief

Justice)
William de Thorpe (Chief

Justice)
WiUiam de Shareshulle

(Chief Justice)

Henry Green (Chief

Justice)
Thomas Hungerford
Peter de la Mare
James Pickering
John Guildesborough
Richard Waldegrave
John Bussy

THE Knights of the Shire, the backbone of
the English representative system, were the
logical outcome of the severance of the bar ones
minores, or lesser tenants in chief, from the
House of Lords, a body lineally descended from the feudal
Norman Curia, and consisting of the greater tenants in
chief or barones majores. These derived their Parliament-
ary existence mainly, if not wholly, from the principle of
primogeniture. Sitting in the first instance by virtue
of tenure, a very important modification, designed in the
first instance to secure sufficient attendance on the King
in Council, was in course of time introduced, which led to
developments more far-reaching in their effect than their
authors perhaps foresaw. This epoch-making innovation
was the issue of a writ of summons, without which none

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 23

could attend. Viewed by its recipients in the earliest
days of its employment as an inalienable right, it gradu-
ally came to be regarded as a privilege, and especially
when it was found that it could be used on occasion to
exclude possible opponents as well as to include known
supporters of the Crown. By a master-stroke, amount-
ing to positive genius, Simon de Montfort so utilised
this method of selection as to cause attendance on the
King in Council to be regarded as a privilege by one
class — ^the magnates of the realm — and as a burden,
haply to be evaded by the other. ^

The precise date at which the lesser tenants-in-chief
ceased to attend at Westminster, in company with
the greater barons, and became merged in the body
of the Knights of the Shire cannot now be determined,
but, once the control of the Crown over the summons
was tacitly admitted, it only remained to provide for the
separate representation of the under tenants and free-
holders in Parliament, and the transition from tenure to
selection was in all essentials complete. ^ From the ranks
of the Knights of the Shire the Speakers were invariably
drawn until the reign of Henry VHI, when a burgess
was first selected for that honour.* The aristocracy of

* Peerage and Pedigree, by J. Horace Round, 1910, Vol. I, p. 357,
where the origin of the House of Lords is dealt with by a master hand.

' For the early history of the House of Lords, the first Report of
the Lords Committee on the Dignity of the Peerage, presented to the
House 12 July, 1819, and further Reports printed in 1820, 1822, and
1825, are especially valuable. This Committee was presided over by
the Earl of Shaftesbury, and its several voluminous Reports have been
freely used, often without acknowledgment, by almost every writer
on the British Constitution since the date of issue.

^ The rural population far outnumbering the sum total of the
towns, the Knights were able to control the House, while the
burgesses, in many instances, were content to petition Parliament
without attending it in person.

24 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

the Lower House of Parliament, they were first sum-
moned to Westminster during Henry the Third's absence
in Gascony in 1254 by Eleanor of Provence and Richard,
Earl of Cornwall, the King's brother.^

There is no evidence that the summons was ever
obeyed, yet it stands as a landmark in our Parliamentary
annals from its embodying the principle of popular
representation. The industrious Prynne,* writing in
the seventeenth century, cited the terms of the writ
commanding the sheriffs to cause two knights to be
elected in every county by the counties themselves, to
appear before the King in Coimcil to report what volun-
tary aid each county would grant towards the defence of
Gascony. " Praecipimus," the writ ran, " quod praeter
omnes prsedictos venire faciatis coram consilio nostro,
apud Westmonasterium, in quindena Pasche prox
futur, quatuor legales et discretes milites de Comitatibus
praedictis, quos iidem Comitatus ad hoc eligerint vice
omnium et singulorum eorundem, videlicet duos de
uno Comitatu et duos de alio." Thus the financial
exigencies of the Sovereign were the primary and deter-
mining cause of a resort to popular election.

The gradual decline of the feudal aristocracy of the
Norman Conquest and the expulsion of foreigners
enabled the great Simon de Montfort to realise his
dream of England for the English, and to stamp his
name for all time upon the Constitution, by setting up
a representative assembly to which the writ of summons

' Regent or Joint Guardian of England 1253-54 ; King of the
Romans 1256-71. Died 1272.

' The much-persecuted Prynne, the stormy petrel of debate and
the arch-enemy of the stage, succeeded Selden as Custodian of the
PubUc Records in the Tower of London.

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 25

was to be a right, instead of, as in the case of the House
of Lords, a privilege, to be issued or withheld at the will
of the Sovereign. The loss of Normandy and other
French possessions of the Crown had the important
result of rendering the Baronage essentially English, a
fact which must not be lost sight of in estimating the
patriotic action of De Montfort.

A further stage in the growth of Parhamentary in-
stitutions was reached in 1264-65, when, for the first time,
De Montfort caused the summons to be extended to the
burgesses as well as to the Knights of the Shire : —

" Item mandatum est singulis Vice Com per Angl,
quod venire faciant Duos milites de legaUoribus, pro-
bioribus et discretioribus mUitibus singulorum Comitatum
ad Regem London in Octob prsedict in forma praedicta.
Item in forma praedicta scribitur civibus Eborum, civibus
Lincoln et cceteris Burgis Angl quod mittant in forma
praedicta Duos de discretioribus, legalioribus, et pro-
bioribus tam civibus quam Burgensibus suis. Item in
forma praedicta mandatum est Baronibus et probis
hominibus Quinque Portuum prout Continetur in Brevi
inrotulato inferius."

The Cinque Ports, it will be observed, were specially
directed to send representatives to Parliament, an in-
stance of the importance already attaching to the
question of maritime defence.^

It would appear that the writs then issued to knights,
citizens, and burgesses were identical in form and sub-
stance with those addressed to the spiritual and temporal
lords. None were issued to the citizens of London, as
their liberties had been seized by the King, many of

1 Quoted by Prynne in the second part of A Register and Survey of
the Several Kinds and Forms of Parliamentary Writs, 1660, p. 29.

26 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

them imprisoned, and their estates confiscated, for having
sided with the Barons. York and Lincoln were the
only cities specially mentioned, and throughout the
long reign of Henry HI distrust of the City of London
and a preference for Westminster were shown by the
reluctant conceder of Parliaments. On the one occasion
upon which he called a Parliament to assemble in the
Tower of London the Barons refused to attend except at
Westminster.

The transactions of these early Parliaments, all of
them of brief duration, consisted for the most part of
petitions to the Crown for redress of grievances, and the
principal function of their presiding officers was to
coUect the views of the majority and to report to the
King what amount of aid the assembly was willing to
grant. Little or nothing in the nature of articulate
protest by the minority is entered on the Rolls, nor is
it definitely known at what date the practice of dividing
the House and recording the names of those who dissented
from the majority was instituted. In 1258 Henry III
was in such pressing need of money that he aimounced
that he must have a third of all property. In return
the Barons were powerful enough to extort from him ^
a promise of direct control over the executive.

Even whilst these pages were passing through the
press, portions of three writs, addressed to the sheriffs
of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, Surrey and Sussex,
and Wiltshire, summoning both Knights of the Shire
and burgesses to a Parliament to be held at West-
minster at Easter, 1275, were accidentally found in the
dust at the bottom of a chest transferred to the Public

» In the " Mad Parliament " of Oxford.

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 27

Record OjBfice when the Chapel of the Pyx in the Abbey
precincts was being cleared out, preparatory to its
being thrown open to the public. This valuable historical
discovery, foreshadowing to some extent the "Model
Parliament,"^ included the names of the members re-
turned for the above-mentioned counties, for Middlesex,
Somerset, and Dorset, and also for Warwickshire and
Leicestershire.

It is true that in 1275 the wording of the sheriffs'
instructions was " Venire facias," leaving the all-im-
portant condition of election unspecified, but it must
be remembered that from the time of King John until
the various features of our complex Parliamentary
system were, so to speak, stereotyped in 1295, novelties
and experiments were frequently being introduced in
the form of the directions issued by the King to the
returning officers. Sometimes the Knights of the Shire
and the burgesses were required to be elected, sometimes
the vaguer form of " venire facias" was employed, and
on more than one occasion the summoning of clerical
proctors was dispensed with.

The important fact revealed by these documents,
unexpectedly brought to light after lying unheeded for
centuries within a stone's-throw of the chamber to which
they refer, is that, so early as 1275, Edward I, when he
had only been on the throne for three years, had im-
proved upon De Montfort's original idea of a summons
to each borough through its mayor ; that is to say, that
in the form which Parhament finally assumed the repre-
sentatives of the town were summoned through the
sheriff of the shire.

The Parhament of 1295, which has been called the
" Model Parliament," marked the end of the experimental

» Of 1295.

28 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

stage and the definite and permanent establishment
of an assembly comprising the three estates of the realm.
For while in the reign of King John, and at the accession
of Henry III, the legislative assembly of the kingdom
convened for the purpose of granting aids to the Crown
may be deemed to have been wholly constituted by
tenure, in and after 1295 it is clear that tenure did not
constitute the qualification by which members of the
Commons sat. Their qualification was henceforth con-
stituted by election, and the earlier constitution of a
legislature wholly by tenure was superseded. Besides
the Lords and Prelates were now regularly included the
proctors of each cathedral diocese, two knights from
each shire, two citizens from each city, and two
burgesses from each borough.

At the present day, when the powers and constitution
of the House of Lords are being closely scrutinised, it
is well to remember that in those far-off Plantagenet
times the non-hereditary element in the Upper House
amounted to nearly a moiety of the whole body, a con-
dition which continued until the reign of Henry VIII.
The composition of the House of Commons which
met at Westminster in November, 1295, though pre-
sumably based upon the distribution of the existing
population, was remarkable (with certain exceptions,
to be noted hereafter) for the preponderance of repre-
sentatives from the southern and western shires. It
numbered 292 members. Of these no less than 219
represented the towns, whilst only 73 Knights of the
Shire were returned.^

^ In the Parliament of 1298 appear for the first time in the official
returns the names of the two members for the City of London. West-
minster did not obtain separate representation until the first year of
Edward VI.

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 29

Cornwall, the county which in after years enjoyed
the unenviable reputation of possessing the greatest
number of rotten boroughs within its borders, had thus
early five representative towns, Bodmin, Launceston,
Liskeard, Tregony, and Truro. Dorset had four, Somerset
five, Devonshire and Sussex six each, Hampshire nine,
and Wiltshire, where no doubt the influence of the great
territorial family of Hungerford was paramount, no less
than thirteen ! North of the Trent, the part of the
kingdom which returned the greatest number of borough
members was, as might have been expected, the county
of York, which had eleven representatives, Worcester
coming next to it with seven. It has, unfortunately,
been impossible to discover the name of the Procurator,
for such was the title given by contemporary chroniclers
to the earliest leaders of the Commons, who presided over
the deliberations of this Mother of Parliaments.^

The transactions of the important constitutional
assembly which met at Westminster in February, 1304-5,
have been analysed by the late Professor Maitland in his
masterly introduction to the Memoranda de Parliamento. ^
The representatives of the people then dealt with
many subjects, and amongst others the impending
subjugation of Scotland. They even concerned them-
selves with the internal affairs of Ireland ; two natives of
the sister isle actually petitioning the King to be placed
under English rule.

No presiding officer can be positively identified as
having been chosen in 1304-5, but from the list of names

' The title of Procurator, one still retained by Convocation, was
applied to Trussell, who exercised many of the functions associated
with the Speaker's office, in the reign of Edward II.

2 Published in the Rolls Series in 1893.

30 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

preserved in the Public Records we gather that a Lowther
sat as Knight of the Shire for Westmorland exactly
six hundred years before a member of the same ancient
Northern family was raised to the Chair. ^ The deiiciencies
of the printed Rolls of Parliament, the work in the first
instance of the Clerks in Chancery, are both numerous
and regrettable. Chiefly concerned as they are with
Petitions, to the exclusion of debate, there is some
reason to believe that many interesting details of the
ordinary routine of Parliament in the days of its youth
remain unedited and undigested in the national archives.

Valuable as are the six folio volumes printed between
1767 and 1777, their editors only made selections from
a mass of available material. Historical research at the
close of the eighteenth century had not attained to the
high level reached in our own day by Professor Maitland
and other labourers in the same field, and it is much to be
desired that the entire series of Chancery Rolls should be
edited afresh and printed in extenso in English, after the
thorough manner adopted in the case of the Registers of
the Privy Council. To these should be added a transcript
of the various forms of Parliamentary Writs and a precis
of all such documents in the Public Record Office as relate
to the early history of both branches of the legislature^

Much divergence of opinion prevails amongst consti-
tutional writers as to the actual date of the separa-
tion of the two Houses. Hakewil, who wrote in 1641,
possibly had access to documentary evidence no longer
extant, and he maintained that they deliberated apart,
or that at all events they gave their assents separately,

1 The Right Hon. James William Lowther was first elected Speaker
in 1905.

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 31

so early as 1260, and Sir Edward Coke asserted that he
had seen contemporary evidence which proved that the
separation of the two bodies took place at the desire of
the Commons.^ But as there is no evidence in existence
to show that the Parhaments held before 1264-65 included
a more popular element than the Barons and Prelates,
it seems safer to assume that the division into two Houses
did not actually take place until early in the reign of
Edward IH.^

Throughout this reign the Rolls record regulations for
the maintenance of order within the Palace of West-
minster during the sitting of ParUament. In 1331-32 it
was declared that " Our Lord the King forbids, on pain
of imprisonment, any child or other person from playing
at bars ^ or other games, the taking off of men's caps,
laying hands on them, or otherwise preventing them from
peacefully following their occupations in any part of the
Palace of Westminster during the sitting of Parliament."*

^ See Howell's State Trials, Vol. XIII, p. 1410, in which a report
of Coke's of XII James I (1614) is quoted.

• In 1332, and again in 1339, the Lords and Commons undoubtedly-
made separate grants. These distinct grants imply separate grantors,
and it is safe to assume that after 1332 a permanent union of knights
and burgesses was effected. See Rolls of Parliament, Vol. II, pp. 66 and
104. An ingenious view, supported by a considerable section of well-
informed opinion, is that although the Lords and the Commons met
together in Westminster Hall, or some other apartment in the Palace,
on the opening day of a new Parliament, it has not been conclusively
proved that they, at any time, deliberated in the same chamber.

' Bares.

' Rot. Pari., VI Edward III, p. 64. The words of the original
Norman-French are worth quoting : " N'= Seigneur le Roi defend sur
peyne d'emprisonement que nul enfaunt ne autres ne jue en ul Ueu du
Paleys de Westminster, durant le Parlement q y est somons, a bares
ne as autres jues, ne a ouster Chaperouns des gentz, ne mettre mayn
en eux, ne autre empeschement fais p qoi chescun ne puisse peysible-
ment sure ses basoignes.

32 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

The precise nature of the game of " bares," to which
the youth of Westminster were addicted, cannot now be
stated, but it was probably some form of a game known
in later times as French and English or prisoner's base.
The snatching of men's caps, and other forms of rough
horse-play were the traditional recreations of the idle
apprentice. Nearly six hundred years later the police are
directed, at the beginning of each session, to secure free
access to members repairing to the Palace of Westminster,
though it is no longer necessary to issue regulations as to
the playing of games within the precincts of Parliament.

When the Knights of the Shire first obtained repre-
sentation at Westminster they acted with the Barons
rather than with the citizens and burgesses, and it was
not until the country gentry were fused with the new
blood imported by the inclusion of the burgesses that an
estate of the realm which, in the fullness of time, was
destined to become the predominant partner in the
Constitution, became an established fact.

Though there is conclusive proof of the Commons
being thanked by the King for their services in 1304-5,^
this does not necessarily imply that they had finally
separated from the Lords, and when in 1315 one William
de Ayremine, a Clerk in Chancery, was deputed by the
Crown to note the business in ParUament he probably
recorded the doings of both Lords and Commons. Another
of this name was secretary to Edward II in 1325-26.

The Parliament held at York in May, 1322, obtained
from Edward II an acknowledgment of the supremacy
of a complete representative assembly. This declara-
tion, entered on the RoUs, virtually amounted to a

1 Rot. Pari., Vol. I, p. 159.

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 33

written Constitution, and made it abundantly clear that,
for the future, " all matters to be established for the
estate of our Lord the King and his heirs, and for the
estate of the realm and of the people " should require
the consent of the prelates, the earls and barons, and
the Commonalty of the realm. No mention is made at
this time of the Knights of the Shire, who probably
continued to act with the Barons until after 1332.^

In 1330 the Upper House had its own clerk.^ Sire
Henry de Edenestowe was the first to be appointed to
the honourable position of Clerk of the Pariiaments.
Apparently it was from the first an office of profit
under the Crown, for in 1346 the King required a
loan of £100 from him ! ^ Not until 1388, when
John de Scardesburgh was chosen, does history record
the appointment of a similar officer for the Commons,
yet as he was established in office at that date it is
reasonable to infer that his post existed previously.

Turning aside from the conditions under which the
Lower House first met at Westminster, its earliest pre-
siding officers claim attention at our hands. The great
names of Montfort, Trussell, Beaumont, Scrope, De la
Mare, and Hungerford, six of the very flower of England,
are associated with the popular assembly in the first years
of its existence, and those, scarcely less considerable, of
Pickering, Guildesborough, Waldegrave, and Bussy, com-
pleting the catalogue of Plantagenet Speakers, are all
known to have played some part in the history of the
country. The memory of others who filled the Chair in
the turbulent times of the fourteenth century has been

1 Rot. Pari., Vol. I, p. 456. " Ibid., Vol. II, p. 52.

" Ibid., Vol. II, p. 4S4-

34 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

obliterated in the course of the centuries which have
elapsed since they voiced the opinion of the representa-
tives of the people in free Parliament assembled. Eng-
land then, as now, was governed by opinion rather
than by acts of despotism, as Sir Robert Peel was wont to
remark. Peter de Montfort is said^ to have consented " vice
totius communitatis " to the banishment of Aymer de
Valence, Bishop-Elect of Winchester and half-brother
to Henry the Third. These were the identical words
made use of by Speaker Tiptoft in 1405-6, when he
signed and sealed the entail to the Crown,* and yet the
word communitas as applied by Peter de Montfort may
only have been intended to convey a collective body of
Crown vassals, whereas, in the latter instance, the
Speaker undoubtedly referred to the House of Commons
as a separate entity.

The sole authority for Hakewil's statement is the
Register Book of St. Alban's Abbey, formerly in the
Cottonian Library, and, as he refers to the actual page,^
it appears that both he and Sir Symonds D'Ewes, who
also quotes the Register, saw it with their own eyes. But
it cannot now be traced in the British Museum, and it is
to be feared that this valuable manuscript must have
perished in the fire which destroyed 100 volumes of the
Cottonian Collection in 173 1, and rendered a hke number
illegible. In 1259 Pope Alexander IV was striving with
all his might to procure the recall of Aymer de Valence
from exile, but the answer which Peter de Montfort trans-
mitted to Rome was couched in these uncompromising

terms : —

)

' Again on the authority of Hakewil.

» VII and VIII Henry IV. 3 FoUo 207.

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 35

"Si Dominus Rex et Regni majores hoc vellent,
communitas tamen, ipsius ingressorum in Anglia, jam
nullatenus sustineret."

From the date given by Hakewil,^ it seems not unUkely
that Peter de Montfort may have acted as presiding
officer of the so-called " Mad Parliament " of 1258, when
he was undoubtedly one of the twelve nominees of the
Baronial, as opposed to the Court, party, entrusted with
the duty of carrying out the great work of reform known
to our forefathers as the " Provisions of Oxford." But,
as has already been pointed out, the Knights of the Shire
and thfe burgesses were not represented in the Parliament
of 1258, therefore Peter de Montfort can only have acted
as the spokesman of a restricted assembly of Barons and
Prelates, nor was there any Parliament actually in session
at the time of his protest against the recall of Aymer de
Valence. To the Provisions of Oxford Henry IH published
his adhesion in the first known English Proclamation,
and a copy of it still exists at Oxford. It is written
chiefly in the Midland dialect and there is not a single
French word in it. Probably Simon de Montfort felt
the need of appealing to the nation at large, and
this English confirmation of the royal acquiescence was
dupUcated by his orders in the Latin and French
tongues.

One would naturally like to connect the name of the
first Parliamentary spokesman with that of the great
Simon, the originator of the principle of the House of Com-

1 For an account of the whole circumstances attending Aymer de
Valence's banishment, see Gasquet's Henry III and the Church, 1905,
pp. 320-3.

« The forty-fourth year of Henry III.

36 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

mons, if not its actual inventor ; and some writers have
gone so far as to assert that Peter was his son, and that,
Hke his better-known father, he was killed at the battle
of Evesham. But, unfortunately for the holders of this
theory, it does not anywhere appear that Simon had a son
called Peter. He was, in greater likelihood, Baron of
Beaudesert, and of Henley in Arden, in the county of
Warwick, and of a family not known to have been nearly
related to the great Earl of Leicester. One of the same
name, a possible relative of Simon, fought and fell at
Evesham, but if, as seems certain, the earliest Parliamen-
tary spokesman on record came of the Warwickshire stock,
his death did not take place till twenty years later. ^

We have no certain knowledge of the individuals who
acted as Procurator in any of the sessions known to
have been held between 1261 and 1325, yet in all
of them there must have been some presiding officer,
some intermediary between Parliament and the Crown.
But when the last Parliament summoned by Edward
the Second is reached there is documentary evidence of
a Parliamentary leader who achieved sufficient notoriety
to be honoured at his death by burial in Westminster
Abbey, a distinction, by the way, which has been con-
ferred on but very few of his successors in the Chair.
This was Wilham TrusseU,^ who acted as "Procurator
totius Parliamenti " s on the deposition of Edward the

1 See G. E. C.'s Complete Peerage under the title Montfort, where the
date of his death is given as 1284.

^ Trussell's name is not to be found in the Return of Members'
Names in 1 326-27, though he had been a Knight of the Shire for Leicester
in 1 3 14. Like Peter de Montfort, he probably attended Parliament in
the capacity of a Minor Baron.

» Henry of Knighton's Chronicle, contained in Twysden's Decern
Scnptores, 1652, p. 2549.

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 37

Second at Kenilworth, and the same man whom Marlowe
refers to in his play of Edward II : — ^

" My Lord, the Parliament must have present news,
and therefore say, will you resign or not ? "

Apparently Trussell acted in a similar capacity in the
reign of Edward the Third, for in 1340 he announced a
naval victory to the House, ^ and was specially mentioned
in the Rolls as undertaking to raise wools for the King's
aid.

The Parliament which assembled at Westminster, " a
la quinzeine de la Seint Michel," in 1339,^ whether it
was presided over or not by Trussell, was one of excep-
tional interest and importance, although its proceedings
have received very scant attention at the hands of con-
stitutional writers. John Stratford, the Archbishop of
Canterbury, came from overseas with a message from
the King to his ParUament; the Proclamation caUing
the Lords and Commons together was made in the
Great Hall, and the cause of summons made no secret
of the fact that the King was in urgent need of a great
sum of moiiey for the defence of the realm.

The Abbot of Westminster, Thomas Henley, Monsieur
Hugh le Despencer, Monsieur Gilbert Talbot, Monsieur
Robert de lisle, and Monsieur Wilham de la Pole are
amongst those specially named in the Rolls as assenting
forthwith to the granting of a sum sufficient to meet the
King's necessities, " ou autrement il serroit honiz [shamed]
& deshonurez et lui et son poeple destruyt a tons jours."
But when Parliament came to consider the method of

1 Act V, scene 17.

2 Rot. Pari., Vol. II, p. 118.
' XIII Edward III.

38 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

raising the necessary supplies, there occurred one of
those marked divergences of opinion between the two
Houses which occasionally agitate the public mind in
the twentieth as in the fourteenth century.

In 1339 the Lords consented to grant the King the
tenth sheaf of all the com in their demesnes, except of
their bound tenants, the tenth fleece of the wool, and the
tenth lamb of their own store, to be paid within two
years. To this they attached a proviso to the effect that
the great burden proposed to be laid upon wool ought
to be revoked at no distant date, and that the grant
should not be turned into a custom. But the Commons,
when asked for an equivalent levy, made answer
that before they were prepared to assent to this
novel taxation they desired to consult their con-
stituents, and, in effect, they prayed the King to dissolve
the Parliament and call another to decide the question.
Mutatis mutandis, the impasse in 1339 was not dissimilar
to the deadlock of 1909, though, whereas in the former
year the Commons desired to take the opinion of the
country before agreeing to a new form of taxation, in
1909 it was the Upper House which refused to pass the
Budget of the year without first referring it to the judg-
ment of the people. The whole record on the Rolls is
of such historical importance that no apology is needed
for reproducing in extenso the answer of the Commons :—

" Et ceux de la Commune donnerent lour respons en
un autre cedule, contenante la fourme souuzescrite.

" Seignurs, les gentz q sount cy a ce Parlement pur la
Commune ount bien entendu I'estat nre Seignur le Roi,
et la graunt necessite q'il ad d'estre aide de son poeple ;
et molt sount leez de cuer, & grantment confortez de ce

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 39

q'il est tant alez avant en les busoignes queles il ad em-
pris, a I'honur de lui, & salvacion de son poeple ; et
prient a Dieu q'il lui doigne grace de bien continuer &
victorie de ses enemys a I'honur de lui, & salvacion de
sa terre. Et*quant a la necessite q'U ad d'estre aide de
son poeple, les gentz de la Commune qi sount cy scievent
bien q'il covient estre aidez grauntement, et sount en
bone volente de la faire, si come ils ount este touz jours
devant ces houres. Mes pur ceo q'il covient q I'aide soit
graunt, en ce cas ils n'osoront assentir tant q'ils eussent
conseillez & avysez les Communes de lour pais. Parquoi
prient les ditz gentz q cy sount pur les Communes a
Monseigneur le Due, & as austres Seigii q cy sount, q'il
lui pleise somondre un autre Parlement au certein jour
covenable, et en le meen temps chescun se trerra vers son
pais, & promettent loiaument, en la ligeance q'ils dey-
vent a nre Seignur le Roi, q'ils mettront tut la peine
q'ils purront chescun devers son pais pur aver aide bon
et covenable pur nre Seignur le Roi, et quident, od I'aide
de Dieu, bien exploiter. Et prient outre, qe Brief soit
mande a chescun Viscont d'Engleterre, q deux de mielx
vanez Chivalers des Contez soient esluz & enviez at
preschein Parlement pur la Commune, si qe nul de eux
' soit Viscomt ne autre ministre." ^

It would seem that the request of the Commons was
granted, for the King called a new ParUament to assemble
at Westminster only three months later. On this occa-
sion the infant Black Prince was the nominal guardian
of the kingdom in his father's absence, while the
administration of the country really lay in the hands of
the Council.

Three years later, in 1343, the Rolls relate : " Et puis
vindrent les Chivalers de Counteez et les Communes et

1 Rot. Pari., Vol. II, p. 104, 1339, XIII Edward III.

40 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

repondirent par Mons' William Trussell en la dite Cham-
bre blanche " to a communication from the Pope. Dean
Stanley says that he was buried in the Abbey in 1364,
but, if the statement in G. E. C.'s Peerage that he died
before 1346 is correct, Stanley's note is in all proba-
bility a misprinted date, Trussell's tomb was in St.
Michael's Chapel under the image of St. George. A
foliated cross remaining in the pavement may be his
memorial, for, though the slab has long been supposed to
mark the resting-place of one of the Abbots, a herald's
roll of the reign of Edward III records that : " Monsire
William Trussell port d'argent une crois de gules les bouts
floretes," ^ which accords with the blazon on the stone
at Westminster. The Rolls record the names of one or
two more Parliamentary spokesmen of early date,
though the constituencies they represented are not now
in all cases to be ascertained.

Of the Parliament which met at Westminster 16 March,
1331-32, we read : " Lesqueux Contes Barons et autres
Grantz puis revindrent et repondirent touz au Roi par
la bouche [de] Mons^ Henri de Beaumont." And in the
next Parhament Sir Geoffrey Le Scrope, the King's Chief
Justice, is mentioned as acting in the same capacity.
Both Beaumont and Scrope, and probably others, were,

1 Though summoned to a Council in 1341-42, Trussell was never
a Peer of Parliament, as has been supposed by Burke and other
genealogical writers. The family owned property in the county of
Stafford, and other large estates in the neighbourhood of Windsor
formerly belonging to Oliver of Bordeaux. Their armorial bearings
are still to be seen in a south window of the beautiful Decorated
chancel of Warfield Church, an old forest parish in Berkshire.
Though styled " Monsieur " in the Rolls, Trussell was made a Knight
of the Bath on 22 May, 1 306, unless this was another man of the same
name. Shottesbrooke Church, also in Windsor Forest, was built by one
of the same family.

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 41

however, almost certainly the mouthpieces of both Houses
rather than the especial servants of the Commons.
It now became customary for the Chief Justice to de-
clare the cause of summons at the opening of a new
Parliament, and instances are cited by Els5mge of this
being done by William Thorpe, Sir William Shareshull,
and Henry Green. Occasionally the King's Chamberlain
acted as his deputy. ^ Elsynge, however, misconceived
the true functions of the individual selected by the
Crown to declare the cause of summons, and he was
quite wrong in assmning that the Chief Justice per-
formed duties analogous to those of the modern Speaker.
All the evidence which exists goes to prove that the
Commons had not as yet acquired the right of electing
the Speaker of their free choice.

It has often been stated in print that the Commons,
from the time when they began to deliberate apart,
were in the habit of assembling in the Chapter House of
Westminster Abbey. This building was begun about
1250, but it was certainly not finished in 1256, when
Dean Stanley states that the Commons met in it. He
also stated that the " Commons of London," a rather

■■ XXV Edward III, 1351-52. " The cause of summons was declared
by William de Shareshull, Chief Justice, and receivers and triers of
petitions being read, he willed the Commons to put their advice in
writing, and deliver it to the King, so that he was Speaker."

XXIX Edward III. " The Chief Justice declared that the King's
pleasure was that the cause of summons should be declared by Mon-
sieur Walter de Manny, and so it was. Yet the Chief Justice managed
the Parliament business as Speaker, for presently after Mons' Manny
his discourse, he willed the Commons to advise thereof. Here you
see the Chief Justice ranked first above the Lords in delivering their
votes, so that it is plain the Chief Justice managed the Parliament
business as Speaker appointed by the King, and that he did execute
the ofi&ce (not supply the place) of the Chancellor therein." — Elsynge's
Manner of Holding Parliaments in England, 1768 edition, pp. 138-46.

42 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

vague term, assembled in the cloisters in 1263, yet in
neither of these years was there a Parliament summoned.
Other writers give 1282, when Ware was Abbot, as the
year in which the Chapter House was first so used ; but,
unfortunately for the holders of this theory, no Parlia-
ment is known to have been summoned to meet at West-
minster between 1275 and 1290, though an informal
assembly of ecclesiastical and civil magnates was held
there on 23 April, 1286.

A careful study of the Rolls will show that these
several assumptions are based upon a misapprehension
of the facts. The Commons' first known place of assembly
apart from the Lords was the Painted Chamber, and they
met in it at least as early as the Easter Parliament of
1343.^ This apartment was in close proximity to the
White Hall, or Chambre Blanche, in which the Peers and
Prelates were accustomed to meet. Moreover, at the
beginning of the fourteenth century relations between
the King and the Abbot were very strained, and after a
robbery of the Royal Treasury, to be mentioned here-
after, the Abbot of Westminster and many of his monks
were committed to the Tower of London. In 1348 came
the Black Death, which reduced the income of the
monastery almost to vanishing point.

Not until 1351-52 is there any mention in the RoUs
of the Commons deUberating in the Chapter House.
But in that year Simon Langham was Abbot of West-
minster, and it is conceivable that, owing to his interest
with the King, they were then induced to forsake the
Palace for a building not originally intended for lay pur-
poses, and which lay under the iron rule of the most

1 Rot. Pari., Vol. II, pp. 136, 237a.

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 43

powerful ecclesiastic whom Westminster had yet known.
From his great wealth (liberally expended on the fabric,
both in his hfetime and after his decease), and his com-
manding personahty, Simon Langham, Cardinal and
Archbishop, came to be known as the third Founder
of the Monastery on the Isle of Thorns. ^

Like the earlier Simon, the still greater De Montfort,
the Abbot of Westminster had his share in the develop-
ment of Parliamentary institutions. Only a httle while
before the first definite association of the Commons with
the Chapter House the representatives of the people
had shown an inchnation to find fault with the existing
land laws, and Edward III may have thought the
moment an opportune one for bringing the knights,
citizens, and burgesses more directly under the influence
of the Church. Yet in 1368, the forty-second year of
Edward III, the Commons were back in the Palace,
meeting in the Petite Salle, and the Lords in the Chambre
Blanche. 2

Abbot Langham, from his unique position at the head
of a monastery with vast territorial possessions, was a
most competent adviser of the Crown on all questions
relating to the ownership of the soil, and, once within
the sheltering walls of the sacred building, the earlier
note of discontent amongst the Commons was hushed, at
any rate for a time. Becoming Treasurer of England
in 1360, Langham was Chancellor three years later, and
in that capacity he declared the cause of summons (in
the English language) at the opening of more than one

' Langham's benefactions rendered possible the completion of the
cloisters and the nave, according to the unfinished designs of Henry III,
and amounted to nearly a quarter of a million of money at the present
computation of value. " Rot. Pari., Vol. II, p. 294.

44 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament. When, in 1366, he was promoted to the
Archbishopric of Canterbury, he received the pallium
from the Pope in the Royal Chapel of St. Stephen ; nor
was this his last connection with the scene of his up-
bringing. From far-off Avignon, where the closing years
of his life were spent, his heart always turned to the Isle
of Thorns beside the Thames, and his body was brought
back to be buried in the Chapel of St. Benedict, the
especial resting-place of his Order, where to this day
his stately monument, happily uninjured by the acci-
dents of time, is conspicuous among the older eccle-
siastical tombs in the Abbey over which he formerly
ruled. The fact that Trussell was buried there at a
time when the right of interment at Westminster was
confined, almost without exception, to members of the
Royal Family and to ecclesiastics of high degree is
an additional proof, if any were needed, of the bond of
union which existed between Church and State in the
days of the Plantagenets. Moreover, Simon Langham,
though not yet Abbot, was a prominent member of the
great Benedictine Monastery at least as early as 1346,
in which year Trussell is believed to have died, and it
may have been owing to his intervention that a new
precedent was set when a Parliamentary leader's bones
were laid to rest at Westminster.

Amongst the Abbey MSS. there is an entry on the
Sacrists' Roll of the year 1377-78, at which date Langham
was dead and had been succeeded by Abbot Litlington,
which refers to certain floor coverings which had been
worn out by the fretful feet of the knights and burgesses
in the course of a recent session. The monks, with the
care which characterised all their doings, then took

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 45

note of " Mattis pro choro & Capitulo empt 16/8
quia tempore Parliamenti Mattae erant destructse."
And, as there appears to be no earlier mention in the
archives remaining in the custody of the Dean and
Chapter of similar purchases for the use of the Commons,
it seems reasonable to assume that the incomparable
Chapter House, as it was called by Matthew Paris, was
not habitually used for Parliamentary purposes before
the middle of the fourteenth century.

There may have been isolated instances, owing to the
close connection which existed between Henry III and
the Abbey of his foundation, in which the Lords and Com-
mons sitting together as one body assembled somewhere
within the walls of St. Peter's at the earhest dawn of
the English Constitution, but all the evidence goes to
show that the Commons did not finally separate from the
Lords until Langham sat in the Abbot's seat.

The removal of the representative Chamber from the
disturbing influences of the Court to the austerer serenity
of the Cloister having been found in practice to conduce
to good order in debate, the Abbey became the usual
home of the Commons during Litlington's beneficent rule
in the Isle of Thorns, and entries in the Rolls show that
they assembled in the Chapter House in 1376, 1377, 13841
and 1394-95. But the great statute of Praemunire,^
which restrained the papal authority in England, was
not, as supposed by Dean Stanley, enacted at West-
minster, but at Winchester in the Parliament of 1393.

In the picturesque language of Sir Walter Besant, there
lay on the other side of the wall which formed the
eastern boundary of the Abbey : —

1 XVI Richard II, c. 5.

46 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

" The Palace, the Court and Camp of the King, a place
filled with noisy, racketing, even uproarious life. There
were taverns without the Palace precincts where the
noise of singing never ceased. There was the clashing of
weapons ; there were the profane oaths of the soldiers ;
there was the blare of trumpets ; there were the pipe
and tabor of the minstrels and the jesters. . . . Only a
low wall between a world of action and the world of
prayer." ^

Besant emphasises the gloomy side of monastic life
in the Isle of Thorns, but he might have added, with
equal truth, that, within the jurisdiction of the Abbot,
scenes of violence and disorder were of such frequent
occurrence that for a man "to take Westminster"
became in after years synonymous with his flight from
justice.

It is one of the boasted advantages of our ParUamentary
system that the Legislature is powerless to bind its suc-
cessors, yet William of Colchester, who ruled over the
Abbey in 1393, could hardly have foreseen that, within
fifty years of the Commons accepting the shelter of the
Church, measures limiting the power of its acknowledged
head, though not within the walls of St. Peter's Monas-
tery, would be debated and placed on the Statute Book.

The Chapter House can never have been a very
suitable place for the sittings of ParUament. It was
inconveniently situated for the purpose of rapid com-
munication between the two Houses ; it was required by
the monks themselves every day of the week, and it is
probable that the actual number of times when it was used
by the Commons was much smaller than has been gene-

1 Westminster, by Sir Walter Besant, 1897 edition, p. 88.

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 47

rally supposed. The use of this particular building may
only have been extended to the Lower House by Abbots
Langham, Litlington, and William of Colchester.

The Speaker would, no doubt, occupy the Abbot's
stall facing the entrance door ; whilst the knights and
burgesses seated themselves, as best they could, in the
eighty stalls of the monks. Late-comers would have to
be contented with standing-room, though, as the attend-
ance of the burgesses in the fourteenth century was never
large and the sessions were of brief duration, no great
inconvenience may have been caused. To the central
pillar supporting the roof were attached placards having
reference to the business to be discussed, though there
were occasions on which mischievous hands affixed libel-
lous documents in the same conspicuous position.^

But there was another, and even nobler, apartment
in the monastery in which the Commons of England
are known to have assembled. This was the great
Refectory beyond the south cloister walk. Originally of
Norman construction, it was consumed by fire in 1298,
but promptly rebuilt, together with other domestic
offices, under Abbot Langham and his successor. It
was a rectangular hall of great magnificence, 130 feet
long, nearly double the length of the existing House
of Commons, and 38 feet broad. If Pariiament is
desirous of commemorating its former association with
the Abbey, it would do well to restore, as far as possible,
the ruined glories of Litlington's work. Its north wall
still stands, together with some of the windows and the
corbels of the roof ; and on its inner face a portion of
the Norman arcading of the earUer building may still

» Archeeologia, Vol. XVI, 1812, pp. 80-83.

48 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

be seen. As rebuilt in the fourteenth century, it had a fine
timber roof, from which hung a crown of Hghts the fall
of which is mentioned by Caxton. Over the high table
was a painting of Christ in majesty, an inspiring symbol
of the union subsisting between Church and State.

The actual date at which it became ruinous is not
known, but though the Commons assembled in it in
1397, 1403-4,1 1414, 1415, and 1416, during the whole
of which period WiUiam of Colchester was Abbot of
Westminster, the Rolls are silent as to the actual place
of meeting after the last-mentioned date. It is almost
certain that until the dissolution of the monasteries
they occupied either the Little Hall or the Painted
Chamber. They removed to St. Stephen's Chapel on its
becoming vacant in 1547, never again to desert it except
when directed to assemble at Oxford in the seventeenth
century.

It would seem that too much importance has hitherto
been attached to an entry in the Rolls of the year 1376,
which speaks of the Chapter House as the " ancient
place " of meeting for the Commons. All that the phrase
was intended to convey was that, although earlier meet-
ings had taken place within the Abbey precincts (one of
them, as has been seen, in the Chapter House during the
session of 1351-52), a return to the Palace had been
made in 1368. Therefore, when in 1376 — the year in
which De la Mare first held an office practically indistin-
guishable from that of the later Speakers, though there is
no mention in the Rolls of his having been then elected

' In 141 3 the knights, citizens, and burgesses were only commanded
to meet " en lour lieu accustume dens I'Abbeie de Westm" at sept del
clokke a matyn pour eslier lour Commune Parlour, & de luy presenter
au Roy a sept del clokke mesme le jour." — Rot. Pari., Vol. IV, p. 3.

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 49

to the Chair by his fellow-members— the King directed
the Commons to repair once more to the Chapter House,
the officials whose duty it was to record the proceedings
of Parhament were only desirous of showing that a pre-
cedent existed for the alteration in the rendezvous.

The Rolls do not specify the Chapter House as having
been used for Parliamentary purposes after 1394-95.
The Refectory was probably used in its stead until it f eD
into disrepair ; but after the great fire in the Palace,
which occurred in 1512, the chamber used by the Com-
mons was found to be so inconvenient as to necessitate
a temporary removal to Black Friars, and it was there,
and not at Westminster, that Sir Thomas More was
chosen Sf)eaker in 1523.^

Whilst the Lords adhered to one of the chambers in
the King's Palace, there may have been occasions when
both Houses assembled in Westminster Hall in obedi-
ence to the King's summons. But there can be no doubt
that after the middle of the fourteenth century the usual
practice was for both bodies to deliberate apart and to
transact business separately with each other and with
the King. In 1362 the opening speech was for the first
time delivered in English, though for long after the
records continued to be kept in Norman-French.

In the " Good Parhament," which met at Westminster
28 April, 1376, the names of 117 members are known, of
whom 73 sat for counties, and 44 for boroughs and cities.
The foremost man returned to it was Sir Peter de la

• The Rolls in 1351-52 have an interesting note on the hour of
meeting of the Commons in Plantagenet times. They were then
directed to assemble in the Painted Chamber, " toust apres le soleil
lever," a custom which it is sincerely to be hoped will not be revived
in the twentieth century.

50 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Mare, Knight of the Shire for Hereford, and Seneschal to
Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, a connection which
intensified the animosity of his relations to the House
of Lancaster.^

Edward III, when well stricken in years, had fallen
under the baneful influence of Ahce Ferrers, a squire's
daughter whose rapacity and shamelessness as the King's
mistress-in-chief is only paralleled by some of the especial
favourites of Charles II and George IV. In one year the
King, in his senile infatuation, spent many thousands
of the public money in settling her jeweller's bill, besides
making her large grants of land and constituting her the
guardian of several rich orphans. ^ It became expedient
for ambitious nobles to stand well with her, and even
John of Gaunt took up her cause against the Black
Prince. The financial exigencies of the Sovereign were
now great, and the public dissatisfaction increased rapidly
after the loss of all England's French possessions with
the exception of Calais, Bordeaux, and Bayonne. The
Commons grew uneasy concerning Alice's influence with
the King, and when, emboldened by the success of her
political intrigues, she appeared in Westminster Hall,
and presumed to lecture the presiding judge on the
duties of his ofiice, the patience of the House was ex-
hausted. In a long game of give-and-take between
De la Mare and the King's mistress the former scored
the first point when he discovered that Ahce was married

• De la Mare was a man " fearless of consequences in an age of
violence, one whose spirit imprisonment could not bend nor threats
overpower." — Trevelyan's England in the Age of Wycliffe, 1899.

2 It is said that this insatiable traviata was with Edward III in his
last moments, and that she even stole the rings from his fingers when
he lay at the point of death.

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 51

and bore the legal title of Baroness of Windsor. The
King swore that he knew nothing of the marriage, and
Alice was expelled from Court. Moreover, in order to
humour the Commons he gave his assent to an Ordinance
whereby any woman thenceforward, and especially Alice
Ferrers, was forbidden to prosecute the suits of others in
Courts of Justice, by way of maintenance.'^

After protracted debates, both by themselves and in
conjunction with the Lords, the Commons appeared in
full Parhament with De la Mare at their head. His
first duty was to answer the usual demand for money,
made to the Lower House on this occasion by the Chan-
cellor, Sir John Knyvet. Not only did De la Mare take
upon himself to refuse supphes until the grievances of the
nation were redressed, but he adopted the financial posi-
tion as the text for a sermon on the required reforms.

Edward the Black Prince now lay a-dying at the Abbot
of Westminster's manor-house of Neyte, in what is now
Pimlico, and it was known that it was John of Gaunt's
intention to secure for himself the succession to the
throne. In the subsequent proceedings of the House,
perhaps the most interesting to that date, De la Mare
voiced the opinion of a nation more than he represented
the views of any one party. He was, in fact, more of
a Parliamentary autocrat, combining in his personality
many of the attributes of Pym and Lenthall, than the
mouthpiece of the Commons, and the Parliament which
he dominated resembled, more perhaps than any of its
successors down to the Revolution of 1688, the Parlia-
ment of to-day in the extent of its powers. In 1376
the Commons proceeded to impeach Lord Latimer, thus

1 Hallam's Middle Ages, edition of 1834, Vol. Ill, p. 83.

52 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

affording the earliest recorded instance of a Minister of
the Crown being arraigned by the Lower House.

For a time the fortunes of the contest inchned to the
side of the reforming party in the Commons. But with
the death of the Black Prince the supreme power once
more fell into the hands of John of Gaunt, and a change
quickly came over the scene. Alice Perrers reappeared
openly at Court, De la Mare was imprisoned, without
trial, in Nottingham Castle, and would have been put
to death if the King's mistress could have had her way.
Wykeham was deprived of his temporalities on a frivolous
charge and banished from the precincts of the palace.

The new Parliament was controlled by John of Gaunt,
who, by putting pressure upon the sheriffs, was able prac-
tically to pack the House with men of his own choosing.
Yet some of De la Mare's old fellow-members managed
to secure re-election, and though they promptly peti-
tioned for his release, counter influences were too strong
for them. One of the first acts of the reactionary
assembly of 1376-77, usually known as the " Bad
Parliament," was to reverse the sentence against Alice
Perrers.

From the point of view of the Constitutional historian
the Parliament is a memorable one, since in it the Speaker's
of&ce first emerged from the twilight which shrouds its
origin into the full Hght of day. Summoned at the close
of a year in which a King of England celebrated the
jubilee of his reign, the House of Commons, for the
first time in its history, is known to have been repre-
sented at Westminster by a presiding officer of its own
choice. Sir Thomas Hungerford,. specified in the Rolls
as having " les paroles pour les Communes d'Engleterre

SIR THOMAS HUNGERFORD

1376-7
From a lirmvitig in the National Portyait Gallery

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 53

en cest Parlement," made a daring speech to the throne
at the close of the session, calling the King's attention
to various grievances and alleged infringements of the
liberties of his subjects, both male and female.

This, the first recorded utterance of the House of
Commons to find pubhc expression through the mouth
of its responsible president, has been strangely over-
looked by Parhamentary historians, as has also the
interesting fact that Hungerford, on the same occasion,
delivered seven " BiUes " to the Clerk of the ParUament,
to which, alas for the budding hopes of the representa-
tives of the people, the Lords vouchsafed no reply,
" a cause q le dit Parlement s'estoit departiz & finiz
a mesme le jour devant q rienz y fust plus fait a
ycelles."

Sir Thomas Hungerford was the head of the powerful
Wiltshire family which owned Farleigh Castle. Like
Chaucer's Frankleyn, " full oft tyme he was a Knight
of the Schire," for his career at Westminster extended
over thirty-six years. He died in 1398, and was buried
at Farleigh Himgerford, in Somerset, where his tomb
and a portrait in a stained-glass window are still to be
seen.i

On the death of the King, a new Parhament was called
by Richard II, in October, and De la Mare, again the
most prominent figure in the popular assembly, was
voted to the Chair. The sentence of the Good Parha-
ment against Alice Ferrers was re-enacted and the power
of John of Gaunt was finally broken.^

De la Mare again represented Herefordshire in 1379-80,

1 See frontispiece to this volume.
» Rot. Pari., Vol. Ill, p. S-

54 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

1382, and 1383, after which date his name disappears
from the page of history, nor has the year of his death
been ascertained.

Sir James Pickering, the head of a great Westmorland
family, became Speaker in 1378.^ His speech, asserting
the right of free speech and declaring the loyalty of the
House to the throne, remains upon the Rolls and is the first
of its kind on record. It is interesting at the present day
to recall the fact that Speaker Pickering's wife was a
Lowther. To him succeeded Sir John Guildesborough,
Knight of the Shire for Essex, in the Parliament which
met at Northampton on 5 November, 1380. This Speaker
set an important precedent which, to a certain extent,
foreshadowed the modern procedure in Committee of
Supply. He demanded of the Crown that a schedule of
the exact sums needed, and the purposes for which they
were required, should be laid before the Commons. Thus
the annually recurring phrase in the King's speech
" estimates for the expenditure of the year wiU in due
course be laid before you," is the logical outcome of a
procedure adopted more than five hundred years ago.

The Eastern Counties also supplied the next Speaker,
Sir Richard Waldegrave of Smallbridge, Suffolk, ancestor
of the present Earl Waldegrave. He begged to be
excused from accepting the post, but the King charged
him on his allegiance that since he was already chosen by
his colleagues he should execute the office. His is the
first instance of a Speaker declining appointment, and
for generations after his day a similar formal excuse
was put forward, only to be refused, nor was the pre-

•^ " Monsieur James de Pekeryng Chivaler, q'avoit les paroles de
la coe faisant sa Protestation si bien pur lui mesmes come pur toute
la Coi^ d'Engl illoeq's assemble." — Rot. Pari., Vol. Ill, p. 34.

^. — r-

SIR THOMAS HUNGERFORD

1376-7

J^roiit a drawing by Stanley Xorth of the

nununn-ntal effigy in the chapel at Farleigh

Castle

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 55

cedent set in 1381 broken until the reign of Charles II,
when Sir Edward Seymour, who had been chosen
against the King's wish, merely said, on presenting
himself for approval in the House of Lords : " The House
of Commons have unanimously elected me their Speaker,
and now I come hither for Your Majesty's approbation,
which if Your Majesty will please to grant, I shall do
them and you the best service I can." The Chancellor
had been instructed to express the King's acceptance of
the customary excuse, but the Speaker's unexpected
utterance took him so aback that he could only falter out
that the King wished to reserve him for other services and
desired that the Commons would make another choice.
After a heated discussion and a prorogation a compromise
was arrived at, but the important principle was estab-
hshed that the Crown has a right to veto, but not to
dictate, the Commons' choice.

Sir Richard Waldegrave's motive, as far as it is possible
to analyse it, appears to have been a prudential one. Grave
disputes were likely to arise between Parliament and the
people respecting the enfranchisement of the villeins to
whom Richard II had lately granted charters of freedom.
But as the King contended that these charters had been
extorted from him when he was not seized of his full
kingly power, he ultimately revoked them. Waldegrave
may have been apprehensive of the consequences likely
to result from this evasion,.hence his desire to be reheved
of the post.^

From 1383, when Pickering was called to the Chair for
the second time, the Rolls of Parhament are defective for

1 See the Scrope and Grosvenor Roll, Vol. II, p. 374. and Rot. Pari.,
Vol. Ill, p. loo.

56 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

about ten years, though it is highly probable that he
again acted as Speaker in one or other of the Parhaments
held in 1384, 1388, 1389-90, 1390, and 1397-98, in all of
which he is known to have sat for Yorkshire.

The last, and in some respects the most notorious of
Plantagenet Speakers was Sir John Bussy, or Bushey, the
first man to be twice elected to the Chair, and also the
first to be alluded to by Shakespeare.^ He represented
Lincolnshire (where his family owned land at a place
called Grentewell, at Domesday), between 1383 and 1397-
98. He was first chosen Speaker in 1393-94, re-elected in
January, 1396-97, and again in September, 1397.^ During
his second term of office occurred the important case of
Privilege arising out of the trial of Sir Thomas Haxey,
a prebendary of Southwell and proctor of the Clergy
attending Parliament. Haxey introduced a Bill or rather
an article in a Bill complaining of maladministration, and
making specific charges of extravagance against the King*
Richard II, when he heard of it, called upon the
Speaker to give up the name of the person responsible for
the introduction of the obnoxious measure. The Commons
were alarmed and made a scapegoat of Haxey. He was
adjudged a traitor and condemned to death, his trial
taking place in the Salle Blanche of the Palace. He was
eventually pardoned, and in Henry IV's first Parliament
the judgment was formally reversed. Haxey, who was
an ecclesiastical pluralist of an extreme type, became
Treasurer of York and was a benefactor to the Cathedral,
in which he was buried in 1425.

* He is styled " Commune Parlour " in the Rolls.

* He was probably Speaker also in the twenty-third Parliament of
Richard II. 1394-95 ; but the Rolls are defective at that period.

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 57

Hakewil calls Bussy " a special minion to the King,"
but this appears to have been a prejudiced opinion. On
the landing of Henry, Duke of Lancaster, at Ravenspur,
where the whole countryside greeted him with acclama-
tion, Bussy took possession of the Castle at Bristol with
others of Richard's ministers.

" To Bristol Castle, which they say is held by Bussy,
Bagot and their complices." ^

A little later in the same play Shakespeare writes
slightingly of him as —

" A caterpUlar of this Commonwealth which I ^ have
sworn to weed and pluck away."

On the surrender of Bristol to the invader, Bussy, with
the Lord Treasurer (Wilham Le Scrope, Earl of Wiltshire),
and Sir Henry Green were executed without trial,* as the
first act of the new dynasty. Thus, with the possible
exception of Peter de Montfort, whose end is somewhat
of a mystery, the last of the Plantagenet Speakers was
also the first to die a violent death, a fate which, as subse-
quent chapters will show, was to befall many of his suc-
cessors in the Chair of the Commons. Within six weeks
of Bussy's murder Henry reached London, bringing
Richard with him captive, and took up his abode in
St. John's Priory in Clerkenwell.

On 29 September, the day before the intended meeting
of Parliament, he had an interview with his cousin in the
Tower. Having obtained from him the crown and
sceptre, the outward symbols of kingship which counted
for so much with the populace, he hurriedly deposited

1 Shakespeare, Richard II, act ii, scene 3, line 164.
» Bolingbroke. ^ 29 July, 1399.

58 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

them in the treasury of Westminster Abbey, now usually
known as the Chapel of the Pyx.

This ancient building, which should not be confused
with the Royal Jewel House of which there is an illus-
tration in this book, undoubtedly formed part of the
Confessor's foundation. It makes the proud claim, in
common with an adjoining apartment long used as the
gymnasium of Westminster School, to be the oldest
building in London. Henry III spared it when he pulled
down the Confessor's Church, and in it, or in the under-
croft of the Chapter House hard by, the kings of England
kept the regalia and other treasures, of which a hst is
given by Dean Stanley. The advantage of having more
than one such treasure-house — and if the Jewel Tower
is reckoned there were three in close proximity to one
another — is obvious ; because an intending thief would
be unaware in which, for the moment, the royal
wealth lay hid. But the utmost secrecy will not avail
against treachery from within, and in 1303 the Chapel
of the Pyx, or, as some think, the undercroft, was
the scene of a great robbery. The sacristan of the Abbey
and two monks were involved in the rifling of the treasury
by one Richard Podlicote, who contrived by their help to
force an entrance and to carry off articles of priceless
value. A jury empanelled to investigate the crime found
that Master William Torel, the famous English sculptor
who made the ef&gies of Henry III and Eleanor which
are still to be seen in the Abbey, bought two ruby rings in
good faith from the thief, and the sacristan was found to
have in his possession a bowl of unknown value which he
could not account for. The manner of PodUcote's
punishment is not certainly known, though it was long

THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET 59

believed that he was flayed alive. Some fragments of
human skin adhering to one of the doors leading out of
the east cloister walk have been thought to be his, though
within the recollection of the present writer these remains,
if human, indeed, they be, were confidently stated to have
been portions of the skin of a Dane, executed as a terror to
evil-doers at an even earlier date. The probabihty is that
both stories are apocryphal. Towards the close of his ill-
starred reign Richard II, who throughout his life had a
graceful passion for extravagance, practically rebuilt
Westminster Hall in the shape in which it now stands.
Even the names of the royal craftsmen employed upon
it are known. Robert Brassington made the shield-
bearing angels of the incomparable roof. Wilham Burgh
filled the great window with " flourished glass " — would
that it had escaped the ravages of time — and William
Cleuderre sculptured some of the images of " grave
kings" which still stand at the upper end of the hall.^
By the irony of fate, no sooner was the vast building
finished than it became the scene of Richard's deposition.
For in Westminster Hall Henry of Lancaster, aided by
the dignitaries of the Church, including the Abbot of
Westminster, came forward to " challenge the realm of
England " on the last day of September, 1399. ^ Amongst
the Harleian MSS. in the British Museum,^ the collection of
which England owes to a Speaker to be mentioned here-
after, is a representation by a Frenchman named Creton
(who accompanied Richard on his last journey to Ireland),
of the great hall as it appeared on this momentous day.

1 The south porch was added by Sir Charles Barry after the great
fire of 1834.

" Rot. Pari., Vol. Ill, p. 422. ' No. 13 19, P- S7-

6o SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

It shows the throne at the upper end unoccupied —
" sede regali cum pannis Auri solempnitur prseposita
tunc vacua." ^

Nearest to the throne stands Henry of Lancaster wear-
ing a high-crowned cap of fur. On the right of the picture
are grouped the spiritual, and, on the left, the temporal
Lords and the Knights. AU appear to be actual portraits,
while the figures of two men in the foreground would
seem, from their dress to be officials. Neither of them can
have been intended to represent the Speaker, for with
Bussy dead, no presiding officer of the Commons existed.
For two hundred years untU that September day the
doctrine of hereditary right to the throne had been
preserved without interruption, but now in Richard's
newly finished hall, far surpassing Rufus' original building
and adorned from end to end with the white hart, the
badge of his adoption, amidst a shout of acclamation
which made the rafters ring, the Plantagenet d57nasty
passed away and a new era opened for England and for
Parliament.^

* See reproduction of this curious painting in this volume.

* William Rufus and Henry I had obtained the throne in prejudice
of the claims of their elder brother, Robert. Stephen had been advanced
to the same dignity, contrary to every opinion of hereditary succession.
John had been crowned in opposition to the claims of Arthur (the son
of his elder brother) ; but from that time till the usurpation of Henry
IV the principle of heredity had been strictly observed.

CHAPTER III

THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE
WARS OF THE ROSES UPON PARLIAMENTARY INSTITU-
TIONS

(1399-I461)

Thirty Speakers

John Cheyne
John Dorewood
Arnold Savage
Henry Redford
WilUam Esturmy
John Tiptoft
Thomas Chaucer
William Stourton
Walter Hungerford
Richard Redman
Walter Beauchamp
Roger Flower
Roger Hunt
Richard Baynard
John Russell

Thomas Walton
Richard Vernon
John Tyrrell
William Alington
John Bowes
William Burley
William Tresham
John Say
John Popham
William Oldhall
Thomas Thorpe
Thomas Charlton
John Wenlock
Thomas Tresham
John Green

WITH almost indecent haste Henry of Lan-
caster, after usurping the throne, pro-
ceeded to consolidate his position. The
Parliament of Richard had come to an end
with the abdication of the King, and within a week
Henry issued writs for a new one returnable in six

62 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

days. These were not, and indeed could not be, com-
plied with ; but the same members who had deposed
Richard met on 6 October and fixed the date of the
usurper's coronation for eight days later. ^ Henry dis-
tributed the great offices of State amongst his personal
friends, though little or no change seems to have been
made in the composition of the judicial bench.

Proceeding from the Tower, where Richard was detained
in close custody, on a triumphal progress through London,
Henry slept for the first time in the Palace of West-
minster on the night of 12 October, 1399.* On the
following day he was crowned in the Abbey, with all
the ancient ceremonial proper to the occasion, and
exactly one year after he had fled the country in exile.
During the Coronation banquet in Westminster Hall
a fountain in Palace Yard ran continually with red and
white wine ; and Dymoke, the King's champion, who
had acted the same part at Richard's accession, rode into
the Hall and challenged any man to appear who dared
maintain that Henry was not a lawful Sovereign.

The choice of the Commons for their Speaker feU upon
Sir John Cheyne, or Cheney, 'Knight of the Shire for
Gloucester, and on the morrow of the Coronation his
nomination was approved by the King. But at once a
hitch arose. For Cheyne was a renegade cleric, more
than suspected of Lollardy by Archbishop Arimdel, the
new King's principal adviser at this juncture, and the

1 13 October.

' According to Froissart Henry of Lancaster was escorted by a
cavalcade of 6000 horsemen as he rode bareheaded through the
crowded streets. Having arrived at Westminster he bathed himself,
and, on the morrow, confessed, as he had good need to do, hearing
three masses.

THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 63

man who more than any other had been instrumental
in placing him on the throne. Cheyne only filled the
chair for two days; and, on his making a convenient
excuse of infirmity, the Commons elected John Dore-
wood, Knight of the Shire for Essex, in his stead. :

Little or nothing is known of this Speaker or his
family beyond the fact that his father had represented
the same county in the reign of Edward III ; but it is
a singular coincidence that on the two occasions on which
the son was called to the Chair — for he was again Speaker
in the first Parliament of Henry V — he owed his election
to the illness of the presiding officer first chosen by the
Commons. In 1413 he replaced William Stourton,
Knight of the Shire for Dorset, " being sick in his bed "
and unable to execute the duties of the office.

To the despotic incapacity of Richard in his later
years succeeded the energetic rule of a Sovereign
driven by necessity to depend — at least, outwardly —
upon constitutional methods. That this was the oppor-
tunity of the Commons, and one fully recognised by
them, events soon showed. But the peculiar circum-
stances of the time also favoured the consolidation of
the Peerage, inasmuch as the inheritable right of sum-
mons was now for the first time conceded in heu of a
mere summons by custom. If henceforth there could be
no taxation without consent, legislation was in future to
be based upon a mutual recognition of the rights of both
Houses ; and while a remarkable unanimity between
Lords and Commons prevailed at this period, the right
of the latter to vote subsidies and to co-operate in legisla-
tion coincided with the establishment of a permanent
hereditary chamber acting in civil cases as an ultimate

64 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Court of Appeal. Whereas Richard had succeeded in
obtaining the subsidy on wool and a tax on movables
for life, the first Parhament of Henry IV would not
grant a subsidy for more than three years. The Parlia-
ment which assembled at Westminster in January, 1400-1,
proved more complaisant, and the utmost harmony pre-
vailed between the two Houses. At the end of the
session the Commons, addressing the King through the
mouth of their Speaker, Sir Arnold Savage, sought to
draw a parallel, more curious than convincing, between
the achievements of a loyal and united Parliament and
the observance of the Mass.^

Henry IV set an entirely new precedent, and one
which has never been repeated, when, in 1402, he in-
vited the Commons to dine with him at the close of the
session. 2 Sir Henry Redford, Knight of the Shire for
Lincoln, was Speaker when this novel bid for popularity
was made. The Earl of Northumberland, in the absence
of the King's Seneschal, begged the whole of the Lords
spiritual and temporal, as well as the Commons, to
assemble on Sunday, 26 November, the business of Parlia-
ment having come to an end on the previous day, in
order to enjoy the King's hospitality. The place of meet-
ing, though not specified in the Rolls, must almost
certainly have been Westminster Hall, as no other apart-

1 " Au fyn de chescun messe y Covient de dire : ' Ite missa est '
& 'Deo gratias.' " Semblablement les Communes, Cement Us feurent
Venuz al fyn del messe pur dire : " Ite missa est." Et qu'ils, & tout
le Roialme, feurent espalement tenuz de dire eel parol : " Deo gratias."

Rot. Pari., Vol. Ill, p. 466.

2 In this session also occurred an early instance of the thanks of
Parliament being awarded to a general (the Earl of Northumberland)
for his military achievements (Rot. Pari., 16 October, 1402).

THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 65

ment in the Palace could have accommodated so large a
number at a banquet.^

Advocates of a single Chamber system will note with
approval this reunion of the two Houses " en pleine
Parlement," although in 1402 it was contrived for a
purely social purpose. It has been thought that by
somewhat similar means a Government, unsympathetic
to the hereditary principle, but commanding, as in 1833
and again in 1906, an overwhelming majority in the Lower
House, might despite the existing veto of the House of
Lords ensure the passage of its legislative and financial
proposals, were the two Chambers or a committee elected
by both Peers and Commoners to meet as one delibera-
tive body, in cases where a deadlock has arisen. It
may strike the impartial student of constitutional
practice as somewhat surprising that a proposal to
revert to conditions known to have prevailed under
the Plantagenets should be seriously entertained in the
twentieth century, but the fact remains that a return
to such a method of amicably settling disputes between
the two Houses has recently found considerable sup-
port in the country, and that a section of moderate
opinion inclines to the belief that by some such means
a final solution of an admitted difficulty may be within
measurable distance.

In 1404, when Sir Arnold Savage, Knight of the Shire
for Kent, and the strongest man who had filled the Chair
since De la Mare, was again Speaker, the subsidies granted,

' " Le Cont de Northumberland, en absence du Seneschall de
I'ostiel du Roi, pria as toutz les Seigneurs Espirituels & Temporelx,
& as toutz les Communes suis ditz, d'estre le Dymenge ensuant a
mangier ovesq le Roi nfe Seigneur." Unfortunately no description of
this unique gathering seems to have been preserved.
F

66 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

liberal though they were, were voted subject to the novel
condition that the money raised should be received by
Treasurers by whose appointment Parhament could feel
confidence that the suppUes should not be misappro-
priated. Savage, who has been called " the great com-
prehensive symbol of the English people," made, on his
elevation to the Chair, a more elaborate complimentary
address to the King than any of his predecessors, yet in
the first of the two Parliaments which Henry called
in 1404^ he formulated petitions to the effect that
redress of grievances should precede the granting of
supplies.

This uncompromising attitude was due to the fact
that a modified income-tax was sought to be imposed
on aU owners of land and house property, and a con-
temporary historian spoke of the tax as a novel one,
" galUng to the people and highly oppressive." So
long as the incidence of taxation was designed to
fall on commodities, it could be cheerfully borne, but
when it was applied to individuals a new grievance was
created.

After a delay of six weeks the Commons consented to
levy a tax of a shilhng in the pound on land value, but
only on the understanding that it should not be con-
strued into a precedent, and that no official record of it
should be preserved. It reads almost like the twentieth
century to find this subsidy described by one chroni-
cler as taxa nova et exquisita, and by another as
taxa insolita et incolis tricdbilis et valde gravis. Not-
withstanding the unpopularity of land taxation, it

1 It met at Westminster, 14 January, 1404, and remained in
session till the second week in April.

NIK AR\OI.D SA\'A(;k
1400- I, 1403-4
Fj-,->ii! a brass hi S. Chaiucl of Ii,\'>/>!,

■■ Churc.'i^ l\\-ut

THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 67

was again imposed in a later Parliament at the
rate of 6s. 8i. on every £20 of income from land.
A valuation list for the City of London and the suburbs
was prepared by a Commission over which the Lord
Mayor presided. It was found that the gross rental
amounted to ^£4220 divided amongst 11 32 individuals or
institutions, wlule the actual yield was only £70 6s. 8^.

Walter Savage Landor, who believed himself to be a
lineal descendant of Sir Arnold, introduced an ingenious
duologue between the Speaker and the King on the
subject of this tax into his Imaginary Conversations : —

" Henry IV to the Speaker : This morning in another
place thou declaredst that no subsidy should be
granted me until every cause of public grievance
was removed."

To which Savage diplomatically made answer :

" I am now in the house of the greatest man upon
earth. I was then in the house of the greatest
nation."

Henry then went on to say :

" I raised up the House of Commons four years ago,
and placed it in opposition to my barons, with
trust and confidence that I might be less hampered
in my complete conquest of France. . . . Parlia-
ment speaks too plainly and steps too stoutly for
a creature of four years' growth."

Savage :

" God forbid that any King of England should
achieve the conquest of all France ! "

68 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

A little later he advises the King " to keep the hearts
of his subjects. . . ."

" Wars are requisite to diminish the power of your
barons by keeping them long and widely separate
from the main body of retainers."

" In general they^ are the worthless exalted by the
weak, and dangerous from wealth ill acquired and
worse expended."

" The whole people is a good King's household,
quiet and orderly when well treated, and ever in
readiness to defend him against the malice of the
disappointed, the perfidy of the ungrateful, and
the usurpation of the familiar. Act in such guise,
and I will promise you the enjoyment of a blessing
to which the conquest of France in comparison is
as a broken flagstaff — self-approbation in govern-
ment and security in power."

On which the King declared that he wished he could
make the Speaker a peer.^ Savage was a party to
the passing of the famous enactment, " De hseretico
comburendo," which first made rehgious error an
offence against the statute law. It had been a punish-
able offence before, since a renegade clerk was con-
demned by the Church court in 1222, and then handed
over to the secular arm to be burnt. Even Sawtre
was burnt in 1401, before "De hseretico comburendo"
was passed.

This was the statute which Gardiner and Bonner
found so convenient during the Marian persecution of
150 years later. In his second Speakership Savage

1 The Barons.

' Walter Savage Landor's Imaginary Conversations, 1826, Vol. I,
p. 41.

THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 69

demanded from the King the dismissal of several officers
of the household and many of the Queen's retinue.^

Henry's sixth Parliament, summoned to meet at
Coventry, 6 October, 1404, was presided over by Sir
Wilham Esturmy, of Wolf Hall, near Maiden Bradley,
Wilts, now the property of the Duke of Somerset.
Esturmy's family intermarried with that of St. Maur, and
the Dukes of Somerset quarter his coat of arms to this
day. The main work of the Coventry Parliament was
the attempted spoliation of the Church, and it fell to
Esturmy's lot to carry a proposal to the King that the
clergy should contribute largely to the expenses of the
realm. As a compromise they granted the King a tenth
and a half of their revenues.

The next Speaker on the roll. Sir John Tiptoft, whose
tenure of the Chair was marked by a perceptible increase
in the power of the Commons, and by repressive measures
against the Lollards, was the first to enter what Pulteney,
in the eighteenth century, called " that hospital for
invalids," the House of Peers. " My Lord Bath," said
Walpole, on meeting his old opponent in the Upper
House, "you and I have now become two of the
most insignificant fellows in England ! " Summoned
as Baron Tiptoft in 1426, his son was created Earl
of Worcester in 1449 ; but the precedent of conferring
a peerage upon the Speaker was not renewed for many
years. Tiptoft spoke more boldly to the King and to
the Peers than any of his predecessors in the Chair
of the Commons. He even told the King that, though

^ Savage was also a considerable landowner in Cheshire, where he
owned Frodsham Castle, and his name is perpetuated in one of the
minor titles of the Marquesses of Cholmondeley.

70 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

his title to the crown was less worthy of respect, his
household expenses were in excess of any previous
sovereign.

The Speaker's eldest son, another John Tiptoft, has
been confused by Hakewil with his father. The Earl of
Worcester, who earned the lasting hatred of his country-
men for the ruthless severity with which he repressed
the opponents of Edward IV, deserves separate mention at
our hands. A willing instrument of the usurper's scheme
of revenge, the younger Tiptoft was destined to be far
more powerful under the White Rose than ever his
father had been under the Red. On the outbreak
of the Civil Wars he had betaken himself to the
Holy Land, only returning to England after the
battle of Towton had secured the crown for his patron.
The flower of the English nobility had poured out
their blood at Towton to an extent altogether unpre-
cedented ; but, when the semblance of peace had been
restored to a distracted country, Worcester found con-
genial work awaiting him.

Proceeding on the Machiavellian principle of extirpating
the King's foes as the only effective means of rendering
them harmless, he tried and condemned in his Con-
stable's Court within the Palace of Westminster so many
of the Lancastrian party as gained him the odious sobri-
quet of the "Butcher of England."^ When the head-
man's axe had been blunted by constant use during his
reign of terror, he ordered some of Warwick's followers
who fell into his power at Southampton in March, 1470,

1 In the I Henry IV (1399) the Constable of England had apart-
ments assigned to him in the " Inner Palace " of Westminster {Sot.
Pari., Ill, p. 452).

jiiHN 'ril'TDK'l', KARL OF WORCKSTER
From a moniinicnial t^f'Sy ^^ E,ly Cathedral

THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 71

to be impaled, contrary to any known law of England.
But the day of retribution was near. In October of the
same year Edward was dispossessed and Henry tempo-
rarily restored. Thenceforth there could be little hope
or chance of life for the Jeffreys of the fifteenth century.
Arraigned in the White Hall of the Palace before the
Earl of Oxford, who had been appointed Constable for
the purpose, the Speaker's son, who in that same court
had sent his Judge's father and brother to the block,
was now condemned to die a traitor's death on Tower
Hill.

The last Speaker of the reign was the bearer of a famous
name. Had Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of English
poetry, lived only a few more years than he did, he
would have seen his son chosen Speaker of the House of
Commons, in which he had himself served as Knight
of the Shire for Kent. Thomas Chaucer, Geoffrey's
son, was a Westminster man in the fullest sense
of the word, for his father lived in Old Palace Yard
in a house demolished to make room for Henry VII's
Chapel. A man of great wealth,^ which his father
certainly was not, he owned considerable landed pro-
perty at Ewelme, in Oxfordshire, where he was buried
in 1434 in a tomb of great magnificence described by
Leland in his Itinerary.

His only daughter and heiress, Alice, married, as her
third husband, William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, a
politician as ambitious as he was incompetent, who,
after being virtually Prime Minister of England, was

1 His wealth was derived in part from the office of Chief Butler to
the King, which he held for many years. His predecessor, Tiptoft,
enjoyed the same lucrative post.

72 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

impeached, and subsequently murdered, in 1450. The
fact that the Duchess of Suffolk is described on her
tombstone as " Serenissima Principessa" has led to a
belief that Thomas Chaucer was an illegitimate son of
John of Gaunt, and not Geoffrey's son, but, in the
opinion of many competent authorities, the inscription
on the Duchess' tomb is a forgery of later date.

Thomas Chaucer was Speaker on no less than five
separate occasions,^ in 1407, 1409-10, 1411, 14141 and in
the next reign, in 142 1. During his first tenure of
the Chair the Commons gained the inalienable right of
initiating money grants, though not without a struggle.
In the ParUament held at Gloucester ^ they were re-
quired to send twelve of their number to report on the
questions propounded to them for a huge increase of
taxation, and to give in their answer by deputation.

Protesting as they did against this procedure as being
an infringement of their privileges, the Declaration of
Gloucester, entered on the Rolls, laid down once and for
all that money grants, proceeding as they do from the
free will of Parliament, must not be hampered by the
personal intervention of the Crown in Council, whUst the
Commons claimed a precedence in finance in so far as the
Lords were required to assent to the money grants of the
representatives of the people, instead of the process being
reversed. But this was not tantamount to saying that
it was beyond the power of the Lords to refuse their assent
or to revise the methods by which the money was to be
raised.

The King, who was nothing if not a diplomatist, knew

• Manning, in his Lives of the Speakers, 185 1, p. 50, says, in
error, that he was only chosen four times. ^ October, 1407.

<;. FLshey. dell. Day &■ Son, lUho.

THOIIAS CHAUCER

1407, 1409-10, 141 I, 1414^ I42I

From a print of the Memorial Brass in

Eweline Church, Ox/ordshij-e

THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 73

exactly when to give way, and in 1407 he succeeded in
pleasing both parties to the dispute : the Lords by his
permission to deliberate, even in his absence, on the
state of the realm and the appropriate remedies ; the
Commons by conceding the principle that no report of a
money grant should henceforth be made to the Crown
until both Houses were agreed on its terms, such report
then to be delivered only by the mouth of their Speaker. ^

In this connection it should be borne in mind that all
Bills granting suppHes to the Crown are, after third
reading in the Lords, returned to the custody of the
Commons (unlike other Bills, which are retained by the
Lords pending the Royal Assent), and are taken up by
the Speaker when the Commons are summoned to the
Lords to hear the Royal Assent given. If, on such
an occasion, the King should be present in person,
the Speaker addresses the Sovereign on the principal
measures awaiting his assent, not forgetting to mention
the supplies which have been granted by the Lower
branch of the legislature.

Having obtained all the money he wanted, the King did
not caU Parliament together again until January, 1409-10.
By this time Archbishop Arundel, the greatest enemy
the Lollards ever had, had retired from the Chancellor-
ship, and the reformers must have secured a majority
in the new House, for the first act of the Commons was

* The original words of this famous Declaration are worth quoting :
" Purveux toutes foitz qe les Seigneurs de lour part, ne les Communes
de la leur, ne facent ascun report a fire dit S' le Roy d'ascunt grant p'
les Communes grantez, & p' les Seigneurs assentuz, ne de les Com-
munications du dit Graunt, aviunt ce qe mesme les Seigneurs &
Communes soient d'un assent & d'un accord en celle paxtie & adouges
en manore & forme com" il est accustomez, c'est assever p' bouche de
Purparlour de la dite Commune par le temps estant.''

74 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

to reverse their former attitude of hostility towards the
Anti-Clerical movement. They now recommended to
the King the wholesale confiscation of Church lands, but
this revolutionary proposal was not destined to receive
the Royal Assent. Though the Houses continued in
session until May, no great constitutional change marked
their labours.^

Shortly before his death, the last subsidy voted to him
having nearly expired, Henry called another Parliament ;
but in consequence of his serious illness no formal
opening took place, and therefore no choice of a Speaker.
On 20 March, 1413, the King died in the Jerusalem
Chamber at Westminster, whither he had been carried
by the monks after he had fallen down in a swoon before
the shrine of the Confessor.

The short reign of Henry V, the greatest soldier of his
age, was also the shortest since the Norman Conquest.
Yet in nine years of, for the most part, glorious strife.
Parliamentary institutions saw considerable development.
This period has usually been associated with military
achievement rather than with Constitutional progress.
Yet, in 1414, when a Hungerford was again called to
the Chair ^ and the Lower House met in the " Fermerie "
at Leicester, the King granted to his Commons a boon
which they had long desired. This was to the effect that
their petitions, which now, for the first time, were be-

1 Or those of the succeeding Parliament of 141 1, in which Chaucer
was Speaker for the third time.

* Sir Walter (son of the Speaker of 1 377), created Lord Hungerford
in 1425-26 and buried in Salisbury Cathedral in 1449, where his
mutilated brass is still to be seen with its stone slab powdered with
sickles, the favourite device of this family before crests came into
general use.

^c/nicMclu: dell. J, Uasirt. Snr.'fl.

SIR WALTER HUNGERFORIJ, AFTERWARDS LORII HUNGERFORD

I4I4

I-or,ncrly in the North side 0/ the nave of Snlishury Cathedral

Reproduced from Gou^h's ^^ Sepulchral Monuments"

THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 75

ginning to be replaced by bills/ should in future be
engrossed as statutes, without garbling or alteration of
any kind by way of addition or diminution, after passing
from their control. And whilst the King maintained
unimpaired the prerogative of refusing the Commons
petitions outright, he could henceforward only accept
them in the shape in which they were presented by
the Speaker for the royal approval. ^

Sir Walter Hungerford, apart from his Parliamentary
career, fought bravely against the French, and, as if
something of the military ardour of the King had ani-
mated his faithful Commons, the bold spectacle is next
presented of a Speaker^ buckling on his sword and
armour, accompanying his Sovereign to the war, and
fighting by his side at Agincourt. In domestic politics
Henry's chief aim was to reassert the authority of the
Church, and in his determination to crush the Lollards
he was assisted once more by Archbishop Arundel, to
whom repression of the reformers was a congenial task.
Oldcastle, the most conspicuous of the anti-clerical party,
was excommunicated, and after evading capture for four
years, was dragged before ParUament as an outlaw, and
summarily drawn, hanged, and burned at the New
GaUows beyond the Temple Gate. Roger Flower of
Oakham, Knight of the Shire for Rutland, was Speaker
when the Commons petitioned for his execution.

* Langland, indeed, in "Piers Plowman," written in 1362, makes
use of the word "bill," though scarcely in the strict Parliamentary
sense.

' Rot. Pari., Vol. IV, p. 22, where the Commons are described in an
interesting passage as "Assentirs as well as Peticioners," as being
desirous of " Axkjoige remedie of any mischief by the mouthe of their
Speaker," and as having ever been a " membre of your Parlement."

' Once again Thomas Chaucer.

76 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Sir Walter Beauchamp, who sat for Wiltshire, had been
Flower's predecessor. Little is known of him beyond the
fact of his being the first lawyer to be chosen by the Com-
mons themselves for this high office. But having once
chosen a lawyer for their President, the Commons soon re-
newed their preference for the long robe. In Henry V's
ninth Parliament,^ Roger Hunt of Chalverston, Beds,
Knight of the Shire for the County, an eminent lawyer,
and in 1438 Baron of the Exchequer, was called to the
Chair. To him succeeded Thomas Chaucer, for the fifth
time, in 1421.

One further Parliament was called by Henry V before
his early death. It was summoned solely to provide the
money necessary for the prosecution of the war with
France, and, in the King's absence, the Duke of Glou-
cester, as regent, issued the summons for it to meet at
Westminster.^ The length of the session has not been
definitely ascertained, but it is known that the new
Speaker was Richard Baynard, a member of an old
East Anglian family who had intermarried with the
Dorewoods.*

The last of the Lancastrian kings was also the weakest.
Henry VI, an amiable imbecile with a saving seiise of piety,
as testified by the foundation of his " holy shade " at Eton,
was completely overshadowed by the superior force of cha-
racter of his wife.* Whenhe came to be of legal agein 1442,^

* December, 1420.
' December, 1421.

' Baynard represented Essex from 1405-6 until 1433. For a
pedigree of his family see Morant's Essex, Vol. II, pp. 176, 404.

* Margaret of Anjou.

^ Dmring his minority the Dukes of Bedford and Gloucester carried
on the government.

RO(.;iCR HUNT
1420

THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 77

it was evident to thoughtful men that all the advantages
gained by his illustrious father were in danger of being
lost. During the early years of the King's minority, the
Chair of the Commons was filled by Sir John Russell, a
member of a family which has played a prominent part
in the pohtical history of this country, especially since
the acquisition of the Woburn property at the dissolution
of the monasteries. The Russells had no connection
with the county of Bedford in the fifteenth century, and
the Speaker of 1423 and 1432 sat for Herefordshire.
Attempts have been made to derive the descent of the
first Earl of Bedford ^ from the Speaker of Henry VI,
but it seems probable that the pedigrees contained in the
earlier editions of Sir Bernard Burke's Peerage are fabulous.
The rise of the younger branch of the Russell family was
really due to! the successful commercial operations of a
fishmonger at Poole, in the county of Dorset. One of
the junior branch of this ancient race became Knight of
the Shire in 1472, but the fortunes of the family were
accidentally consolidated when Joanna of Castille landed
at Weymouth in 1506, and was entertained at Wolfeton,
near Dorchester, by Sir Thomas Trenchard, until the
Earl of Arundel, who had been sent by Henry VH to
escort her to Windsor, arrived. Sir Thomas summoned
his kinsman, Mr. Russell, to help him to entertain his
royal visitor, because he was the only gentleman of his
acquaintance in the county who could speak Spanish.
This Mr. Russell, having been introduced to Henry VII,
who quickly discerned his merits and promise of future
usefulness, became the first Earl of Bedford, and was the
direct ancestor of the present Duke.

' So created in 1550.

78 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

The Dictionary of National Biography states that Sir
John Russell was again chosen Speaker in 1450, but this
is not accurate, as Sir William OldhaU was then called
to the Chair. During Sir John's second term of office
in 1432, an important concession was obtained by
the Commons. The King, we read, " released the
subsidy granted in the last Parliament on lands and
tenements, so as it should never be mentioned again."
The imposition of a land tax on the subject was then
not only regarded by all parties as a thing too monstrous
and unjust ever to be reimposed, but the work of one
Parliament was deUberately reversed by its successor.

The Parliament which met in 1425 was presided over
by Sir Thomas Walton, who had sat in the House of
Commons for nearly thirty years, sometimes for Hunting-
donshire and sometimes for Bedfordshire.^ The greater
part of the session was taken up with what seems at
first sight to have been an irregular matter to occupy
the attention of the Lower House — the settlement of a
quarrel between John Mowbray, Earl Marshal of England,
and Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, on a ques-
tion of their relative precedence in the House of Lords. ^
Roger Hunt, whom we have already noticed as Speaker,
now appeared as counsel for Mowbray, and that forensic
warrior. Sir Walter Beauchamp, another former Speaker,
represented his kinsman. The fact of their being so
engaged as counsel may have been the reason for the
contest being fought in the Commons. Walton was him-
self a lawyer, but the legal questions involved were
rendered nugatory by the forfeited Dukedom of Norfolk

^ Sir Thomas Walton, or Wauton as the name is sometimes spelt,
was connected by marriage with the Tiptoft family, which may in
part account for his advancement to the Chair.

2 See Rot. Pari., Vol. IV, pp. 267-8.

Albert ti'ny, ,i,-U.

EFFIGY OF SIR RICHARD ^'ERNON

1425-6

//( the Church ,■/ Tciii,', Shtofshire

THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 79

being restored to the Earl Marshal, whereupon Warwick's
pretensions fell to the ground.

Passing over one or two Speakers, whose names and
periods of office will be found in the catalogue at the end
of this volume, the Parliament of 1429-30, presided over
by William Alington, Knight of the Shire for Cambridge,
witnessed a great change in the county electorate by which
the right to vote at the election of Knights of the Shire
formerly possessed by the miscellaneous body that con-
stituted the county-court (there is nothing in the writs
of the thirteenth century to suggest that the franchise
was limited to " free " men to the exclusion of villeins),
was Umited to the possessors of a freehold of forty
shillings annual value, ^ a qualification which continued
to be the basis of the English county franchise for the
next four centuries.

Shortly before the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses
the Chair was filled by William Tresham, who sat for his
native county of Northants during a long series of years.
He was Speaker on four separate occasions — ^in 1439,
1441-42, 1446-47, and 1449.^ Tresham, as a prominent
Yorkist, took an active part in the impeachment of
William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk. The House
was in session when, on the 17th of March, 1449,
Suffolk was hauled before the King and sentenced
to five years' exile. Accused of having betrayed England
to the French, he was done to death in 1450 ; and the
Speaker, who by this time had become an object of sus-
picion to the Lancastrian party, was also murdered, at

» VIII Henry VI, c. 7.

" The Dictionary of National Biography says that Tresham was
again Speaker in 1448-49, but this was not the case, as the Chair was
filled by Sir John Say in that Parliament.

8o SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Thorpland, in his native county, whither he had gone
to meet the Duke of York. ^ The son of William Tresham,
Sir Thomas Tresham, who was brought up in Henry
VI's household, was also Speaker in the packed Lan-
castrian ParHament of 1459. Like his father, he met
with a violent death. He fought on the side of the
Lancastrians at St. Albans, was proclaimed a traitor
after Edward IV's return, and was beheaded at Tewkes-
bury, having been, in all, three times attainted.

Sir John Say, Knight of the Shire for Herts, also filled
the Chair in turbulent times. During Jack Cade's in-
surrection^ the rioters threatened his life, and he was
indicted for treason at the Guildhall. Jack Cade, the
first Radical in the history of English politics,' de-
clared that the freedom of election for Knights of the
Shire had been wrested from the people by the great
men of the land, who directed their tenants to
choose men of whom they tacitly disapproved. Cade
had probably seen and read Langland's " Richard
the Redeless," a poem written as a remonstrance to
Richard II, for there is a passage in it positively afi&rming
that the Knights of the Shire were the nominees of the
Court. Though Sir John Say began political life as a
Lancastrian, he threw in his lot later with the Yorkists.

' Lord Grey de Ruthyn, a member of Queen Margaret's faction,
is said to have been responsible for his death (see Paston Letters,
S May, 1450, No. 93, Vol. I, p. 124). Leland, in his Itinerary, gives a
circumstantial account of the murder.

!» 1450.

' This proud title should, perhaps, be conferred on John Ball, who
was hanged in 1381. Adopting as his text —

" When Adam delved and Eve span,
Who was then the gentleman ? "
he incited the villeins to murder all the lords and all the lawyers in
the land.

SIR ;OH\ SAY
1448-9, 1467
From a fhass in /hi\v/':'/ir>ii- ChKrcli. /icyis.
Rcf't-oihiccd /mil Waller's " -\h'iiiiiiuiital Bnisscs ." JS04

THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 8i

Dying in 1478, he was buried in Broxbourne Church,
Herts, where his memorial brass, one of the few remain-
ing in England showing traces of colour, is still to be seen.
The William Say who was Speaker pro tern, during
LenthaU's absence from the Chair in 1659 was probably
a collateral descendant.

The later Parliaments of Henry's ill-starred reign, ^
presided over respectively by Sir William Oldhall,
Thomas Thorpe and his successor Sir Thomas Charlton,
Sir John Wenlock, Sir Thomas Tresham, and John Green,
were so overshadowed, first by Jack Cade's rebeUion, and
then by the Wars of the Roses, that little or no legislation
was attempted, and the course of constitutional progress
was arrested. As the fortunes of the faction fight between
the Red Rose and the White inclined to either party, the
time of the House was mainly occupied in the prosecution
and attainder of the more prominent political leaders who
chanced, for the moment, to be on the losing side.

It would be outside the scope of the present work to
enter at any length into the causes which led to the
outbreak of hostihties, but it should be borne in mind
that the evUs of livery and maintenance were once
more rife, and when, after forty years of strife,
the French wars ceased to afford occupation to the
English soldiery, bands of military retainers habituated
to the practice of arms were at the absolute disposal
of the great landowning class, only awaiting the
signal of their leaders to re-engage in acts of violence.
Whilst the greater nobility for the most part ranged
themselves on the Lancastrian side, a constitutional
opposition, with the Duke of York at its head, com-
1 1450, 1453, 1455, 1459. and 1460.

82 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

manded the sympathies of the City of London and the
bulk of the provincial municipahties.

Sir William Oldhall, a Hertfordshire magnate, had for
his country home a castellated mansion, in part incor-
porated in Hunsdon House, the property in after years
of the Calvert family ; and he was chosen Knight of the
Shire for Herts on his first entry into Parhament in 1450.
He had been Chamberlain to the Duke of York, and it
was therefore only to be expected that he would take a
strong line against the feeble occupant of the throne.
Even more remarkable than Speaker Tiptoft's cele-
brated demand of the Sovereign was that which
Oldhall now made on behalf of the Commons. He
claimed the immediate dismissal of no less than
twenty-eight officers of the Court, including a duke and
duchess, a bishop, three barons, four knights, and one
abbot. All were banished for a year, " to see," as the
King said, "if in the meantime any man could truly
lay anything to their charge." Being himself implicated
in some way in Cade's rebellion, though the evidence
against him was not very conclusive, the Speaker
was attainted by the next Parliament. He took sanc-
tuary in St. Martin's^le-Grand, for Westminster would
have been too dangerous an asylum for a man of his
position, and he only emerged from hiding after the
first battle of St. Albans had again placed his party
in power. Fortune inclining once more, after Ludlow,
to the Red Rose, his name was again included in a Bill of
Attainder, and though, on the accession of Edward IV,
his sentence was promptly reversed, Oldhall's public career
was at an end, nor did he seek to re-enter Parliament.

Dame Agnes Paston was anxious to bring about a

THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 83

match between the ex-Speaker and her husband's sister
Elizabeth, " if ye can think that his land standeth clear."
This was in 1455, but nothing came of the project. A
few years later the young .lady wedded Robert Poynings,
who was sword-bearer to Jack Cade. He was kiUed in
the second battle of St. Albans, and his widow re-
married Sir George Browne, of Betchworth, Surrey.

The adherents of the Red Rose once more predominated
in the ParUament of 1453, and the choice of the Commons
for their Speaker fell upon Thomas Thorpe, the repre-
sentative of the county of Essex, who had been
brought up from his childhood in the royal service.
But in August Henry VI became insane, and during
his incapacity the Yorkists singled out the Speaker for
attack. He became a marked man when it transpired
that he had taken possession of some arms belonging to
the Duke of York, and, notwithstanding the flagrant
breach of privilege which his arrest involved, Thorpe was
committed to the Fleet prison and fined £1000 before he
was released.^

Dismissed from his offices of Remembrancer and Baron
of the Exchequer by the " Butcher of England," Thorpe
recovered his position at the next revolution of fortune's
wheel, so that he was enabled to draw up Yorkist at-
tainders in the Parliament which met at Coventry in
November, 1459. But when the Yorkists came to town
in 1460 he took refuge in the Tower. He was soon
taken prisoner again, and, after attempting to escape in
the disguise of a monk, he was recognised and beheaded
by the mob at Haringay on 17 February, 1460-61.

* Sir Thomas Charlton was chosen Speaker in his stead on the
i6th of February, 1453-54-

84 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Nor was Sir John Wenlock, the Speaker of the 1455
ParUament, more fortunate in his end. A Knight of the
Shire for Beds and a dependent of Warwick the " King
Maker," he was at first a Lancastrian, only to change
sides in 1455. After being wounded at the first battle
of St. Albans, he was killed at Tewkesbury, fighting once
again on the Lancastrian side. The manner of his death
was sufficiently shocking even in this age of violence, for
he was struck down and his skull cleft in two with a
battle-axe by the Duke of Somerset for not coming up
in time, whereby the fortunes of the day were alleged to
have been lost. His murderer was beheaded on the
same day.

Wenlock's life had been one of activity in the field
throughout the whole period of the Civil Wars, nor
does history record a more martial career than his in the
annals of the Chair. After taking part, as has been seen,
in the battle of St. Albans, he captured Sandwich in
1460, and entered London with Edward IV, after fighting
for him at Towton. He held Calais for the usurper, but
rejoined his first love at Tewkesbury, the last engage-
ment of his chequered military career.

A Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, he was
raised to the Peerage as Baron Wenlock after the corona-
tion of Edward IV. He owned property at Sommaries,
at Luton, and at Houghton Conquest, aH in the county
of Bedford ; and he built the Wenlock mortuary chapel
in Luton Church, though his bones were not destined to
lie in it. His second wife, Agnes Danvers, remarried
Sir John Say, the Speaker of 1449, 1463, and 1467, and
a neighbour of Wenlock in the adjoining county of
Herts.

THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER 85

The last of the Speakers of Henry VI was to witness
even more stirring scenes at Westminster than any of his
immediate predecessors. John Green, whose homely
name is not to be found in the Dictionary of National
Biography, was voted to the Chair in 1460, and though
this Parliament only sat for about ten days, it found
time to repeal all the Acts passed at Coventry in the pre-
vious year and to annul the attainders of the Yorkist
Lords.

After the battle of Wakefield the Wars of the Roses,
which began by an attempt to vindicate constitutional
liberty, degenerated into a savage blood feud between
two desperate and reckless factions, in which no quarter
was either given or expected. John Green, though not
himself known to fame, was probably an eye-witness,
in the momentous month of October, 1460, of a startling
scene enacted in the Palace of Westminster, when
Richard, Duke of York, the victor at St. Albans, burst
into the great haU at the head of five hundred armed
men, as if about to seize the vacant throne, declaring
that he " challenged and claimed the crown of England,"
as heir of Richard II. He proposed to an astonished
audience, much after the manner of Henry IV in 1399,
that his coronation should take place in the Abbey on
All-hallows Day following.^ But, though the final
triumph of the White Rose was near at hand and the old
hall of Rufus and of Richard was once more to witness
the death knell of a dynasty, a compromise was arrived

1 Parliament had met on 7 October, and the Duke of York's
invasion of the Palace was three days later. The Archbishop of
Canterbm'y, Thomas Bom-chier, asked the intruder if he desired to
see the King, to which York made answer that he knew of no one in
the kingdom who ought not rather to wait on him.

86 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

at, whereby Henry was to retain the crown for Ufe and
Duke Richard was to be recognised as his heir. ^

Soon news reached London that the valiant Queen
Margaret had succeeded in collecting a fresh army in the
north, and Richard, hastening from the Council Chamber
to the camp, marched to meet her at Wakefield, only to
lose his life and to defer the imminent success of his cause,
in a battle unprecedented for the savagery with which it
was contested. Margaret caused York's head to be cut off
after death, and, adorned in cruel mockery with a paper
crown, it was stuck on one of the gates of the city from
which his title was derived.^

After Wakefield, the leadership of the Yorkists fell into
the hands of the " King Maker," the greatest aristocrat in
England since John of Gaunt. But not until he too had
fallen at Barnet, and the triumph of the White Rose was
assured at Tewkesbury, was young Edward ^ able to
plant himself firmly on the throne, to restore something
like peace to an exhausted and distracted England, and
o open a new constitutional era for its people.

1 During the negotiations the King retreated to his wife's apaxt-
ments, and York remained in the Palace till he had gained his point.
He then withdrew to Baynard's Castle, his own mansion in the city.
' See Shakespeare, third part of King Henry VI :

" So York may overlook the town of York "

(Act II, scene 4, line 180).
' Like Henry IV, fresh from his landing at Ravenspur.

CHAPTER IV

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS UNDER THE HOUSE OF YORK,

A PERIOD, FOR THE MOST PART, OF SUBSERVIENCY

TO THE CROWN

(1461-I485)

Four Speakers

James Strangeways I John Wood

William Alington I William Catesby

ON the cessation of the Wars of the Roses the
exhaustion of the English nobUity coincided
with an increased desire amongst the upper
middle class to obtain a seat in the House
of Commons. A number of new boroughs sprang into
existence, and men of good birth were selected to re-
present them at Westminster.

It is true that early in the history of the Mother of
Parliaments some of the more powerful territorial fami-
lies had monopolised the borough representation in the
neighbourhood of the castles and mansions in which
dwelt the Knights of the Shire. Thus in East AngUa the
Fastolfs and the Pastons had swooped down upon the
smaller boroughs as early as the beginning of the four-
teenth century, when a member of the first-named family
sat for Great Yarmouth, ^ and one of the latter for
Grimsby. ^

1 In 1 300-1. ' In 1325.

88 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

In the north country a Lowther sat for Appleby in
1318, and a Pickering for Carlisle in 1334 ; but these were
exceptions to the general rule, whereby the burgesses,
for the most part, were men of mean estate and humble
calling. In 1382-83 the City of London elected Sir
Nicholas Brembre, an ex-Lord Mayor, the head of the
grocers, and a staunch supporter of the King. The
victualling trades, the grocers and fishmongers, as a rule
supported the Court ; whereas the clothing trades, the
drapers and the mercers, mostly ranged themselves in
opposition. Brembre came to an untimely end, being
murdered in 1388.

Between the date of his election and the year 1467
exactly fifty burgesses are described in the official returns
as being either " miles," " armiger," or " gentleman," and
the appearance of one or other of these magic words after
their names probably indicates the gradual relinquish-
ment of an obligation on the part of the constituencies to
pay wages to their representatives. While the pay of
the burgesses was only two shillings a day, the Knights of
the Shire were remunerated at double rates. The change
in the status of the borough member, though gradual,
was progressive, for whereas in the first Parhament of
Henry VI not one burgess is described as " armiger,"
and only one in his last,^ no less than six Sussex borough
representatives are described in 1472 as " armiger."
One hundred years later, as the old class distinctions
were swept away, the esquires predominated over the
tradesmen and merchants.

In 1472 Sir John Paston was anxious to be chosen a
Knight of the Shire for Norfolk, which he had already

' 1460.

THE HOUSE OF YORK 89

represented in 1467 ; but the Dukes of Suffolk and Nor-
folk having come to an agreement. Sir Robert Wingfield
and Sir Richard Howard were returned. Paston's
brother advised Sir John to try for the borough of Maldon,
if he could arrange matters with the Sheriff, but in the
end he was returned for Great Yarmouth in 1477-78.
When in London he lodged at the " George," by Paul's
Wharf, and, no doubt, proceeded to Westminster by
water in the performance of his Parhamentary duties. ^

The first Parliament of Edward IV chose for its Speaker
a Yorkshire knight, Sir James Strangeways, of Whorlton.*
A new precedent was introduced on his presentation.
Not ofily did he make the customary " excuse " and a
demand for the continuance of the privileges of the
House, but he offered a formal address to the Crown,
reviewing the political situation and the events of the
recent Civil War.

" Presentatio Prelocutoris

" Item, die Veneris tunc prox sequent, videlicet Tertio
die Parliamenti, prefati Coes coram Domino Rege in
Parliamento praedicto comparentes, presentaverunt Do-
mino Regi quendam Jacobum Strangways militem, pro
coi Prelocutore suo, de quo idem Dominus Rex se bene
contentavit. Qui quiden Jacobus, post excusationem
suam coram Domino Rege factam, pro eo qd ipsa sua
excusatio ex parto Dicti Domini Regis admitti non
potuit, eidem Domino Rege humillime supplicavit, qua-
tinus omnia & singula per ipsum in Parliamento praedicto,
nomine dicte Communitatis proferend' & declarand', sub
tali posset Protestatione proferre & declarare, qd si ipse
aliqua sibi per prefatos Socios suos injuncta, aliter quam
ipsi concordati fuerint, aut in addendo vel omittendo

1 See Paston Letters, 21 September, 1472. " 5 November, 1461.

90 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

declaraverit, ea sic declarata per predictos Socios suos
corrigere posset & emendare ; et qd Protestatio sua
hujusmodi in Rotulo Parliamenti pr^dicti inactitaretur.
Cui per prefatum Dominum cancellarium de mandate
Domini Regis extitit responsum, qd idem Jacobus tali
Protestatione frueretur & gauderet, quali alii Prelocu-
tores hujusmodi antea hac tempora uti & gaudere con-
sueverunt."^

The precedent set by Speaker Strangeways in 1461 is
the origin of the existing custom which enables young
members of the House, exchanging for this occasion only
the dull conventionality of morning dress for uniformed
splendour, to move and second the Address to the
Throne. Strangeways received a grant from Henry VH
in 1485, from which it appears that he lost no time in
espousing the Tudor cause. He left a family of no less than
seventeen children, and at his death, in 1516, he was
buried in St. Mary Overy's, in Southwark, the cathedral
of South London, in a tomb not now to be identified.

At the close of the session the young King thanked
the Commons for their support, and in so doing assured
them of his determination to protect them to the utmost
of his power. 2 The greater part of the session, following
closely the precedent of 1459, had been devoted to at-
tainting the followers of Henry VI, ahve or dead, and
providing for the confiscation of their lands and posses-
sions ; the Act of Attainder not being drawn up by the
House of Commons, but presented to it ready-made. It
was a far more sweeping proscription than the Coventry

1 Rot. Pari., Vol. V, p. 462.

^ Dr. S. R. Gardiner regarded this fresh departure as the beginning
of a new constitutional era in which the wishes of the middle classes,
both in town and country, were to prevail over those of the nobility,
simultaneously with the strengthening of the kingship.

THE HOUSE OF YORK 91

one, for it implicated no less than 133 persons, of whom
14 were peers of the realm, 7 dead and 7 living, and 100
knights, squires, and men of lesser degree.

The young King, being at this time completely under
the influence of his cousin, reigned only in name while
Warwick ruled. The humiliation of Henry VI was com-
plete, and of all his former strongholds he only retained
one castle, that at Harlech. When Henry again became
temporarily dominant in 1470, a Parliament, the fifth of
Edward's reign, was summoned to meet at Westminster
in the month of November ; but if any records of it
were kept, it is believed that they were destroyed by
Edward's orders after Henry's deposition and subsequent
murder. WiUiam Alington, son of the Speaker of the
1429 Parliament, and, like his father. Knight of the
Shire for Cambridge, became Speaker in October, 1472,
and held the office until March, 1474-75, the longest
Parliament which England had hitherto known.

In the intervals between the summoning of his various
Parliaments the King lived on confiscations and gifts
extorted from opponents whose lives he had spared,
and it has been estimated that nearly one-fifth of the
kingdom came into his hands by forfeiture. The vast
estates of Warwick, the King Maker, and of the Arch-
bishop of York, to give but two instances out of many,
should have furnished ample wealth for a ruler less
extravagant and pleasure-loving than Edward proved
himself to be. But Jane Shore^ and others of her pro-

1 According to Sir Thomas More, Jane Shore was a woman of a
kindly disposition, possessed of a never failing wit and good humour,
and as her influence was uniformly exerted in the direction of clemency
and gentleness, she was generally regarded with kindly feelings by the
King's subjects.

92 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

fession exerted the same evil influence over him as had
Alice Ferrers over Edward III, and Fair Rosamund over
Henry II in an even earlier age, and it soon became
necessary to devise fresh methods of taxation.

The Commons were invited to consider favourably a
project for an inquisitorial assessment of private incomes.
This, not unnaturally, proved to be highly unpopular,
and a growing spirit of independence in the Lower House
is revealed in its refusal to grant money for the invasion
of France unless it received assurances that the army
would start at a given date. ^ Parliament was summoned
to meet again in January, 1477-78, and the session is
believed to have lasted about five weeks, during which
time the sole business under consideration was the trial
of the Duke of Clarence. No grants were asked for, no
legislation was attempted, and in the course of the month
of February it was announced that Clarence was dead,
having perished in the Tower no man knew how. After
this date no Parliament was called until 1483, the King
having obtained an assured income for life from earlier
Parliamentary grants, supplemented by the " benevo-
lences" which became so odious to the nation at large.

The eighth and last Parliament of the reign was called
together in January, 1482-83, and the cause of summons
stated that it was convened to hear Edward's complaints
against the French King. The new Speaker was John

1 "The new method of raising funds by income tax necessitated an
assessment of lands at their real value. It had been found, by experi-
ence, that to allow owners to return their own valuations, resulted in a
sum considerably below what was right. The King's financial agents
accordingly began an assessment. The King took great interest in the
process, and wrote that the progress of collection was 'one of the
things earthly that we most desire to know.' " — Edward the Fourth, by
Laurence Stratford, 1910, p. 217.

THE HOUSE OF YORK 93

Wood, Knight of the Shire for Sussex, and one of the
least distinguished in the long catalogue. It was in
the main a humdrum session. The King graciously
consented to accept the comparatively modest sum of
£11,000 for the aimual expenses of his household,
and, in return for their liberality, the Commons were
permitted to pass Acts dealing with the trade of the
country, with the grievances of " livery and maintenance "
which had long vexed the minds of the people, and to
spend their energies on unambitious measures designed
for the preservation of domestic peace. But of real
redress of grievances there was none, owing, perhaps, to
the fact that throughout his reign Edward acted as the
head of a triumphant political party, rather than as the
ruler of a contented and united nation.

On 9 April, 1483, he died in the Palace of Westminster,
prematurely worn out by a life of debauchery. For a
week his remains lay in St. Stephen's Chapel befote
being removed to Windsor for interment. Naked to the
waist, in order that the civic authorities might be assured
of his death, the lying-in-state of Edward IV at West-
minster presents a striking contrast to the dignified
ceremonial observed on the occasion of the recent death
of King Edward VII, when, for the first time in its long
history, the great hall was utilised for a similar purpose.
In May, 1910, the two branches of the Legislature,
headed by the Lord Chancellor and the Speaker in their
robes of state, forgot their differences in the presence of
a common sorrow, and united in honouring their departed
Sovereign lying in the hall of Rufus re-edified and em-
bellished by the last of the Plantagenet race. Edward
IV was the first of the Kings of England to be buried.

94 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

of his own free will, in the Royal Chapel of St. George,
though to it the body of his unhappy predecessor and
rival is said to have been removed by Richard III from
its first resting-place, Chertsey.

The severance of the House of York from the traditional
burial place of the Kings of England marks the dawn
of a sentiment which led eventually to the substitution
of Windsor for Westminster as the last resting-place
of the Sovereign, until the Coronation remains the only
indissoluble link between the Abbey and the throne.

The Kings of England, unlike their brothers of France,
seem never to have feared to be reminded of death. In
Anglo-Saxon times they were buried at Winchester
where they lived, and where they were crowned. When
they became truly English they were crowned, as they
lived, at Westminster. And when they died, they were
buried, almost as a matter of course, in the Abbey, and
as close as possible to the shrine of the Confessor. " Their
graves, like their thrones, were in the midst of their own
life, and of the life of their people." ^

In the sixteenth century the Palace of Westminster
ceased to be the accustomed home of the Sovereign,
from causes to be alluded to hereafter, and though the first
of the Tudors was interred in the magnificent chapel
originally intended as a mausoleum for the last of the
Lancastrian kings, Henry VIII, turning in aversion from
a spot connected in his mind with the hated marriage
of his youth, directed that his bones should be laid at
Windsor beside his best-loved wife Jane Seymour.

A reaction in favour of Westminster set in with the
accession of Mary, and it was by her direction that the

1 Stanley's Memorials of Westminster.

THE HOUSE OF YORK 95

body of Edward VI, the last male child of the Tudor
line, was interred in the Abbey. Elizabeth was the last
of the royal race to whom a monument was erected
there, and since her death, neither the gratitude of a
successor nor the affection of a nation has gone so far as
to provide either sumptuous tomb or recumbent effigy
for James I, Charles II, William and Mary, Anne, or the
second monarch of the House of Hanover. They all lie
in the Abbey without any such memorial. While it is
significant that the custom of royal interment at West-
minster should scarcely have survived the Reformation,
from the sixteenth century onwards the figures of other
than kings meet, the eye in ever-increasing numbers.
Warriors, statesmen, and leaders of Parliament were
freely accorded the honour of burial in the Abbey, and
before Elizabeth's death the bones of a Speaker were
laid to rest there, for the first time since the reign of
Edward III.

Edward V was a true son of Westminster, for he was
bom in the Sanctuary and educated in the Abbot's
school. On the flight of Edward IV from London the
Queen took refuge in Westminster and accepted the
hospitality of Thomas Millyng, who was Abbot from
1469 till 1474. He was one of the most capable rulers
the monastery ever had, and a great benefactor to the
fabric. In gratitude for his timely help, and for his
having stood godfather to the infant prince, the Queen
founded, after Tewkesbury, the chantry and chapel of
St. Erasmus in the Abbey. It was, however, destroyed
by Henry VII during the building of his own noble mau-
soleum. Edward and his younger brother were murdered
in the Tower by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, only about

96 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

six weeks after the death of Edward IV. After being
proclaimed Protector by the Council, Gloucester removed
from Crosby HaU, or Crosby Place, as it was then called,
to Westminster, and ascended the throne as Richard HI
on 25 Jtme. His first and only Parliament met at
Westminster in the Painted Chamber on 23 January,
1483-84. It chose for its Speaker William Catesby, a
lawyer, and the devoted adherent of Richard from the
moment when he urged his master to assume the crown
till he died for a lost cause only two years later.*
" The Cat, the Rat, and Lovell the Dog," to quote a
popular distich, which cost its author his life, governed
all England " under the hog " for a little over a year.

There seems to be little or no evidence that Catesby was
personally unpopular with the House of Commons, and
it is, no doubt, largely due to the odium cast upon both
him and Richard by Shakespeare that his name has
acquired such a sinister reputation in after ages. In
the Parliament over which he presided, short though it
was, time was found to pass an Act for the abolition of
those " benevolences " which had made Edward IV so
unpopular at the close of his reign. The statutes of the
realm were now, for the first time, printed in English
that all men might read them, and no measures of
repression or severity towards opponents were introduced
to the House. Richard kept Christmas at Westminster
in 1484 with great state, but it was destined to be his
and Catesby's last. Both met their doom in the fateful
thirteenth encounter between the Houses of Lancaster

* One of the Catesby family was Keeper of the Royal Palace at
Westminster and also of the Fleet Prison, and Robert Catesby, the
projector of the Gunpowder Plot, was a descendant of the Speaker.

:i?®

Wll.l.IAM CATESKY
Frou, a Memorial Brass at AsliH St. Lcdgns. Xarthants

THE HOUSE OF YORK 97

and York, the battle of Bosworth being the closing scene
in a struggle which had cost 100,000 lives. At the time
of his death Richard had not completed his thirty-fifth
year, nor was Catesby much older. The ex-Speaker was
beheaded without form or semblance of a trial, three
days after the fighting was over, time, however, being
given him to make his will.

The dynasty of York had only endured for twenty-
four years, yet this short space was not without impor-
tance for the House of Commons. With the close of
mediaeval monarchy, and the advent of a more personal
element in the relations of the throne towards Parliament,
disappeared, at all events for a time, much of the sturdy
independence which had animated the earlier occupants
of the Chair. Patriots like De la Mare, who used their
position in the House to call attention to the pressing
necessity of maritime defence ; ^ independent leaders like
Savage and Tiptoft, who did not shrink on occasion from
admonishing the Sovereign on his shortcomings, compare
very favourably with the servile tribe of lawyers who
monopohsed the Chair in the Tudor period.

The Dudleys and Empsons of Henry VII, the Riches
and Audleys of his successor on the throne, and the
Snagges and Puckerings of Elizabethan memory, would
have been impossible under the Plantagenets, and it is a
curious fact that the Speakers of the Irish House of
Commons, down to nearly the close of the eighteenth
century, were regarded as Parliamentary leaders far more
than were their English prototypes at the same period.
Edmond Sexten Pery, Speaker of the Irish Commons
from 1772-85, used his great political power in the best

1 Rot. Pari., Vol. II, p. 307.
H

98 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

interests of his country to an extent unapproached by
any of his predecessors in ofl&ce.

Though there are great names to be found in the Tudor
catalogue of Speakers, as will be shown hereafter, the fame
of the two greatest amongst them was won in spheres
other than Parliamentary. The tenure of the Chair by
Sir Thomas More and Sir Edward Coke was in each
case a mere passing incident in the life of a man who
played a leading part in the history of his country.
With the decay of chivalry and the growth of a more
commercial spirit in England went hand in hand a
lessening of the importance of the Commons. Yet the
spirit of liberty was never wholly dead. It only awaited
the coming of the seventeenth century, and the final
struggle of the Commons with the Crown to reassert
itself with added force.

CHAPTER V

WESTMINSTER AND PARLIAMENT IN TUDOR TIMES. RE-
STRICTION OF THE POWERS OF THE HOUSE OF COM-
MONS AND INCREASED POWER OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL

Thirty-three
Henry VII —
Thomas Lovell
John Mordaunt
Thomas Fitzwilliam
Richard Empson
Robert Drury
Reginald Bray (doubtful)
Thomas Englefield
Edmond Dudley

Henry VIII—
Robert Sheffield
Thomas Nevill
Thomas More
Thomas Audley
Humphrey Wingfield
Richard Rich
Nicholas Hare
Thomas Moyle
John Baker

Speakers
Edward VI —
James Dyer

Mary —

John Pollard
Robert Brooke
Clement Heigham
William Cordell

Elizabeth —

Thomas Gargrave
Thomas Williams
Richard Onslow
Christopher Wray
Robert Bell
John Popham
John Puckering
Thomas Snagge
Edward Coke
Christopher Yelverton
John Croke

^ T the accession of Henry VII the House of

/% Commons acquired an immediate, if tempo-

/ % rary, importance as the working Chamber,

from the depletion of the numbers of the

House of Lords. Forfeiture, confiscation and attainder

100 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

had so decimated the Upper House that only twenty-
nine temporal peers were entitled to sit in it. The
old feudal nobility had been weakened and reduced in
the Wars of the Roses, though without any violent
dislocation of the Constitution ; and until the peerages
created in the sixteenth century laid the foundations
of an aristocracy which could never again be a serious
menace to the Crown, the House of Lords, as a
legislative body, virtually ceased to exist.

In the first Pariiament of Henry VII sat the head of
the great family of Nevill — the Earl of Westmorland.
Allied in blood to the King Maker, and owning vast
estates in the north, south, and midland districts, the
first earl of this creation, a Lancastrian to the backbone,
left four sons, all of whom were raised to the Peerage,
whilst his five sons-in-law were the Dukes of Bucking-
ham, Norfolk, and York, the Earl of Northumberland,
the head of the ancient house of Percy, and Lord
Dacre.

Whilst the NeviUs had been for centuries an acknow-
ledged force in English political life, the Upper House, in
spite of the grievous losses it had sustained, stiU numbered
amongst its surviving members the Berkeleys, the
Courtenays, the Stanleys, the Greys, and the Veres,
to mention but a few of the more notable names of the
English aristocracy. The Herberts and the Howards
were but newly ennobled. The hour of the Seymours,
the Cavendishes, and the Cecils had not struck.

That it was Henry VII's deliberate intention to relegate
the Lords to a position of legislative impotence is shown
by the fact that in the whole course of his reign he created
scarcely any new peers, though some few were restored

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR loi

to their former rank on the reversal of their attainders.^
In addition to cripphng the hereditary branch of the
legislature, the Tudors desired to be as far as possible
independent of the House of Commons. Tonnage and
poundage had been granted to the Crown for life since
the reign of Henry VI, and although Henry VII sum-
moned seven Parliaments in all, their attention, with the
exception of some salutary changes in the law relating
to trade and navigation, whereby a powerful stimulus was
given to English shipping, both national and mercantile,
was in the main devoted to the raising of subsidies.
The ruling passion of Henry's life was the accumulation
of wealth, not so much from an innate love of money
for money's sake, as from a desire to secure a large reserve
to be used as a guarantee for the national peace.

Henry enlarged the powers of the Privy Council in the
new Court of Star Chamber, an assembly whose pro-
ceedings were never regulated by statute. At first a
court of summary jurisdiction, it was destined to become
in after years the favourite instrument of the Sovereign
in the illegal collection of compulsory loans. The actual
room in the Palace of Westminster in which this much-
dreaded tribunal held its sittings remained standing until
the great fire of 1834, soon after which it was taken down.
Its exact site is indicated at the present day by a brass
plate affixed to the former ofiicial residence of the Chief
Clerk of the House, the greater part of which has
now been annexed by the Prime Minister and other
members of the Cabinet, and used by them as a place of
retreat from the storm and strain of the actual chamber.

1 Only once during the whole Tudor period did the number of the
temporal lords amount to sixty.

102 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Another innovation affecting the independence of the
House of Commons was the direct nomination of the
Speaker in all cases by the Crown. No less an authority
than Sir Edward Coke candidly admitted that this open
interference of the Sovereign was designed to avoid loss
of time in disputing. ^ In spite of the increasing powers
of the royal prerogative, it remained theoretically im-
possible for the Crown to levy any new tax without
the assent of both Houses, and it became the business
of the chiefs of Henry's secret service so to manage
Parliament that the outward forms of the Constitution
might at least be observed. Assuming Coke to be
correct, it will be of interest to consider what manner of
men Henry VII selected to preside over the House of
Commons, and it will be seen that they were drawn
both from the landed gentry and from the legal pro-
fession.

At Bosworth there had fought by his side Sir Thomas
Lovell, of ancient lineage in Norfolk, and a kinsman of
Francis, Viscount Lovell of Tichmarsh, Northants, an ad-
herent of Richard III, whose ancestors had fought for the
Conqueror at Senlac. When Thomas Lovell first entered
Parliament it was as Knight of the Shire for Northants.
A man of great and varied attainments, the King showed
his appreciation of his services by making him Chancellor
of the Exchequer for life, in which capacity he seems to
have had a share, in conjunction with Morton, in the
fiscal policy of Dudley and Empson. This connection
may in part account for his having died enormously
rich. In addition to the offices already mentioned, Lovell
became President of the Council, Constable of the Tower

1 Coke, Institutes, Vol. IV, p. 8.

^ , /fiMea/O'.

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 103

(under Henry VHI), and High Steward of both Oxford
and Cambridge.

A Bencher also of Lincoln's Inn, he deserves to be
remembered as the builder of the gate-house in Chancery
Lane. Though often threatened with demohtion, this
interesting specimen of sixteenth-century brickwork,
having many points of resemblance to the gate-towers of
Eton and St. James's Palace, still guards the entrance to
the Law and preserves on its outer face the Lovell arms.
Its appearance is, however, much spoilt by the insertion of
modern sash-windows in its venerable face. Previous to its
erection in 15 18, Lincohx's Inn had only been entered
from Holborn. In quite recent days the Inn has suffered
many indignities at the hands of an ill-informed if well-
meaning body of Benchers. To modernise their Chapel
and to undo the work of Inigo Jones, they called in a
lawyer masquerading as an architect — the late Lord
Grimthorpe, whose outrageous vandalism at St. Albans
stands universally condemned as the most deplorable
architectural failure of modern times. His iconoclastic
hand, sweeping all before it and disfiguring all that it
touched, fortunately stopped just short of Lovell's gate-
way, and it is to be hoped that this, the oldest building
in any of the Inns of Court, is now safe from the un-
welcome attentions of the restorer and the] amateur
architect.

At Westminster Lord Grimthorpe's energies were
happily confined to the erection of "Big Ben."'^ This,
the largest chiming clock in the world, was completed
in i860, but the hour bell was unfortunately cracked

' So called from Sir Benjamin Hall, First Commissioner of Works,
1855-58.

104 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

soon after it was placed in position. Its predecessor,
" Great Tom of Westminster," which hung for centu-
ries in a detached clochard dating from Plantagenet
times, was given by William IH to St. Paul's Cathedral
when the tower was taken down after it had become
ruinous. It is a conspicuous feature in Hollar's view
of New Palace Yard.^ When tolled Great Tom was said
to have soured all the milk in Westminster.

Sir Thomas Lovell, soldier, statesman, and lawyer, was
chosen Speaker of the Parliament which met on 7 Novem-
ber, 1485, " in Camera communiter dicta Crucis infra
Palacium Westmonasterium," and one of his first official
acts must have been to put the question to the House on
the BiU for the reversal of his own attainder by Richard
III. This, the first Tudor Parliament, was probably dis-
solved in March, i486, after granting the King a liberal
subsidy and attainting many of King Richard's followers.
In the same year the Speaker's kinsman, Francis, Lord
Lovell, headed an abortive rising in the north, but this
does not seem to have impaired Sir Thomas's influence
and intimacy with his Sovereign, as he continued to
shower favours upon him, and selected him to be one of
the executors of his will.

It is said that Lord Lovell's widow, fearing that
Henry's vengeance would extend to her, retired after her
husband's attainder to a lodge in Whittlebury Forest,
where she lived for a time under the protection of gipsies.
One of her sons is believed to have married a Romany
bride and to have become their king, whence the common
occurrence of the name of LoveU amongst the tribe. There
are yeomen Lovells in Northamptonshire to this day, but

1 Reproduced in this volume.

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 105

the direct line of the Speaker appears to be extinct.
In Henry VII's Chapel there has recently been placed,
owing to the generosity of Sir J. C. Robinson, a fine
bronze medallion of Sir Thomas, by Torregiano. It was
brought from his manor-house at East Harling, Norfolk,
and it is the earliest pictorial representation of a
Speaker of the House of Commons, other than a monu-
mental effigy or a brass, discovered up to the present
time.* LoveU died at Elsing, in Middlesex, and was
buried with great magnificence in a chantry chapel which
he had built at the Nunnery of Holywell, in Shoreditch.
As the last of the martial Speakers it is fitting that he
should be worthily commemorated at Westminster, and
iii the magnificent mausoleum built by the first of the
Tudor line.

Sir John Mordaunt, Knight of the Shire for Beds,
was Speaker in the Parliament which created the Court
of Star Chamber, and Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam, of Ald-
wark, Yorkshire, an ancestor of Earl Fitzwilliam, in
Henry's third Parliament. A new House of Commons
was summoned to meet on 17 October, 1491, and it chose
for its Speaker, or rather it had forced upon it, Sir
Richard Empson, Knight of the Shire for Northants, and,
by repute, the son of a sievemaker at Towcester in that
county. Parliament opened with alarums and excursions
of war. The King announced his intention of heading an
army to recover the ancient rights of England in France,
and though after the fall of Sluys he crossed the Channel,
the peace of Etaples was signed^ without any further

1 A reproduction of this beautiful work of mediaeval art will be
found in this volume.
' 3 November, 1492.

io6 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

fighting. Empson and his fidus achates, Dudley, par
ignobile fratrum, lived in adjoining houses in Walbrook,
and, according to Stow, they had a " door of intercourse "
from the garden which now belongs to Salters' Hall.

It would almost seem as if there was something in the
atmosphere of this corner of the City peculiarly favourable
to the accumulation of colossal wealth, for within a
stone's-throw of Dudley and Empson's garden, and on
a site adjoining Salters' Hall, stand Messrs. Rothschild's
famous London offices. But here the parallel ceases.
The royal extortioners never devoted any of their ill-
gotten gains to reUeving the necessities of the poor,
whereas St. Swithin's Lane has been for more than a
century, not only the chosen home of the true aristocracy
of finance, but a business centre rightly associated in the
public mind with unbounded charity, freely and un-
ceasingly dispensed without regard to class or creed.

The next Parliament of the reign met at Westminster,
14 October, 1495, and chose for its Speaker Sir Robert
Drury, a member of a Suffolk family long seated at
Hawstead and Horningsheath in that county, a property
now merged in the estates of the Marquis of Bristol.
Drury is the first Speaker definitely known to have
received a University education, and in this respect
Cambridge takes the pride of place. Possibly the
reversion to a Speaker of knightly degree and un-
connected with the law was due to the fact that no
sanction was required for any war tax. Parliament
dealt instead with such domestic matters as vagabondage,
gaming, the licensing of ale-houses, and other non-con-
troversial matters, for even licensing Bills were strictly
uncontentious in the fifteenth century.

SIR RICHARD EMl'siiN. 1491, AM> EDMOMi nrDI.F.V, I5OJ-4,

WITH IIEXRY VII

Fi-ciii a /•niill/iii: in ///,■ /',iss,ss/,^ii 1'/ t/if lh:ki 0/ Kxtlan^i

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 107

In an unostentatious way some of the earlier Tudor Par-
liaments accomplished a fair amount of useful legislation.
They passed laws against usury, generally, it is to be
feared, a dead letter from the day they received the Royal
Assent ; they attempted to fix the labourer's wages ;
and, in their soHcitude for his welfare, they even settled
the hours at which he was to rise, and the time he was to
spend at his meals. From this Speaker's family Drury
Lane, where their town house was situated, derives its
name, and it will also be familiar to many old Etonians
from the well-known dame's house, founded by the Rev.
Benjamin Drury, an assistant master under the redoubt-
able Keate. Sir Thomas Englefield, of Englefield, a
Berkshire knight with a pedigree of fabulous antiquity,
presided over Henry's sixth Parliament;^ and, by way
of contrast, the notorious Dudley, a Gray's Inn lawyer
with an Oxford education and an assumed name, filled
the Chair in his seventh and last. Empson was Chancellor
of the Duchy at the same time, and these " two ravening
wolves," as they have been called by an old chronicler,
acting in concert, practised extortion and intimidation
to an extent hitherto unknown in England. By brow-
beating the sheriffs they were able to nominate
whom they pleased at elections ; every infraction of the
law, however antiquated, was punished by a heavy fine,
verdicts were dictated to judges by men who were
not judges themselves, but who seem to have acted
as a committee of the Privy Council. The unscrupu-
lous poUcy pursued by Dudley and Empson between
1504 and the King's death brought an immense sum of
money into the royal treasury, whilst the " wolves " and

1 Held in January, 1496-97.

io8 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

their friends reaped no inconsiderable share of the spoil.
From Dudley's Tree of Commonwealth, written during his
imprisonment in 1510, it would seem that some scheme
for the appropriation of ecclesiastical revenues had already
engaged the attention of the Privy Council, and owing
to his denunciations of abuses in the Church, the idea
of the Reformation may have suggested itself to
Henry VIII.

In connection with the House of Commons under
the first of the Tudors, there only remains to be noticed
Sir Reginald Bray, of Steyne, Co. Northants (a fruitful soil
for the Speakership at this period), who has been assumed
by many historical writers to have presided over the House
of Commons. Bray's name, however, is nowhere to be
found in the Rolls as having filled that high office, and such
evidence as exists favours the presumption that he acted
as President of a great Council, and not a fully equipped
Parliament, which assembled at Westminster on 24
October, 1496. As it was attended by the Lords spiritual
and temporal, the serjeants-at-law and burgesses and
merchants from the principal cities and boroughs, and as
it pledged itself to an expenditure of £120,000 to be used
in the invasion of Scotland, it had many of the attributes
of a regular Parliament, and for that reason it has seemed
desirable to include Bray's name in this catalogue of
honour. Like Speaker Lovell, he had fought at Bosworth,
where he plucked Richard's crown out of a hawthorn bush,
into which it had been cast in the moment of defeat.
The Brays adopted the hawthorn as their badge, and
it was formerly to be seen in one of the painted windows
of the manor house at Stejoie.^

' It also reappears amongst the fragments of contemporary stained
glass in Henry VII's Chapel.

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 109

The biographical dictionaries, without exception, con-
fidently state that Sir Reginald Bray was the architect
of Henry VII's Chapel, and that he put the finishing
touches to St. George's in Windsor Castle, in which
latter building he lies buried without a monument.
But this statement requires examination, and has too
hastily been accepted as correct. Bray was undoubtedly
a patron of architecture, but he was certainly not the
architect, in the modern sense of the word, of the royal
mausoleum at Westminster. To Robert Vertue, the
greatest of a distinguished family of builders, belongs
the honour of having designed that noble work.^ All
that Bray did at Windsor was to buy the materials — the
stone, timber, lead, glass, etc. — and to pay the archi-
tect's salary and the wages of the men. He seems to have
done the same at the royal palaces of Richmond and
Greenwich, where Vertue again worked under him.
Moreover, Bray died in 1503, when the great chapel at
Westminster was only just beginning to rise from its
foundations, nor was it fully finished at the King's
death in 1509. He had been associated with the
fiscal abuses of Morton, Fox, and Empson, and he ap-
pointed the last-named to be an executor of his wiU.
Sir Reginald was a man of great wealth. He " had the
greatest freedom of any councillor with the King," who
granted to him, amongst others, the forfeited estates of
Francis, Lord Lovell, but his claim to be considered a
great master of design is unfounded. The mind is
insensibly drawn from his supposed share in the beauti-

1 See Professor Lethaby's Westminster Abbey, 1906, p. 225.
Vertue' s name has been strangely overlooked by the Dictionary of
National Biography, and the omission is the more to be regretted as
he was essentially a master of the English school.

no SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

fying of the Abbey to what was actually accomplished
at Westminster by the King's craftsmen.

In private life Henry VII was a pious man and a
frugal liver, but his love of art and architecture caused
him to be lavish in the prosecution of his building schemes.
He had amassed a fortune estimated at sixteen millions
of the present value of money, and he spared no ex-
pense in the erection of the royal tomb-house, with
the result that he has stamped his personality upon West-
minster more than any King of England since Henry III.
The last of all the great works of the Benedictine Abbey,
for Wren's additions were in the nature of repairs and
restorations, the magnificent chapel erected between 1502
and 1509 was originally intended as a mausoleum for the
remains of Henry VI. Its exterior has been much spoilt
by injudicious restoration early in the nineteenth century,^
but the interior ranks amongst the highest achievements
of Gothic art in this country.

" Far in advance," to quote the words of the Abbey's
latest historian, Mr. Francis Bond, " of anything of con-
temporary date in England, or France, or Italy, or Spain,
it shows us Gothic architecture not sinking into senile
decay, as some have idly taught, but bursting forth,
Phoenix-Hke, into new hfe, instinct with the freshness,
originality and inventiveness of youth." The fan-
vaulting of its matchless roof, pieced together with the
accuracy and precision of an astronomical instrument,
is, by common consent, the most wonderful achievement
of masonry ever wrought by the hand of man. Its

1 In the words of William Morris : " Wyatt managed to take all
the romance out of the exterior of this most romantic work of the late
Middle Ages."

SIR REGIXALD BRAY
1496
Froui a ih-au'iii^- in the possession 0/ Mr. Justice Bjay 0/ a -..•indoic in the Pj-iojy Chwc

Mah'eitt

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR iii

pendants, seeming to rest on unsubstantial air, look
down upon the finest piece of embellished metal-work
in all England — the gilt bronze railing, or " grate " as
it is called in contemporary writings — ^which surrounds
the tombs of Henry and Elizabeth of York. Their
recumbent effigies, on which Torregiano was engaged for
many years, are admitted to be among the greatest of their
kind. Novel as was Robert Vertue's system of vaulting
in England, his scheme of exterior abutment is even
more strikingly original. By substituting octagonal
domed turrets for the flying buttresses of an earlier
age, the architect not only economised space, but
introduced into his scheme of fenestration a new and
attractive feature. The windows, no longer mere fiat
insertions, are here made to follow the curved lines of
the exterior walls, with the happiest results of light and
shade.

The beauty of Henry VII's Chapel induced Barry to
adopt the Tudor style for the new Houses of Parhament.
With all their imperfections, of which not the least was the
selection of a stone which has proved incapable of resisting
the destructive effect of the London atmosphere, they
stand out by themselves as the most picturesque Gothic
building, on a large scale, added to the metropolis in the
nineteenth century. The daring combination of gilding
and masonry exhibited in both the Victoria and the
Clock Towers has elicited nothing but commendation
from qualified critics, while the design of the members'
private staircase is held to equal that at Christ Church,
Oxford, in Ughtness and elegance, than which no higher
praise can be given.

The mistake of employing a Gothic architect to design

112 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

a classical building, which Lord Palmerston made when
Sir Gilbert Scott was selected to build the Home and
Foreign Offices, is only too apparent in Whitehall. That
artistic failure should have taught a lesson to successive
Commissioners of Works, but not much can be said in
praise of the more recently erected Public Offices, mostly
of a machine-made type, which line what ought to be
the finest thoroughfare in London — the approach from
Trafalgar Square to Westminster.

At the present time London happens to want a digni-
fied and adequate memorial to King Edward VII.
What an opportunity for a First Commissioner of
Works to immortalise himself by reconstructing Trafalgar
Square and the main approach to the Houses of Parlia-
ment on an heroic scale ! If he could obtain the neces-
sary funds there is actually a vacant pedestal awaiting
him in the finest site in Europe, whereon he might,
in course of time, be exhibited to a grateful posterity
as a pendant in extravagance to George IV.

The formation of a Via Regia from the Forum to the
Senate, such as would have delighted ancient Rome, would
present no insuperable difficulty to Paris, or even to
Berlin. Yet the example of the New Processional Road
through the Mall, which, whilst it opens up a clearer view
of the hideous front of Buckingham Palace, destroyed
a genuine relic of seventeenth-century London, almost
makes one despair of the artistic future of metropolitan
improvements. Leaving St. James's Park by a well-pro-
portioned triple arch the scheme of the architect has been
choked and strangled at its birth for want of the funds
required to demoUsh a few insignificant business premises.
To buy out the banks, clubs, hotels, and shops which dis-

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 113

figure three sides of Trafalgar Square would cost a large
sum, but a beginning might be made by sweeping away the
paltry fountains feebly spurting from amidst a waste of
sombre asphalte. And although the public sentiment
would probably not approve of any material alteration
in the central feature of the nation's memorial to Nelson,
our sympathy is rather with the survivor of the Victory's
crew who exclaimed, on being invited to admire the
gigantic column : " Well, I'm blessed if they haven't
mast-headed the Admiral ! "

At the accession of Henry VIH continuous Parha-
mentary government was neither expected nor desired
by the constituencies, and the burden of paying their
representatives at Westminster would account for no
pubhc indignation being evoked, when nearly six years
elapsed ^ before a new Parliament was called. When at
last it did meet it sat for less than a month, and, though
at its opening the Chancellor, Archbishop Warham,
expatiated on the necessity of making good laws and
spoke of the constitutional assembly as " the stomach of
the nation," the legislative output of the session was
infinitesimal, and when, after the Houses had granted
the King a liberal subsidy, the dissolution was reached, ^
the only concession made to popular opinion was the
condemnation of Dudley and Empson, who expiated
their crimes on Tower Hill in the following August.'

Assuredly, this was the only occasion in Parliamentary
history when two former Speakers died on the same day.
Yet in the seventeenth century the situation was nearly

' Between 1504 and January, 1509-10.
^ On 23 February.

' This stop-gap Parliament was presided over by Sir Thomas
Englefield, who had preceded Dudley in the Chair during the last reign.
I

114 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

paralleled, when Chaloner Chute and Lislebone Long died
within a month of one another, and in the eighteenth,
when Mr. Speaker Cornwall expired within twenty-four
hours of his old antagonist Fletcher Norton. It would be
interesting to know, remembering his former intimacy
with the twin extortioners, what were Speaker Lovell's
feelings when he heard that Dudley and Empson were
to be brought to the block. As it was, he lived just long
enough to see the profession of the law once more pre-
ferred to the Chair in the person of Sir Thomas More,
the gifted author of Utopia — that happy land which he
described as having few laws and no lawyers.

The temporary eclipse of the House of Lords as
a legislative body enabled Henry VHI to introduce
Bills into the Upper House which had previously been
prepared by the Privy Council, in concert with the law
of&cers of the Crown ; to pass them rapidly through that
complacent assembly ; and to present them cut and dried
to a packed House of Commons. The practice of referring
Government measures to the consideration of a committee
of both Houses was also initiated by the Tudors. At the
same time the power of the Crown over the legislature
was much increased by so manipulating the elections as
to ensure the return of the King's Household officers.
And while Henry was careful to lay stress upon the
independence of Parliament in his communications
with the Pope, there is abundant evidence to the effect
that, aided as the King was by Thomas Cromwell, the
constituencies had little or no free choice in the election
of their representatives.

The earliest and crudest form of intimidating voters
was to beat them off by armed force on the day of the

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 115

poll, as related in the Paston letters, and even where no
coercion was employed the preliminaries to election were
often accompanied by strange and novel conditions.
Some amusing instances of payment in kind for Parlia-
mentary service occur in the fifteenth century, as when
John Strange entered into an agreement with the bailiffs
of Dunwich to give his attendance at Westminster " for
a cade of full herring " whether the House " holds long
time or short," whUe the borough of Weymouth at the
same period was able to secure a member to watch over
its interests at the even cheaper rate of five hundred
mackerel. Five shillings a week was all that Ipswich was
willing to pay for the services of William Worsop in 1472,
whilst John Walworth, the junior member, covenanted
to serve for as little as three shillings and four pence !

Though little is heard of direct bribery in the sixteenth
century, instances occurred of members compounding
with their constituents by agreeing to accept less than
the statutory allowance for travelling expenses. Some
even went so far as to offer to serve altogether without
pay. This negative form of bribery became increasingly
common in the reign of Henry VIII, and the city of
Canterbury, overjoyed, on one occasion, at having saved
the wages of one of its members who stayed away from
Westminster on account of the plague, actually rewarded
him for his abstention. There is this much to be said
for bribery as understood and practised in olden days.
The briber did at least pay the money out of his own
pocket, therefore the revenues of the State did not
suffer. Nowadays the would-be briber offers the money
of the State in order to corrupt voters, and whilst party
leaders talk grandiloquently of the great constitutional

ii6 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

issues involved in a general election, the actual canvas-
sing for votes in many constituencies turns mainly on
the granting of pecuniary rewards by the State.

The seventeenth century brought with it increased
cost to candidates, but bribery was not translated into a
fine art until the division of the House of Commons into
parties, each anxious to turn the other out and obtain
the spoils of office, became an accomplished fact.
Wasteful expenditure at contested elections attained
its height towards the end of the eighteenth century,
but since 1832 bribery in an acute form has tended
steadily to decline. Traces of the old leaven occasion-
ally manifested themselves far on into the nineteenth
century, but under an extended franchise, and a pure
and beneficent system — which substitutes cheerfully paid
subscriptions and charitable donations for the whole-
sale treating and degrading corruption of the electorate
prevailing within the memory of many still living — ^the
cost of entering the House of Commons, and, what is
often more difficult, of securing re-election at the second
attempt, is now appreciably less than it was before the
passing of the Corrupt Practices Act of 1883.

Although it has not been possible to discover that
the measures adopted by Thomas Cromwell to secure
a compliant House of Commons included anything
in the nature of wholesale pecuniary corruption, the
constant pressure put upon the sheriffs and mayors
by the Privy Council was so stringent and so far-reaching
that throughout the period of the Reformation the
popular assembly was almost entirely subservient to the
Sovereign, from the Speaker in his Chair to the humblest
burgess. To a House so constituted was assigned the

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 117

spade work of severing England from Rome and despoiling
the Church, and, owing to the spirit of independence
being almost wholly absent from its deliberations, it
became possible for the real rulers of the country, under
the thin disguise of a constitutional movement which was
in reality a hollow sham, to rob the English people of a
faith which, of their own free will, they had never
deliberately rejected.

Henry's second Pariiament, a " War Parliament " as
it has been called, was presided over by Sir Robert
Sheffield, of Butterwick, near Boston, in Lincolnshire,
an ancestor of the Dukes of Buckingham of that family .^
The ancient seat of the Sheffields had been at a place
called Hemmeswelle, but a fortunate match with the
heiress of Delves enabled the Speaker to build extensively
at Butterwick, in the Isle of Axeholme.

It has been supposed that the Speakers had no official
residence at Westminster until a much later period, but
from the journal of a Venetian traveller, who visited
England in 1512, it appears that not only did the Speaker
thus early live within the precincts of the Palace, but that
a certain amount of ceremonial hospitality was expected
of him by the general body of members : —

" The Parliament has begun, that is to say all the
gentlemen of the Kingdom have come, and are making a
Parhament in the Palace of the King called Vasmonestier,
distant from London less than two miles ; and all the
gentlemen who come have houses in London, and it

^ Speaker Sheffield was buried in 1518 in the church of the
Augustinian Friars. This, which has been since 1550 the meeting-
place of the Dutch Communion in London, was for centuries a
favourite burying-place with the greater nobility and the wealthier
City merchants.

ii8 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

behoves them to pass before the door of the House of the
Worshipful Speaker, as well those who go by land as those
who go by water ; for there is a river called the Tamixa,
whereon they can go in loo boats, made after their
fashion, from London to the said Vasmonestier. And they
are bound to pass before the said worshipful house ; and
having reached the said door, these gentlemen, for the love
they bear to the magnificent and worshipful speaker,
visit him with i6 and more or less servants ; some come
to dinner and some to breakfast (eolation), forjthis is the
custom of the country : they have breakfast every
morning. . . . Every morning he goes to Mass with some
of these gentlemen, who hold him by the arms and walk
up and down with him for an hour ; then they go to the
Council and he to his house." ^

During Sheffield's tenure of the Chair ^ a disastrous
fire broke out in the Palace of Westminster, and many
old buildings between the Great Hall and the Abbey were
destroyed. Details of the calamity, which occurred in
1512, are scanty. The Hall itself, the Painted Chamber,
St. Stephen's Chapel, the Star Chamber, and the Clock
Tower escaped injury, but many of the King's private
apartments were burnt. This fire, by no means the first
in which the Palace had been involved, was the primary
cause of the removal of the Court, first to Bridewell and
thence, after the fall of Wolsey, to Whitehall.

Apparently the Cloister Court of St. Stephen's, dating

1 This delightful bit of Parliamentary anecdote will be found in
Gentlemen Errant, by Mrs. Henry Cust, 1909, p. 512, note.

^ The Dictionary of National Biography, following Manning, says
that Sheffield had also been Speaker in 1510, but the Rolls conclu-
sively prove that Englefield was Speaker from 23 January, 1509-10,
until 23 February. And as under the old style the year was reckoned
to begin on 25 March, Parliament was not actually in session at any
time in 15 10.

Haus H,^!bui:,piitxt.

SIR ROBERT SlIliFFIEI.I)
151I-2

J'7-om n pmii

R<'ht-rtCra''e sculp!.

THE HOUSE -OF TUDOR 119

from the middle of the fourteenth century, was involved
in the conflagration, for it is known to have been rebuilt
in 1526 by Dr. John Chambers, the last Dean of the
Saint Chapelle of the Palace. A bell tower rising on the
east side of Westminster Hall escaped the flames in
1512, and was heightened when the Cloister Court was
rebuilt, only to be once more practically destroyed in the
still greater fire of 1834.

Its subsequent restoration by Sir Charles Barry ranks
as one of the most successful achievements of that
architect at Westminster.

In the library of Hatfield House are two interesting
plans, drawn by John Symonds in 1593, showing in
detail the various buildings between the Great Hall and
the Receipt of the Exchequer as they existed when Coke
sat in the Speaker's Chair.

The Palace of Bridewell was only divided from the
Blackfriars by the Fleet Ditch, and in consequence of
the damage caused by the fire at Westminster, the sittings
of Parliament were temporarily held in the Priory.

The next Speaker after Sheffield was Sir Thomas Nevill,
fifth son of the second Baron Bergavenny. He was voted
to the Chair on 6 February, 1514-15, and held office till
the dissolution, on 22 December. When he was pre-
sented for the royal approval in the House of Lords
he had the honour of knighthood conferred upon him
in the presence of the assembled Lords and Commons,
"the like whereof was never known before." During
the session an Act was passed which laid down that
no knight, citizen, or burgess " do depart until Parha-
ment be fully finished except he have hcence of the
Speaker and the same be entered in the book of the

120 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

clerk," upon pain of losing his wages. An earlier statute
of Richard II had dealt with the subject of absenting
members and the penalties to be inflicted for non-
attendance at Westminster.

In the reign of EUzabeth, and probably earlier, the
House was called over at the opening of every session,
and members in their places answered to their names.
But in spite of all attempts to ensure regular attend-
ance, there were frequent complaints of scanty houses
in Tudor times, and even such expedients as locking the
doors and forcibly preventing members who were present
from leaving until the business of the day was concluded
proved ineffectual ; nor has it ever been possible to devise
any effective machinery for securing a full attendance of
members throughout the lifetime of a Parliament, or
even duriiig a single session. The accurate reporting of
debates, the publication of the division lists, and the
fierce light which now beats upon the doings of private
members, to say nothing of ministers of the Crown, has
done more to ensure constant attendance than any
penal resolutions passed by the House in order to meet
individual cases.

After an interval of over seven years a new Parlia-
ment met, not at Westminster, but again in the Great
Chamber of the Priory at Blackfriars, where now stands
the Times office. It chose for its Speaker a man in
the prime of life, the member for Middlesex, no other
than the great Sir Thomas More, the first las^nan,
with one exception, to be Chancellor of England. It
was not his first appearance in the House, for in the
previous reign he had successfully resisted a grant to the
King, for which temerity, as it would have been a violation

SIR THOMAS N"E\'ILI,

1514-15
I-iviii n .Ih-iiiona! /trass hi Mcyevorth Clnirc/i, Kent

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 121

of the Constitution to punish a member for his vote, More's
aged father was imprisoned and fined. This truly great
man may be said to have only flitted across the stage of
the House of Commons, for the session of 1523 lasted less
than four months. Short as it was, it is memorable for
the wholly unconstitutional irruption of Wolsey into the
Chamber to demand a grant of £800,000^ in order to
carry on the war with France.^

The proposed tax, which was in the nature of a graduated
toll upon income and property amounting to four shillings
in the pound upon land and goods, was unparalleled in
amount, and was stoutly resisted, though More, who
seems to have considered it justified under the circum-
stances, urged the House to comply with the royal
demands. But when the Cardinal entered, after the
question of his being admitted at all had been debated at
length, he was met by a chilling and preconcerted silence.
" Masters," cried Wolsey, " unless it be the manner of
your House, as in likelihood it is, by the mouth of your
Speaker whom you have chosen for trusty and wise (as

' About ;ii2,ooo,ooo at the present computation of money.

* In Fiddes' Life of Wolsey, 1724, there is a representation, at page
302, of Henry VIII sitting in Parliament (? at Blackfriars) with the
Archbishop of Canterbury (Warham), Cardinal Wolsey, the mitred
Abbots, the Prior of St. John of Jerusalem, and the temporal peers.
The Clerk of the Parliaments and his assistant are shown kneeling
behind one of the woolsacks, and the Speaker of the House of Com-
mons with several members of the Lower House are standing at
the bar.

This print, which was communicated to Fiddes by John Anstis,
Garter, in 1722, bears a striking resemblance to a plate printed in
Pinkerton's Iconographica Scotica from a drawing formerly in the
Heralds' College, but not now to be found there, supposed to represent
Edward I with the King of Scotland, and Llewellyn, Prince of Wales,
in Parliajnent assembled. It is probably, however, of much later
date and of little or no historical value.

122 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

indeed he is) in such cases to utter your mind,
here is, without doubt, a marvellous obstinate silence."
Falling upon his knees. More replied that though the
Commons might entertain communications from with-
out, it was not according to precedent to enter into debate
with outsiders.

Thomas Cromwell, the man who, a few years later,
was more than any other responsible for the spoUation
of the Church and the degradation of the House of
Commons, sat in this Parliament for the first time.
Combining the unpopular profession of a sohcitor with
the disreputable one of a money-lender, by the double
experience so gained he made himself the master of the
secrets of half the aristocracy, including many members
of both Houses. On the present occasion he was not
acting under Henry's orders, and he delivered a telling
speech against the war. Not tiU 13 May did the House
consent to grant any portion of the land tax, and then
only a much lesser sum than Wolsey would be satisfied
with.

The burgesses, who declared that the tax was only in-
tended to affect the squires and the land, declined to vote
at all. A few days later the House adjourned for Whit-
suntide ; but on its reassembUng a proposal that, in
addition to the sum derived from landed estate, one
shilling in the pound should be levied on goods was
supported by the squires, and vehemently opposed by the
borough members. It was only by the personal interven-
tion of the Speaker that the differences of the country
party and the burgesses were composed and the tax
finally voted. At the close of the session Cromwell
wrote to a friend : " Ye shall understand that I,

SIR THOMAS MOKE

1523
From a painting at the Speaker s House

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 123

amongst others, have endured a ParUament which
continued by the space of seventeen whole weeks
where we communed of war, peace, strife, contention,
debate, murmur, grudge, riches, poverty, trouble, false-
hood, justice and equity. . . . Howbeit we have done
as well as we might and left off where we began."

After the Great Hall of Blackfriars, the scene of
Katherine of Arragon's trial before Cardinal Campeggio,
ceased to be used for Parliamentary purposes, the site
of the Priory was devoted to various secular uses, and
many famous names are found in connection with it.

A theatre, in which no less a man than Shakespeare
trod the boards, flourished in the old home of the monks
from the reign of Elizabeth until all theatrical enterprise
was stifled under the Commonwealth.^

Vandyck, on his first coming to London, took a house
in the precincts, where he had been preceded by Isaac
Oliver and other painters.. Towards the close of the
eighteenth century the first John Walter set up his
logographic press in Printing House Square, and laid the
foundations of a gigantic instrument of popular enlighten-
ment— the greatest newspaper the world has ever seen.
Here, almost on the identical spot where More con-
fronted Wolsey, Delane sat in the editorial chair of
The Times for thirty-six arduous years.

It would be superfluous, if not impertinent, to dwell
in these pages upon More's subsequent career and tragic
fate. There is in the Speaker's house a recently ac-
quired portrait of the great Chancellor in the Holbein
manner, but it is at best a contemporary copy. Another

^ Play House Yard preserves the association of the drama with
Blackfriars to this day.

124 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Sir Thomas, cast in a very different mould, succeeded More
as Speaker, and also on the Woolsack. This was Thomas
Audley, a " sordid slave," according to Lord Campbell,
whose promotion coincided with Wolsey's disgrace. The
"Black" or Reformation Parliament, an epoch in our
national history, met at Westminster in November, 1529,
and was not dissolved until 1536, so that it was easily the
longest known to that time. If not actually packed
with the nominees of the Crown, as far as it was
possible to control the elections, only candidates hostile
to the Church were held to be eligible. " With the
Commons it is nothing but down with the Church,"
said the Bishop of Rochester from his place in
the House of Lords in the course of the first session.
While Audley was in the Chair only the outworks of the
Church were laid siege to, and not till after his transfer
to the Woolsack, when Sir Humphrey Wingfield became
Speaker, did the actual severance from Rome take place. ^
Audley left no male heir, but his grandson Thomas,
Earl of Suffolk, ultimately inherited his vast wealth, and
built Audley End in Essex between 1603 and 1616. It is
said to be the largest private house in England, and to
have cost ;f 200,000. The Chancellor died in 1544, and was
buried in a chapel which he had built at Saffron Walden
in his native county. An elaborate monument was

' The Acts contrived by Cromwell in 1533-34 in order to ensure the
final breach with Rome were four in number : " An Act for the sub-
mission of the Clergy to the King's Majesty," " An Act restraining the
payment of annates," -'An Act concerning the exoneration of the
King's subjects from exactions and impositions heretofore paid to the
see of Rome, and for having Licences and Dispensations within this
Realm without suing further for the same," and "An Act declaring
the establishment of succession of the King's most Royal Majesty in
the Imperial Crown of this Realm."

SIR THOMAS AUDLEY

1529
From a fainting at the Speaker's House

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 125

erected to his memory. His portrait in official robes
with gold-laced sleeves is in the Speaker's house. With
the exception of that of Sir Thomas More it is the earhest
in point of date in the collection, but the painting is
not earlier than the eighteenth century, having prob-
ably been painted to order with several others of the
series.

Wingfield, in early life a proteg^ of Wolsey, though not
otherwise remarkable, deserves mention for his having
been the first Speaker to sit for a borough constituency.
Sir Robert Brooke, temp. Mary I, is said by HakewU and
others to have been the first burgess so honoured, but
this is inaccurate. Wingfield represented Great Yarmouth
in 1529, and Sir John Say, who was Speaker in 1448-49,
had represented the borough of Cambridge before he
became a Knight of the Shire. The salary received by
Wingfield was £100 a year. Sprung from an old East
Anglian family of Brantham Hall, in the county of
Suffolk, he was educated at Gray's Inn, where his coat
of arms is still to be seen in a north window of the
hall.

The precedent set in Wingfield's case was soon followed,
for Sir Richard Rich, of Leigh's Priory, Co. Essex, sat for
Colchester when elected to the Chair in 1536. Hypocrite,
perjurer, oppressor, and time-server, he is without manner
of doubt the most despicable man who ever sat in the
Chair of the Commons. Shrinking from no infamy so
long as he was on the winning side, he had a part in
the fall of Wolsey, the deaths of More (whose con-
viction was only obtained on Rich's perjured evidence),
of Fisher, Cromwell, Wriothesley, the Protector
Somerset, and his brother Lord Seymour of Sudeley

126 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

and of Northumberland. A monster in human shape,
Rich stretched the rack with his own hands when
Anne Askew was put to torture in the Tower. ^
During the short session of 1536 — ^for it sat httle more
than a month — Parhament passed an Act by which
Ehzabeth as well as Mary was declared illegitimate, the
King having married Jane Seymour shortly before the
Houses met.

Before another Parliament was summoned Edward the
Confessor's golden shrine had been hacked down by
sacrilegious hands, and the Abbey despoiled of its
treasures, an irreparable loss to the nation as well as to
the Church. At the same time the priceless jewelled
shrine of Becket at Canterbury was totally destroyed,
and the spoils, which are said to have filled six-and-twenty
carts, were swept into the royal treasury. The " Regale of
France," a large diamond which was considered to be one
of its chief glories, was long worn by Henry as a ring,
and it is shown on his enormous thumb in some of his
later portraits. It reappeared in the inventory of Queen
Mary's jewels, after which date its history cannot be
traced. Rich was one of the principal gainers through
the disposition of the monastic lands. Henry VIII gave
him St. Bartholomew's, Smithfield, as his share of the
spoils of the Reformation, and he made his town house
in Cloth Fair. Long known as Warwick House, it was
standing in quite recent years.

In the hst of Speakers in the hbrary of the House of
Commons, the date of Rich's advancement to the Chair

1 Rich was then Chancellor of the Augmentations, and Wriothesley,
who was associated with him in the torture of this unfortunate woman,
was Chancellor.

SIR HUMPHREY WJNGFIELn

1553

From a f>ainthi° in the possession of Major f. JA U ni^/ield, Tickencote Hall,

'Statu/oTil

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 127

is given as 1537, but this is an obvious error, as no Parlia-
ment was summoned in that year. He resigned the
Great Seal in 1551, and died in 1567 or 1568.^ There is a
recumbent effigy of him in Felstead Church, but the
inscription on the tomb has been destroyed.

Sir Nicholas Hare, another compliant tool of Henry
Vni, was Speaker in 1539-40 — in the Parhament
which passed the atrocious Act known as the " Whip
with six strings." Hare was also Keeper of the
Great Seal, though only for fourteen days. There
is some doubt as to the constituency he represented
whilst he was Speaker. One of the name sat for
Downton in 1529, and Hare is supposed to have
been Knight of the Shire for Norfolk in 1539, though
the official returns for that year are wanting. He
was the ancestor of the Hares of Stow Hall in that
county, having bought the hundred of Clackhouse
(which included Stow Bardolph) from Lord North in
1553. Appointed Master of the Rolls in that year, he
died in Chancery Lane and was buried in the Temple
Church.

It should be mentioned that he was absent during
part of the session of 1539-40, having been committed
to the Tower for advising Sir John Skelton how to
evade the Statute of Uses in his will. This was deemed
to be an infringement of the royal prerogative. He was
released in Easter Term, 1540, and, strange to say, his
imprisonment does not seem to have been considered a

* The Dictionary of National Biography gives the earUer and the
Complete Peerage the later date, and they are also at variance as to
the year of his birth. The Earls of Warwick and Holland were de-
scended from him, hence the name of Warwick House, Smithfield.

128 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

breach of privilege. To such a degree of subserviency
was the House reduced that even the imprisonment of
its Speaker passed without remonstrance.

The next Parhament, which passed the Act for the
Reformation of Rehgion, chose for its Speaker Sir Thomas
Moyle. Originally a Cornish family, the Moyles migrated
to Kent in the fifteenth century. In Queen Mary's reign
Sir Thomas posed as a true friend of the Reformation,
and vacated his seat rather than support the policy of
Rome. He died at Eastwell, near Ashford, in 1560, and
his youngest daughter married Sir Thomas Finch, the
progenitor of the Earls of Winchilsea and Nottingham,
thus carrying the estate into a family which gave two
subsequent Speakers to the House of Commons. During
Moyle's Speakership occurs an early use of the well-known
term " Member of Parliament." Henry VIII, writing
to the Deputy and Council of Ireland, apropos of O'Brien,
Earl of Thomond, said : " But you must remember that
the heir of the Earl of Thomond from henceforth must
abide his time to be admitted as a Member of our Parlia-
ment till his father or parent shall be deceased, and to
be only a hearer standing bareheaded at the bar beside
the Cloth of Estate as the young Lords do here in our
realm of England." ^

It has been thought that Rich again filled the Chair in
Henry's ninth and last Parliament, but from an entry
which the present writer found in the Registers of the
Privy Council, it appears that Sir John Baker, whom
previous writers have not noticed in this connection until
the reign of Edward VI, was the next to hold the
office. February 7, 1546-47. " Also Sir John Baker had

1 state Papers, III, 395.

//,7/i( H,'lh!in. dell.

SIR KICHARU KICll

1536

h')-oin a f'lnit

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 129

warrant to the Treasurer and Chamberlains of the
Exchequer for £100 to be given to him in considera-
tion of his service in the room of Speaker in the last
session of the Parliament as hath been heretofore ac-
customed." It was also customary for the Speaker to
receive an allowance for his diet, five pounds for every
private Bill passed by both Houses, and five pounds
for every name in any Bill for denizens, unless he
agreed to accept less. [Harleian Miscellany, Vol. IV,
page 561.] On Christmas Eve, 1545, Henry made the
last of his many speeches to Parliament, urging the
nation to' religious unity, and on 31 January, 1546-47,
the day that Wriothesley announced the King's death,
only just in time to save the Duke of Norfolk from a
traitor's death. Parliament was dissolved.

Sir John Baker, who was re-elected Speaker in
Edward VI 's first Parliament, was the head of an old
Kentish family seated at Sissinghurst, near Cranbrook,
He erected a castle, long since dismantled, on a com-
manding site overlooking the Weald. Originally a
quadrangular edifice of great extent and profusely
ornamented in the Tudor style, it has fallen by gradual
stages from its former high estate until Uttle remains of
Speaker Baker's building with the exception of one
wing, now converted into cottages and stabling, and a
lofty tower, of somewhat unusual design, capped by two
conical turrets.

After being bred to the Law, Baker was sent Am-
bassador to Denmark by Henry VIII, and, in the same
year in which he was called to the Chair, ^ he became
Chancellor of the Exchequer, a post which he continued

' 1545-

130 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

to fill until the death of Queen Mary in 1558. His zeal
for the Roman faith coinciding with a ruthless persecu-
tion of Kentish Protestants caused him to be known and
execrated throughout the Weald as " Bloody Baker."
Some of his hapless neighbours, after being arraigned
before him, were burnt at Maidstone for their religious
convictions, and it is said that, having procured an order
from the Privy Council for sending yet two more to the
stake, it was only at the last moment that their lives were
miraculously spared. The ex-Speaker was riding towards
Cranbrook with full intent to carry his sinister purpose
into effect, when, at a spot where three roads meet, known
to this day as Baker's Cross, the bells of the parish church
intimated to him that Elizabeth had ascended the throne.

Sir John Baker died in London in 1558, but his body
was brought down to Cranbrook and buried with great
ceremony in the church there. A monument erected to
his memory was accidentally destroyed in 1725 when,
on opening the family vault, a portion of the middle aisle
fell down owing to the loosening of one of the supporting
arches.

The Bakers ceased to be connected with Sissinghurst
in the eighteenth century, and the dilapidated castle
came into the possession of Horace Walpole's correspon-
dent, Sir Horace Mann. During the Seven Years' War
it was used as a place of confinement for French prisoners,
as many as three thousand being horded together in it
at one time. After their withdrawal in 1763 it was un-
inhabited for about twenty years, and in 1784 the paro-
chial authorities hired the premises from Sir Horace Mann
for the purpose of a poor-house.

With the dissolution of the ecclesiastical houses the

SIR JOHN BAKER

IS45. 1547

From a draivin^ m the National Portrait Gallery

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 131

long and intimate connection between the Abbey and
the House of Commons came to an end. It ceased to
meet in the precincts of St. Peter's and took possession
of the disused Chapel of St. Stephen in the Palace of
Westminster. It met there for the first time on 4 Novem-
ber, 1547, and by a singular coincidence the city of
Westminster now first obtained separate representation
in the House. ^

The posthumous generosity of Henry VIII involved a
heavy charge on the Exchequer, and, Somerset's ambitious
policy entailing great expense, such old devices as tamper-
ing with the coinage were once more resorted to, and
endeavours were made to persuade Parliament to grant
the King the lands held by guilds and fraternities, and
to sell them in order to supply the pressing necessities of
the Government.

But the new House of Commons was not quite so
subservient as some of its predecessors, and it became
necessary for the State to come to terms with the most
determined opponents of the measure in the House.
From entries in the Registers of the Privy Council we
gather that systematic obstruction and many of the
devices of modem Parliamentary tactics were not un-
known. Ljmn and Coventry were two boroughs princi-
pally affected, and the Council came to the conclusion
that " the article for the guildable lands should be dashed"
(this being the current phraseology for the rejection of a
BUI or one of its articles or clauses), since " the time of the

' The Journals of the House begin with this Parliament ; on the
first page Baker's election to the Chair is recorded, but the appoint-
ments of several subsequent Speakers are unnoticed in their pages,
and the earlier Journals are, in many respects, of a fragmentary
character.

132 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

prorogation being hard at hand the whole body of the
Act might sustain peril unless by some good policy the
principal speakers against the passing of that article
might be stayed. "^ History has a habit of repeating
itself, and three hundred years later than Protector
Somerset, ministers of the Crown have often had occasion
to resort to very similar measures in "staying" loqua-
cious members, so that unpopular " articles " in Govern-
ment Bills should not be " dashed."

Early in 1549 the Act of Uniformity passed through
both Houses and the celebration of the Mass in England
was prohibited after the month of May. At the dissolution
in 1552 the Privy Council directed the payment of fifty
marks to John Seymour, " Clerk of the Lower House of
Parliament," for his pains (and in 1554 he received the
same sum), but it is not stated that the Speaker received
any reward for his services.^

The second and last Parliament of Edward VI, like so

many of its predecessors, was a packed assembly. Sir

James Dyer,^ who appears to have been the willing

tool of Northumberland, then at the zenith of his

power, was its Speaker. The House only sat for a

month, and almost the only Act of importance which it

passed was one for the suppression of the Bishopric of

Durham. Speaker Dyer's portrait in judge's robes, for

he became Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in 1560,

in which capacity he was noted for an incorruptible

integrity, has recently been added to the National Portrait

GaUery.

^ Acts of the Privy Council, 6 May, 1548.
2 Ibid., 15 May, 1552.

= Youngest son of Richard Dyer, of Wincanton and Roundhill, Co.
Somerset.

^l^r iflH^^'^ ^H

tt ^^^^H

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^|HtL^^_^^^^^^^^|^^HM^^^^^^^^^^^^^^u|^^^^^H

SIR JAMES DYER

1552-3
Reproduced from an original fainting iii the possession of Canon Mayo, of Long Btifton,

Farley

SIR ROBERT BROOKE

1554
From a drawing at the National Portrait Gallery

SIR CLEMENT HEIGHAM

1554
From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 133

Just as the country seemed to be settling down into
Protestantism, a state of affairs which coincided with the
apportionment of the remaining lands of the Church
amongst the members of the Privy Council, Edward VI,
whose health had long been precarious, grew suddenly
worse, and on 6 July, 1553, he died. The Council,
controlled by the Duke of Northumberland, who wished
to place his daughter-in-law. Lady Jane Grey, on the
throne, were anxious to keep Mary misinformed as to
her brother's death. But from Kenninghall, whither
she had summoned Sir Clement Heigham, a staunch
Catholic and a subsequent Speaker of the House of
Commons, Mary sent a spirited message to the Council
in London asserting her rights, and from that moment
the tide of pubhc opinion turned in her favour. She
set up her standard at Framlingham, was proclaimed
Queen at Norwich, and within a month she entered
London in triumph.

On I October she was crowned at Westminster amidst
every sign of popular rejoicing. Five days later her first
Parliament met and at once proceeded to repeal the laws
concerning rehgion passed under her predecessor and to
declare the Queen legitimate. The new Speaker was Sir
John Pollard, the second son of Walter Pollard, of Ply-
mouth, by Avice, daughter of Richard Pollard of Way,
Co. Devon. Parliament was dissolved early in December,
after requesting the Queen to marry, and suggesting that
she should choose her husband from amongst the Enghsh
nobihty, for the possibility of union with Philip of Spain
was strongly resented. Mary returned a diplomatic
answer, denying the right of the House to influence her
choice, but declaring that her sole wish was to secure her

134 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

people's happiness as well as her own. Immediately
afterwards she entered upon the final negotiations for her
marriage to Philip.

Pollard was re-elected Speaker in October, 1555. and
during the session an Act was passed to restore some at
least of the Church property alienated by Henry VIII. It
was only carried in the Lower House by 193 to 126, but
in the Lords only two peers voted against it. Mach3ni
records the burial of Sir John Pollard on 25 August,
1557. but he omits to mention the- place of interment.
Sir Robert Brooke was Speaker of Mary's second Par-
liament, summoned to ratify the Queen's contract of
marriage. Of a Shropshire family, he was the first Speaker
to sit for the City of London. He died in 1558, and in
the chancel of Claverley Church near Wolverhampton a
stately monument to his memory was erected. Sir Clement
Heigham, an intimate friend of the Queen, was Speaker
of her third Parliament (the first of Philip and Mary).
It was opened in great state by Mary and her consort
in person, who rode on horseback from Whitehall to
Westminster. Two days later, his attainder having been
reversed, Cardinal Pole arrived at Westminster in his
state barge, bearing the Legatine emblem of a silver cross
at the prow. Between the dissolution of this Parliament
and the end of the reign three hundred heretics were burnt
at Smithfield and other places.

Much the same precautions were taken to secure the
return of members acceptable to the Court as had been
taken by Henry VIII. The sheriffs were enjoined only
to return such as were resident in the constituencies, a
regulation well worthy of imitation at the present day,
and " men given to good order. Catholic, and discreet."

SIR WILLIAM CORDELL

I5S7-8

From apo7-ti-ait at St. John's College^ Oxford

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 135

In the year in which Calais was lost, Queen Mary, sick at
heart at Philip's desertion, met her last Parliament. She
opened it in person after attending Mass in the Abbey.
Sir William Cordell, of Long Melford, Suffolk, member for
the county, was chosen Speaker. The session was not in
any way remarkable, and, after granting a subsidy, the
Houses were prorogued from March till November. The
Commons on their reassembly were about to consider a
Bill for the limitation of the powers of the Press, a new
subject to engage the attention of the legislature, when
the Queen's fatal illness brought the sittings to an abrupt
termination. Cordell became Master of the Rolls, and
held that lucrative office for nearly a quarter of a century.
From that time forward the Speakership came to be re-
garded by ambitious lawyers as a stepping-stone to high
legal preferment. The spacious days of Queen Elizabeth
saw ten Parliaments and eleven Speakers; all of them
without exception were lawyers.^

The tenure of the Chair, even for a single session, served
as a bridge to higher legal honours. Nor is the reason far
to seek. Whilst the majority were men in good practice
at the Bar, the emoluments of the Chair at the close of the
sixteenth century were so small that the natural trend of
their ambition was towards the better-paid offices of the
profession. Including the great Sir Thomas More, five
Speakers have risen to the Woolsack either as Chancellor
or Keeper of the Great Seal : Audley, Rich, Puckering, and
Heneage Finch, whilst Hare, Lenthall, and Whitelocke
were Commissioners during vacancy. Seven became
Masters of the Rolls : Hare, Cordell, Phelips, Lenthall,
Grimston, Trevor, and Powle. More numerous still have

• The same was the case in the two succeeding reigns.

136 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

been the instances in which the post of Chief Justice of the
King's Bench or the Common Pleas has been conferred on
a former Speaker. Sir James Dyer, Sir Robert Brooke,
Sir Christopher Wray, Sir John Popham, Sir Edward
Coke, Sir John Croke, Sir Randolph Crewe, Sir Thomas
Richardson, and Sir Job Charlton filled one or other of
these coveted places, whilst Barons of the Exchequer and
Recorders of London are to be found in plenty in the
catalogue. For 170 years the Speakership was farmed
by the Law, and that during the least glorious period of
its history. When Sir John Trevor was expelled the
House in 1695 for taking bribes he was allowed to re-
main Master of the Rolls.

So many Speakers had lived in Chancery Lane that
in the seventeenth century the Rolls House came to be
looked upon as the official residence of the presiding
officer of the Commons sooner or later in his career.
This house, which was pulled down to make way for
an extension of the Public Record^^ Of&ce, was designed
by Colin Campbell in the reign of George I to replace
an earher structure on the same site. It was a
comfortable, rambUng building large enough to accom-
modate a big family. A good story is told of Sir
William Grant in connection with it. When his successor
arrived, the great Judge personally conducted him over
the ground floor. " Here are two or three good rooms :
this is my sitting-room; my library and bedroom are
beyond ; and I am told there are some good rooms
upstairs, but I never was there myself."

The illegal system of State monopolies, ^ which originated

1 A monopoly conferred the right of selling articles at a higher price
than could have been obtained under a system of competition.

SIR THOMAS GARGRAVE

1558-59
From a pahiting in the possession 0/ Mi/nn- Gibson Gery Culluin, Esq.

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 137

under the Tudors, was perpetuated and extended by the
Stuarts. These encroachments on the liberty of the
subject provided a convenient means of raising money
without the consent of Parliament, and tended, as much
as anything, to produce that rooted antagonism to the
misuse of the royal prerogative which characterised the
House of Commons in the first half of the seventeenth
century. The valuable collections of Sir Symonds
D'Ewes, supplemented by the Registers of the Privy
Council, throw a lurid light on the proceedings of
Parliament in the reign of Elizabeth.

As a rule, the Speaker was elected by the unanimous
vote of the House, but the appointment of Richard
Onslow is an early instance, perhaps the earliest, of a
contested election to the Chair. On i October, 1566, he
was chosen by eighty-two votes to sixty, and though he
pleaded as an excuse for serving the necessity of his
attendance in the House of Lords as Solicitor-General,
the House decided that he might fill the two ofl&ces
concurrently. Onslow, the first of three Speakers of his
name and family, married Katherine Hardinge in 1559,
whose father lived at Knowle, Cranley, Surrey, and from
him the Earls of Onslow are descended.

His brother Fulk was Clerk of the House at the time
of Richard's election, and in that capacity it fell to his
lot to record the result of the division. Richard Onslow's
town house was in Blackfriars, so that he was doubtless
in the habit of proceeding to Westminster in his state
barge, as the roads leading to the House were still un-
suited to the passage of a heavy coach in bad weather.

An interesting account of the arrangement of the House
of Commons as Richard Onslow knew it was prepared in

138 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

1568 by Hooker, a well-known antiquarian writer of the
day, for the use of the then Speaker of the Irish Parlia-
ment. "The Lower House, as it is called, is a place
distinct from the other : it is more of length than of
breadth ; it is made like a theatre, having four rows
of seats one above another round about the same.
At the higher end, in the middle of the lower row, is
a seat made for the Speaker, in which he always sitteth ;
before it is a table board, at which sitteth the Clerk of
the House, and thereupon layeth his books, and writeth
his records. Upon the lower row, on both sides the
Speaker, sit such personages as be of the King's Privy
Council, or of his chief of&cers ; ^ but as for any other,
none claimeth nor can claim any place, but sitteth as he
cometh, saving that on the right hand of the Speaker,
next beneath the said counsels, the Londoners and the
citizens of York do sit, and so in order should sit all the
citizens accordingly ; without this House is one other,
in which the under clerks do sit, as also such as be suitors
and attendant to that House. And whensoever the House
is divided upon any Bill, then the room is voided, and
the one part of the House cometh down into this place to
be numbered." Here is indicated the origin of the outer
lobby, and the primitive manner of taking divisions
under the Tudors.

St. Stephen's Chapel, in addition to its still-existing
crypt, had also an attic storey in which were kept the
manuscript records of Parliament. A great clearance of
these was made in the time of the Commonwealth, when
Scobell, the then Clerk of the House, was found to have
carried many of them away to his own house.

1 An early mention of the front Government and Opposition
benches.

THOMAS WILLIAMS

156^-3
From n memorial I'rass at Harford L liilrch, Do;

SIR CHRISTOPHER WRAY

1571
From a painting in the A ati07ial Portrait Gallery

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 139

Richard Onslow died of a pestilent fever in 1571, and
was buried at St. Chad's Church, Shrewsbury, where a
monument with the effigies of himself and his wife was
erected. Sir Robert Bell, a Norfolk gentleman, who was
Speaker from 1572 to 1575-76, met with a somewhat
similar end. Having been made Chief Baron of the
Exchequer, in succession to Sir Edward Saunders, he
died, at the Oxford summer assizes, of gaol fever, con-
tracted whilst presiding at the trial of a bookseller for
slandering the Queen.

Of Sir John Popham, Speaker from 1580-81 to 1583,
the first Balliol man to fill the Chair, a witty saying is
recorded by Bacon. The Commons had sat a long
time without achieving much in the way of legislation,
and when the Queen asked him : " What hath passed
in the House, Mr. Speaker ? " he made answer : " May
it please Your Majesty, seven weeks ! " He acted as
Prosecutor for the Crown at the trial of Mary, Queen
of Scots, and only in this present year, 1910, the
original document signed by Ehzabeth prescribing the
payment of £100 as "blood money" for his services
on that occasion was sold by auction in London.

In his oration on his elevation to the Chair, Popham
advised his fellow-members " to use reverent and dis-
creet speeches, to leave curiosity of form, and to
speak to the matter." Further, as the Parliament was
likely to be a short one, to avoid superfluous argu-
ment.

Increased respect was now beginning to be paid to the
Chair, and a motion was made by the Comptroller of the
Household and universally approved by which the
residue of the House " of the better sort of calling "

I40 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

were enjoined, at the conclusion of each day's sitting,
" to depart and come forth in comely and civil sort,"
curtseying to the Speaker on leaving, and not thrusting
and thronging "as of late time hath been disorderly
used." Members were further required to keep their
servants, pages, and lacqueys attending on them in good
order. 1

In the course of the same session D'Ewes makes
mention of a concession by the House at large to the
Serjeant-at-Arms, who was infirm, but without specify-
ing the occasion. " The House being moved did grant
that the Serjeant, who was to go before the Speaker,
being weak and somewhat pained in his limbs, might ride
upon a foot-cloth nag." Although he appears to have
ruled the House wisely, Popham's attitude in the Chair
was occasionally unfavourably commented upon, a
Mr. Cope complaining, on one occasion, that Mr. Speaker
" in some such matters as he hath favoured, but without
licence of this House, hath spoken to a Bill, and in some
other cases which he did not favour and like of, he
would prejudice the speeches of other members."

Probably a descendant of the Popham who was
Speaker in 1449, his legal knowledge is embodied in his
well-known volume of " Reports and Cases." His por-
trait, by an unknown artist, in the National Portrait
Gallery, represents him as a benevolent-looking old man
of sixty-eight.

Sir John Puckering, Speaker from 1584-86, and again
from 1586-87, is not mentioned in the official Commons
Journals (which indeed contain no record of the proceed-
ings of any of the later Parliaments of Elizabeth), but

^ D'Ewes, Journals of Elizabeth, 1682 edition, p. 282.

RICHARD ONSLOW
1566
From a painting in the Speakers House

SIB. mUBKTRT TRKliiU , X'^^'

SIR ROBERT EKLI.

1572
l-'yoin a print

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 141

deserves more than passing notice here. When he was
voted to the Chair for the second time Parliament had
been especially convened to consider the verdict in the trial
of Mary, Queen of Scots. Elizabeth sent an order to the
Commons by her Vice-Chamberlain^ requiring that no
laws should be made in the course of the session, " there
being many more already than could be well executed."
A compliant House was only too willing to endorse the
views of the advisers of the Crown, and after the prelimi-
naries of meeting had been disposed of. Puckering put the
House in remembrance of its duty to deal forthwith with
what he hypocritically described as " The Great Cause,"
recommended to its consideration by the Queen. In the
debate which followed, Francis Bacon made his maiden
speech and the Speaker was unanimously directed to
wait upon Ehzabeth and to urge her to comply with the
findings of the House against her prisoner.

The Queen received Puckering in audience at Rich-
mond,* when he submitted a petition calling for Mary's
speedy execution, using many " excellent and sohd
reasons," in a memorial written with his own hand, why
her life should be taken. Of these reasons the one
which weighed most with Elizabeth was that which
declared that Mary was " greedy for her death," and
preferred it before her own life or safety. The House
adjourned over Christmas, and before it could meet
again* the last act in the long-drawn tragedy of Fotherin-
gay had taken place. In after days Puckering was
rewarded for his complaisant servility by being made
Keeper of the Great Seal. In the Upper House he

» Sir Christopher Hatton. ' 13 November.

• On 15 February.

142 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

deserted the Commons' cause when in his reply to Coke's
demand for the ancient privileges of the House he replied
in overbearing terms, " Your right of free speech is not to
say anything that pleaseth you and come out with what-
soever may be your thought. Your right of free speech is
the right of Aye or No."

Puckering hved at Kew, where he entertained the
Queen, who was graciously pleased to take away a knife
and fork as a memento of her visit. When in town he
lived at Russell House, near Ivy Bridge, on the south
side of the Strand. The Hotel Cecil now covers the site.
He was buried in Westminster Abbey, the second in
the long catalogue of Speakers to be so honoured. A
ponderous monument, erected by his widow in the
Chapel of St. Paul, with effigies of both husband and
wife, may still be seen.

Rather less than justice has been done by Parlia-
mentary historians to Serjeant Thomas Snagge, who was
Speaker in 1588-89, in the Parliament summoned by
Elizabeth, after the defeat of the Armada, to place the
country in a state of security in the event of a renewal
of Spanish aggression. Coming as he did after Puckering,
who became Keeper of the Great Seal, and immediately
before Coke, whose effulgence overshadowed his more
modest attainments, Snagge, though he never reached
the judicial bench, seems to have been an excellent
public servant and a man in advance of his time in advo-
cating the simplification of legal phraseology in the
drafting of Acts of Parhament. Though a staunch
supporter of the royal prerogative, he was less subser-
vient to the Court than the majority of his predecessors,
which may account for his having been passed over.

SIR JOHN POPHAM

1 580- 1

From a fainting in the National Portrait Gallery

i''J!liii!ill!l!lii!iii!l'':lililli'lih'»;'"Vl'HiiN^

F. Cell:, sculpt.

SIR lOHN' TUCKERING
■ 15S4, I5S6
is toiiih ill II cstmutstir AH'C_

From his toiit'

From a f^rinl

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 143

whilst less scrupulous members of his profession were
raised to hereditary honours. His speech to the throne,
on presentation as Speaker for the royal approval,
compares very favourably with the bombastic language
employed by Coke on a similar occasion.

The son of Thomas Snagge, of Letchworth — the "garden
city " of the twentieth century — a gentleman bearing arms
at the Heralds' Visitation of Hertfordshire in 1572, he
acquired a large landed estate by his marriage with
Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Thomas Decons, of
Marston-Morteyne, in the county of Bedford, and became
a wealthy man independently of his professional emolu-
ments. He was bred to the law at Gray's Inn, where he
formed the acquaintance of Walsingham, and the first
mention to be found of his Parliamentary services is on
7 April, 1 571, when he was appointed to serve on a
Committee which met in the Star Chamber to consider
the subsidy to be granted to the Queen. At this time
he sat for Bedfordshire, though at the time of his
promotion to the Chair he represented the borough,
while his eldest son, also Thomas Snagge, sat for the
county. His brother, Robert Snagge, had also been a
member of the House in 1571.

In the course of the session he made speeches advocating
the use of simpler language in the making of laws, " where-
by all entrapments should be shunned and avoided," an
enlightened view, coming from the source which it did.
He also spoke at some length on the difficult question
of Simony.^ Probably through Walsingham's influence
he was made Attorney-General for Ireland in 1577.
The Lord Deputy, Henry Sidney, had written to the

' D'Ewes, Journals of Elizabeth, pp. 163 and 165.

144 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Privy Council in England to say that there were no
lawyers in that country capable of filling the post, with
the exception of Sir Lucas Dillon, the Chief Baron.

The Queen's choice fell upon Thomas Snagge, and in a
letter, dated from Oatlands in September, 1577, she wrote
that she was " sufficiently persuaded of his learning and
judgment," and that he was to have £100 a year in addi-
tion to his fees, and the wages of two horsemen and three
footmen. Moreover, " forasmuch as for an infirmity
taken by an extreme cold he hath once in the year used
his body to the bajmes in England, the continuance
whereof was requisite to his health," he was to be at
liberty to repair to Bath once a year for six weeks " at
such time of vacation as may best agree with his cure
and be least hindrance to the public service."

In sending Snagge's Patent of Appointment to Sidney,
Walsingham wrote as follows : " The Dutye that he
oweth to Her Majestic and his Countrye doth make him
leave all other Respects and willinglie to dedicate him-
self to that Service, for the which I find him a Man
so chosen both for Judgement and bould Spirit ... as
hardly all the Howses of Court could jdeld his hke." ^

Snagge's first letter to Walsingham is dated from
Holyhead, to which he had been driven back by stress
of weather. In it he mentions that his journey had
already cost him forty-eight pounds, and he feared that
it would cost him eight pounds more. But on 7 Novem-
ber he wrote from Dublin, sa3dng that " he had seen
what there is to be seen concerning the course of law
in Ireland, which I find to be but a bare shadowe of
Westminster Hall." A little later he is found com-

' Collins, Letters and Memorials of State, i. 228.

SPEAKER SNAGC.E^S MONUMENT
I58S-9

At Marston-Morteyne, Beds.
Front a liraivirig

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 145

plaining of the conduct of the Master of the Rolls in
Ireland, whom he found to be " very neghgent in his
office, which greatly hindereth Her Majesty. I can get
nothing of him but fayre words, and he hath not delivered
into the Exchequer these 3 yeares past any estreates for
things which passed the seale." He also told Walsing-
ham that the same official would, in his opinion, " do
more hurt in this Commonwealth than all the rest
of the counseyle can do good."

The Lord Deputy, who was then engaged in the con-
genial task of crushing Desmond's rebeUion, appears to
have thought highly of Snagge's capacity, and he wrote
to the Privy Council from Dublin Castle .^ "I find him
a man well learned, sufficient stoute and well-spoken,
an instrument of good service for Her Majesty, and such
as is carefiill to redresse by wisdome and good discretion
such errors as he findeth in H.M.'s courts here, so that
by his presence I find myself well assisted, and I humbly
thank your Lordships for the sending of him unto me,"
adding, significantly enough, that more of his sort were
then needed in Ireland.

In 1578 Snagge was still complaining of the dis-
service done to the Queen's Government by the ineffi-
ciency of the officials of Dublin Castle, and the Chief
Remembrancer in particular, whose office he described
as being the key of all the services touching the revenue,
" the wrong turning whereof hath greatly hindered the
good I would have done in my service, and, to be plain,
if the place is not filled with a special man it is in vain
to send over any in my place to serve here." On his
return to England Snagge was rewarded by being

* On November 26, 1 577.

146 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

made one of Her Majesty's Serjeants - at - Law, and
resumed his attendance in Parliament. Nor were Wal-
singham and Sidney the only ministers of the Crown
whose confidence he enjoyed.

Lord Treasurer Burghley, another celebrity hailing
from Gray's Inn in its most glorious days, signed himself
" Your loving friend " in a letter which he addressed to
the Speaker shortly after his elevation to the Chair.
This document, which is preserved in the Public Record
Office, is reproduced in facsimile on the adjoining page,
and deserves to be inserted here, as it contains an early
allusion to the state of public business in the House of
Commons, and reveals the anxiety of the Government
of the day to secure the passage of the measures referred
to in an accompanying schedule : —

" Mr. Speaker,

" I praie you consider of this note which I had of
my Lord Chancellor,^ and to cause the Clerk of the
Lower House to sett down how theie stande at this dale
in their Readinge, etc.

" Your loving friend,
" W. Burghley, xv Martii, 1588-P9]."

Fulk Onslow, brother of the Speaker of 1566, was the
person referred to by the Lord Treasurer.

Speaker Snagge died in 1593, and was buried in a
sumptuous alabaster tomb at Marston-Morteyne adorned
with the recumbent ef&gies of himself and his wife.
Manning, writing in 185 1, erroneously supposed that
the male line of the family was extinct ; but the present
Sir Thomas Snagge, Judge of County Courts, is the

' Sir Christopher Hatton.

THE HOl)SE OF TUDOR 147

representative head of this ancient family and tenth in
descent from the Speaker of 1588-89. ^

Sir Edward Coke, Hke Sir Thomas More, now crossed
the stage of Parliament. He was Speaker for less than
two months, and it was not until the evening of his days,
and after he had been out of the House for twenty-seven
years, that he re-entered it, as an independent member, to
become the foremost champion of the liberties of the
subject. His Parliamentary fame therefore belongs
rather to the Stuart period and will be treated of in the
next chapter. What httle is known of Coke's attitude
in the Chair during the few weeks in which he was
Speaker is mainly due to the collections of the inde-
fatigable Sir Symonds D'Ewes. His speech (or speeches,
for he made two), on presentation for the royal approval,
differed in no material degree from the language of
extravagant metaphor employed by most of his prede-
cessors, and showed little of the independence and
courage which marked the later years of his career.
Although anxious to pose as the faithful servant of the
House, he seems to have misconceived the true function
of the Speaker's office, and never to have been able to
forget that he was also the Queen's Solicitor-General.
Likening himself with mock humility to untimely fruit
" not yet ripe, but a bud scarcely blossomed," ^ he
expressed the fear that Her Majesty " amongst so many
fair fruit had plucked in him a shaking leaf."

The Lord Keeper, Puckering, answered him in similar

* The illustration of Speaker's Snagge's monument was kindly sup-
plied to the author, together with much interesting genealogical infor-
mation, by Sir Thomas Snagge, from a drawing by G. Wilson, of
Messrs. Farmer and Brindley, Lambeth.

• Coke was now in his forty-second year.

148 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

strain, and in his second oration, the new Speaker, after
a complimentary reference to Elizabeth's late successes
over her enemies the Pope and the King of Spain, passed
in rapid review the legislative achievements of every reign
since that of Henry III. But, as Coke was notoriously
careless in verif5dng his references, even his great and
acknowledged erudition could hardly have prevented
him from making many mistakes in attempting such an
epitome of Parliamentary history. He also spoke of
there being already so many laws that they might properly
be termed Elephantine Leges, saying that to make more
would seem superfluous were it not that the malice of
" our arch-enemy the Devil " required the passing of
measures designed to counteract his evil influence. He
concluded with the usual formal requests for liberty of
speech, freedom from arrest, and access to the Sovereign.
To which Puckering, an even greater sycophant,
having received fresh instructions from the .Queen, made
the singular reply already mentioned ^ in which he defined
his latest interpretation of the right of free speech.

Two days later Coke was suddenly taken ill and could
not attend the sittings of the House. " On Saturday
24 February the House being set, and a great number
of the members of the same assembled, Mr. Speaker not
then as yet being come to the House, some said to one
another, they heard he was sick; and one affirmed
it to be so indeed, showing that he had been with him
this morning himself, and left him sick in his bed,^ and
his physician and his wife with him ; and some others

' At page 142 of this volume.

" At his house in Serjeant's Inn, Fleet Street, for he did not remove
to Holborn until|his second marriage.

SIR EDWARD COKE

1592-3
From a painting at Holkham

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 149

supposing that he would shortly signify unto this House
the cause of that his absence, moved that the Clerk ^ might
in the meantime proceed to saying of the Litany and
Prayers. Which being so done accordingly the Serjeant
of this House, presently after the said prayers finished,
brought word from Mr. Speaker unto the Rt. Hon. Sir
John WooUey, Kt., one of H.M.'s most honourable
Privy Council, and a member of this House and then
present, that he had been this last night and also was this
present forenoon so extremely pained with a wind in
his stomach and looseness of body, that he could not as
yet without his further great peril and danger adventure
into the air at this time, which otherwise most willingly
he would have done." Whereon : " all the said members
of this House being very sorry for Mr. Speaker, his sick-
ness, rested well satisfied. And so the House did rise,
and every man departed away." *

His recovery must have been as rapid as his indis-
position was sudden. On the 27th of the same month,
when he returned to the Chair, he dealt a blow against
the advocates of complete religious liberty by ensur-
ing the postponement of an inconvenient debate which
had been sprung upon the House in connection with
the abuses prevailing in the Ecclesiastical Courts. An
unequal contest was in progress between the Crown
and a numerous section of the House which sought to
prevent the Bishops and Ecclesiastical Judges from
applying the penal laws originally directed against the
Papists to the Puritan Clergy. The subtlety which he
had acquired in the practice of the law enabled Coke,

» Fulk Onslow.

* Sir S3mionds D'Ewes, Journals of Queen Elizabeth's Reign, p. 470.

150 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

knowing as he did the Queen's wishes, so to utilise and
amplify the forms of the House as to serve what he
conceived to be the royal interests without, at the same
time, alienating from himself the confidence of the
assembly over which he presided.

A Mr. Morris, Attorney of the Court of Wards, brought
forward a Bill to protect the Puritans from harsh eccle-
siastical jurisdiction, and its reception by the House
was not unfavourable. Sir Francis KnoUys, the Treasurer
of the Household, and Oliver St. John ^ supported it,
whilst Sir Robert Cecil ^ and Doctor William Lewin,
M.P. for Rochester and a judge of the Prerogative Court
of Canterbury, inveighed against it. Coke, who owed
much of his early advancement to the Cecil family
and to Lord Burghley in particular, dexterously pre-
vented the House from coming to an immediate
decision, by stating that the Bill was too complex for
him to comprehend its full meaning on such short
notice, and by asking leave to consider its provisions
in private on the understanding that he would keep them
secret. The Bill was accordingly left in his hands for
perusal. But the House at large had not foreseen the
dangers of procrastination so adroitly recommended to it
by an expert in the manipulation of precedent. The
Queen forthwith sent for the Speaker to St. James's
Palace and commanded hini to deliver a message to the
Body of the Realm, as she was pleased to describe the
House of Commons, peremptorily forbidding its Members

1 Afterwards first Viscount Grandison and Lord High Treasurer of
Ireland in 1625.

' Raised to the Peerage in the next reign as Viscount Cranborne
and Earl of Salisbury, the well-known builder of Hatfield House.

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 151

to meddle in matters of State policy or in ecclesiastical
causes.

That the Coke of 1593 was a wholly different man from
the fearless champion of liberty which his many admirers
assert that he became after his final estrangement from
the atmosphere of the Court, is apparent from the speech
which he made to the House in commendation of the
royal message. In it he stands revealed as the docile
servant of the Crown, whilst endeavouring, with scant
success, to justify himself to the House for having dis-
closed the contents of the Bill to the Queen.

" I must be short, for Her Majesty's words were not
many, and I may, perhaps, fail in the delivery of them.
For though^my auditors be great, yet who is so impudent
whom the presence of such a Majesty could not appal ?
Her Majesty did not require the Bill of me, this only she
required of me, what were the things in the Bill spoken
of by the House ? Which points I only delivered as they
that heard me can tell. . . . Her Majesty's express
commandment is that no Bill touching the said matters
of State or Reformation in causes ecclesiastical be ex-
hibited. And, upon my allegiance, I am commanded, if
any such Bill be exhibited, not to read it."

Not only was the Bill quashed, but Mr. Morris, the
unfortunate sponsor of it, was sent for to the Court, and
committed to the custody of the Chancellor of the
, Exchequer.^ Later in the same session there was a
serious disagreement, perhaps the most remarkable
since 1407, between the two Houses as to the amount
of the subsidy to be granted to the Crown, and the
means to be taken to expedite it. In a periodically

1 Cobbett's Parliamentary History, Vol. I, p. 889.

152 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

recurring controversy, wherein, thirty-five years later,
Coke was destined to play the foremost part in deter-
mining the questions at issue in favour of the repre-
sentative Chamber, the Speaker acted once more as
the instrument of the Sovereign rather than as the
jealous protector of the privileges of the Commons.
An animated and, from the constitutional point of view,
a highly instructive debate continued for several days,
touching the right of the Lords to intervene in the matter
of finance. On i March their Lordships sent down a
message to the Commons requiring them to expedite the
passing of an increased supply and desiring a conference
on the subject.

The great Sir Francis Bacon, Coke's lifelong rival, was
foremost in opposing the adoption of such a course, declar-
ing that it was contrary to the privileges of the Commons
to join with the Lords in the granting of a subsidy : " For
the custom and privilege of this House hath always been,"
he said, " first to make offer of the subsidies from hence,
then to the Upper House. . . . And reason it is, that we
should stand upon our privilege, seeing the burthen resteth
upon us as the greatest number, nor is it reason the thanks
should be theirs. And in joining with them in this
motion, we shall derogate from ours ; for the thanks will
be theirs and the blame ours, they being the first movers.
Wherefore I wish that in this action we should proceed,
as heretofore we have done, apart by ourselves, and not
join with their Lordships." He argued further that
though the Lords might give notice to the Commons
what need or danger there was, they ought not to prescribe
the sum to be given. It will be noted that he based his
argument for the supremacy of the Commons in finance,

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 153

not upon their representative character, but upon their
numerical superiority. Sir Walter Raleigh spoke in favour
of an increased subsidy without alluding to the consti-
tutional aspect of the question, but Robert Beale, the
representative of the Borough of Lostwithiel, an old
member of the House and a well-known diplomatist and
antiquarian writer, vehemently insisted on the preser-
vation and maintenance of the ancient liberties of the
House, citing the inevitable precedent of the reign of
Henry IV, in the Parliament held at Gloucester in 1407,
whereat it was asserted that a conference between the
two Houses in the sphere of finance would be a derogation
of the privileges of the representatives of the people.^

Sir Robert Cecil used his great influence in favour
of holding the conference, but on a division being
taken only 128 voted for it and 217 against it. But
the matter was not even then finally disposed of. A
message was sent to the Lords to acquaint them that
the Commons could not join with them in cases of benevo-
lence or contribution, but, on a later day, Mr. Beale, who
seems to have been but a pinchbeck Hampden after all,
receded from his former uncompromising attitude, and
humbly asked leave of the House to make a personal
explanation. This was to the effect that he had mistaken
the precise significance of the question already put from
the Chair and decided by the House, and that he now
thought that if the Lords desired a conference it ought to
be accorded,

" Mr. Beale desired to satisfy the House, by reason it
was conceived by the Lords the other day, that upon his

• For his share in the dispute and his attitude towards the mal-
practices of the Ecclesiastical Courts referred to above, Beale was
banished from Court and Parliament.

154 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

motion, and by his precedent showed, the House was led
to deny a conference with the Lords, acknowledged he
had mistaken the question propounded. For there being
but a conference desired by the Lords, and no confirming
of any thing they had done, he thought we might, and it
was fit we should confer. And to this end only he showed
the Precedent. That in the ninth year of Henry IV the
Commons having granted a subsidy,'![^which the Lords
thought too little, and they agreed to a'greater and would
have the Commons to confirm that which they had done ;
this the Commons thought they could not do without
prejudice to this House. Wherefore he acknowledged
himself mistaken in the question, and desired if any were
led by him, to be satisfied, for that he would have been of
another opinion if he had conceived the matter as it was
meant."^

Sir Walter Raleigh, quick to see the advantage to be
gained through this change of front, then proposed and
carried, without a dissentient voice, a motion for a general
conference with the Lords, " touching the great imminent
dangers of the Realm and State, and the present necessary
supply of Treasure to be provided speedily for the same
according to the proportion of the necessity."

At these Conferences the Lords sat covered whilst the
members of the Lower House stood uncovered. This
curious Parliamentary survival lingered well into the
nineteenth century, and the late Mr. Evel57n Philip
Shirley, of Ettington, who died so recently as 1882,
not only remembered the observance of this custom,
but to have seen the carpet spread, not on the floor of the
Conference room, but on the table. This usage is believed
to have given rise to the phrase " on the tapis."

1 D'Ewes, Journals, p. 487.

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 155

Macaiday attended one of these Conferences/ and
made an interesting comment on the relations of the
Lords and Commons in this connection.

" The two Houses had a conference on the subject
in an old Gothic room called the Painted Chamber.
The painting consists in a mildewed daub of a woman
in the niche of one of the windows. The Lords sat in
little cocked hats along a table, and we stood uncovered
on the other side, and delivered in our Resolutions. I
thought that before long it may be our turn to sit, and
theirs to stand." ^

The last time the Painted Chamber was ever used
was on 13 August, 1834, when a Conference between the
two Houses was held in it on the County Coroners Bill.
In October of the same year it was destroyed by fire.

The Conference of 1593 was held in due course in the
" chamber next to the Upper House of Parliament," and
from that moment victory rested with the Lords. For,
notwithstanding a sharp wrangle as to the wording of
the preamble of the Bill of Supply, it was drawn up
and finally assented to in the following terms : " We
the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and the Commons
of this present Parhament assembled, do by our
Hke assent, and authority of this Parliament, give and
grant to your Highness," etc. etc. Thus, in 1593, the Com-
mons yielded to the Lords the very point which Coke,
when the question of the wording of the preamble of
BUls of Supply came up for settlement in 1628, was
foremost in insisting upon, namely, the right of the Com-
mons to be exclusively named in the granting of supplies.

• On Indian Resolutions, June 17, 1833.

2 Trevelyan's Life and Letters of Macaulay, Vol. I, p. 302.

156 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Sir Symonds D'Ewes, whose collections are especially
valuable for this period, further states that the Bill of
1593 was only passed with much difficulty, and after many
days' agitation, " by reason of the greatness thereof,"
owing to the Speaker " over-reaching the House in the subtle
putting of the question, by which means it had only been
considered of in the Committee Chamber by eighteen
members of the House appointed in the beginning of this
forenoon,^ though many of the House desired a longer
time for it to have been considered in Committee." It
had actually been under consideration on ten separate
occasions between 26 February and 22 March, when it
passed the third reading.

Some scraps of information concerning the more
personal aspect of the House of Commons at this period
are to be gleaned from contemporary sources. On the
occasion of the great debate on the financial relations of
the two Houses, it fell to Coke's lot to reprimand an
unfortunate stranger,^ who had wandered into St.
Stephen's Chapel and sat there for the greater part of
the morning. He was committed to the custody of
the Serjeant-at-Arms and imprisoned for several days,
Matthew Jones, " gentleman," was charged with a
similar offence on 27 March, and appearing to the House
to be a simple ignorant old man, he was pardoned after
being admonished by the Speaker.

On another day Coke, perceiving some men to whisper
together, said that it was not the manner of the House
to talk secretly, for that only public speeches were to be
used there.

Purely legal Bills were committed to the Serjeants-

1 22 March. ' John Legge, a servant of the Eaxl of Northumberland.

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 157

at-Law who were members of the House, and were con-
sidered not in the precincts of St. Stephen's, but at
Serjeant's Inn in Fleet Street, perhaps with the inten-
tion of keeping them under the direct surveillance and
control of the Speaker, who had his town house there.

Coke regularly asserted his right of speaking and
voting in committee, and he appears to have inaugurated
a rule whereby the chairman was empowered, in the
case of two or more members rising at the same time, to
ask on which side they desired to speak, and to give pre-
cedence to a member who desired to oppose the arguments
of the last speaker. Members who, for any good reason
shown, desired leave of absence were required to leave a
small sum of money with the Serjeant to be distributed
amongst the poor. The amount varied from one shilling
to six, but Mr. Wilfrid Lawson, Knight of the Shire for
Cumberland, a direct ancestor of the late member for
Cockermouth, left town without making the customary
donation. In 1593 every member gave a shilling to the
Serjeant for his attendance on the House, and for the
cost of a clock which he had set up for the general con-
venience. Every Privy Councillor paid thirty shillings
as a charitable contribution to the relief of the poor,
every Knight of the Shire, and Serjeant or Doctor of
Law twenty shillings, and every burgess five shillings.
One poor burgess refused to pay more than half a
crown, whereupon Coke would have committed him to
the custody of the Serjeant for disobeying the order of
the House. But the general sense of the House being
against such harsh dealing he escaped.

The legislative harvest of the Session of 1592-93, a
remarkable Parliament, owing to its standing nearly

158 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

midway between the earliest Plantagenet assemblies
and those of modem times, and from its having
been presided over by one of the greatest intellects
of his own or any age, was not a large one. It
comprised only fourteen public and thirteen private
Bills. In the former category, apart from the contro-
versial Subsidy Bill, two only were of any consequence.
Both of them, according to strict Tudor precedent,
originated in the House of Lords, and both were penal
measures, one directed against the Puritans and the other
to restrain papal recusants to some certain place of
abode.

On quitting the Chair, Coke apologised for the
unbecoming expressions into which his natural pro-
clivity to violent language had often led him.^ When
Sir Walter Raleigh was being tried for his Ufe in 1603,
Coke denounced him from the Bench as : " Traitor,
viper and spider of hell " ; nor was this the only occa-
sion when " one of the toughest men ever made," as
Carlyle described him, so far forgot himself as to descend
to vulgar abuse of his political opponents.

In the person of Sir Christopher Yelverton the House
once more chose a Northamptonshire man for its Speaker.
His family was of Easton Mauduit and is not yet extinct in
the county. In excusing himself to the House, Yelverton
is reported to have said : " Your Speaker ought to be
a man big and comely, stately and well-spoken, his
voice great, his carriage majestical, his nature haughty,
and his purse plentiful. But contrarily, the stature of

1 The Speaker's Chair, by E. Lummis, 1900, a concise and useful
contribution to the literature of the subject, to which the present
author hereby acknowledges his frequent indebtedness.

Janssen, pinxt.

R. Dnntbarton, sadpt.

SIR CHRISTOPHER YELVERTON

1597
From a p7i7it

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 159

my body is small, myself not so well-spoken, my voice
low, my carriage of the common fashion, my nature soft
and bashful, my purse thin, light, and never plentiful."
Previous to the summoning of this Parliament the
Privy Council sent out no less than fifty-two cautionary
letters to the sheriffs directing them to use their utmost
endeavours to procure the election of " men of under-
standing and knowledge for the particular estate of the
places whereunto they ought to be chosen," and to
select, " without partiahty as sometimes hath been used,"
fit persons to serve, especially in the boroughs. No
doubt the Council, in looking so far ahead, anticipated
that by October, when the House was appointed to meet,
Essex would have returned in triumph from his ex-
pedition against Spain.

Speaker Yelverton composed the prayer still in use in
the Commons, and a very beautiful piece of English it is.
The usual hour of assembling was then eight o'clock in the
morning, and, as now, the day's proceedings were opened
with prayer, but so early as 1558 it had been customary
for the Clerk of the House to repeat the Litany kneeling,
" answered by the whole House on their knees with divers
prayers."^ In 1571 the hour of meeting was as early as
seven a.m., and the afternoon sittings of recent times had
their forerunners in May of the same year, when, as an
experiment, the House was appointed to meet on
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at three o'clock and
to sit till five. An instance of a still earlier meeting is
on record, for on 28 March, 1641, the House met at six
o'clock in the morning. Later in the seventeenth century
nine or ten was the usual hour for assembhng, and Lord

• Sir Symonds D'Ewes, p. 473.

i6o SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Clarendon spoke of from eight till twelve as the old Par-
Mamentary hours. To Sir Robert Walpole the House
owes its Saturday holiday, and to Sir Robert Peel the
short sitting on Wednesday, now altered to Friday in
each week.

The last of the Elizabethan Speakers was Sir John
Croke, Recorder of London, " a very black man by com-
plexion," thus resembling the " black funereal Finches "
of a later era. Fulk Onslow, the Clerk of the House, was
stricken with ague, and through the Speaker he petitioned
the House for one Cadwallader Tydder to be allowed to
execute the duties of his office until it should please God
to restore him to health. The House, which has always
been careful of its officers' interests, and jealous of their
privileges, at once granted Onslow's request, and Tydder
took the oath of supremacy.

An interesting question of ParUamentary procedure
was settled during Croke's tenure of the Chair. On a
division in which the Ayes were 105 and the Noes 106
(in the discussion on a Bill for compelling attendance at
church), the minority claimed the Speaker's vote to make
the numbers even and secure a casting vote in their
favour. Sir Walter Raleigh spoke in opposition to this
view, and ultimately the House decided that the only vote
a Speaker has is a casting vote between equal numbers.
This precedent still obtains, and the Speaker has no right
to enter the division lobby, except in committees of the
whole house, and even this right has not been exercised
since Speaker Denison^ passed through the lobby in wig
and gown to record his vote. ^

'■ Lord Ossington,

* When the question of the Speaker's casting vote was debated
Secretary Cecil said : " The Speaker hath no voice ; and, though I am
sorry for it, the Bill is lost, and farewell to it."

SIR JOHN CROKE

i6or

From a di-a7vhig ht the National Portrait Gallery

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR i6i

In an address to the throne Speaker Croke was al-
luding to the defeat of Essex's insurrection, " by the
iriighty arm of our dread and sacred Queen," when
Elizabeth caught him up, and interposed, " No,
by the mighty hand of God, Mr. Speaker." Croke
was responsible for the introduction of sundry orders
tending to the general convenience of members. They
were forbidden to come into the House with spurs, and
a similar restriction was sought to be imposed on rapiers.^
This Speaker was fifth in descent from Nicholas Le
Blount, who changed his name to Croke in consequence
of his cousin. Sir Thomas Blount, having been engaged
in a conspiracy to restore Richard H to the throne.

At a dinner given by the Abbot of Westminster in
December, 1399, it was agreed to surprise Henry IV at a
tournament to be held at Windsor on the following
Twelfth Night. But the plot was revealed within a few
hours of its being carried into execution, and Sir Thomas
Blount was put to death under circumstances of excep-
tional barbarity. Having been partially hanged, he was
slowly roasted before a blazing fire, his bowels were cut
out, and he was then beheaded, exclaiming, shortly
before he expired, " Blessed be this day, for I shall
die in the service of my sovereign lord, the noble King
Richard ! "

Their estates having been forfeited to the Crown, the
family fled abroad and entered the service of the Duke
of Milan. Having acquired fresh wealth in foreign
parts, they returned to England after the death of
Henry IV, when they could appear in public in safety.
They bought lands in Buckinghamshire, and on the

' Sir Symonds D'Ewes, p. 623.

i62 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

marriage of Speaker Croke to the daughter of Sir Michael
Blount, of Maple Durham, the name of Blount
was altogether omitted by the branch of the family
which had previously styled itself Croke, alias Blount.
The direct line of the Crokes is now extinct, and their
property at Studley, in Oxfordshire, where the Speaker's
portrait was formerly preserved, has passed into the
possession of the Henderson family.

The deep-rooted antagonism of the English people to
Spain, which reached its culminating point with the
coming of the Armada, resulted in the return to the
House of Commons of a permanent Protestant majority,
whereas, at the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, the
adherents of the old faith were a preponderating element
both in ParUament and in the country. The Parhament
of 1571, in which Sir Christopher Wray was Speaker, was
in the main a Puritan assembly. It bestowed the authority
of the legislature upon the thirty-nine articles drawn up
by convocation nearly ten years earlier, but, as it
evinced a strong desire to amend the Prayer Book and to
impose new penalties upon the Catholics, it was hastily
dismissed.

The next House of Commons included many followers
of Thomas Cartwright, the chief exponent of Calvinism in
England, and when in 1581 the teachings of the Jesuit,
Edmund Campion, inflamed the pubHc mind against Rome,
no great indignation was shown when the penal laws
against the Catholics were revived. Though the fires of
Smithfield were not relighted, recourse was once more had
to torture, and the rack was again set up in the Tower in
order to extract confessions from prisoners as in the
darkest days of the Marian persecution.

THE HOUSE OF TUDOR 163

Notwithstanding the sharp contrasts of Elizabeth's
civil and religious legislation and her determination to
regard the two Houses as mere instruments of taxation,
convened for the express purpose of replenishing the
royal purse, a growing spirit of self-rehance manifested
itself in the House of Commons towards the close of a
reign in which England became great, not so much because
of, as in spite of, the popular assembly.

The fact that the responsible ministers of the Crown,
Hatton and Cecil amongst the number, now sat in the
House of Commons and took part in its debates on equal
terms with the general body of members is conclusive
proof that the right of argument was beginning to be
recognised as an essential feature of a Constitution
hitherto mainly controlled by prerogative.^

* Portraits of Elizabethan Speakers are not numerous. There is
one of Sir Thomas Gargrave at Hardwick House, Bury St. Edmunds,
the property of Mr. Gery Cullum, who has kindly allowed it to be re-
produced in this volume. Of Richard Onslow and Sir John Popham
there are likenesses in the Speaker's collection ; and of Sir Christopher
Wray there are portraits both at Westminister and in the National
Portrait Gallery. Sir Edward Coke is also doubly represented, but
of Thomas Williams, Sir John Puckering, and Thomas Snagge, no
portraits have been traced.

CHAPTER VI

THE STUARTS AND THE LIBERTIES OF THE PEOPLE

Thirty-two

James I —

Edward Phelips
Randolph Crewe
Thomas Richardson
Thomas Crewe

Charles I —

Heneage Finch
John Finch
John Glanville
William Lenthall

Commonwealth —
Henry Pelham
Francis Rous
Thomas Widdrington
Bulstrode Whitelocke
Chaloner Chute
Lislebone Long
Thomas Bampfylde
William Say

Speakers

Charles II —

Harbottle Grimston
Edward Turnour
Job Charlton
Edward Seymour
Robert Sawyer
William Gregory
WiUiam Williams

James II —

John Trevor

William III —
Henry Powle
Paul Foley
Thomas Littleton
Robert Harley

Anne —

John Smith
Richard Onslow
Wilham Bromley
Thomas Hanmer

THE first of the Stuart line was an unkingly
pedant who entirely failed to understand
the temper of the nation over which he was
called upon to rule. The new and aggressive
spirit which showed itself in the House of Commons early

164

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 165

in the reign of James I was stimulated by the perverse
and persistent egotism of the " wisest fool in Europe " ;
and boded ill for the Crown in an age which was beginning
to value privilege more than prerogative. The efforts,
partial and incomplete though they were, which had been
made under Elizabeth to bring about some amelioration
of the hard lot of the lower classes, to promote education
and to relieve the necessities of the poor, were succeeded
by a period of retrogression during which ParUamentary
progress was first hindered and then rendered impossible.
A plague in London, which carried off 30,000 people,
caused the meeting of James's first Parliament to be
delayed until March 1603-4. Sir Edward Phelips,
a Somersetshire gentleman, was elected Speaker " by
general acclamation," after the names of Sir Henry
Nevill, Sir Francis Bacon, Sir Edward Hoby, Sir Henry
Montagu, and Sir Francis Hastings had been proposed.
The last of these was the colleague of PheUps in the
representation of the county of Somerset. The English
counties were very unequally represented in the new
ParUament, for whilst the official returns give the names
of 39 members for Cornwall, 34 for Wiltshire and 26 for
Hampshire, Lancashire had only 12, Kent 10, Cumberland
and Westmorland 4 each, and Northumberland only 2.^
Speaker Phelips succeeded to the estate of Montacute
in 1598, and soon after that date he began to build the

1 The writs for the Parliaraent were issued under a Royal Proclama-
tion, which in its terms directly infringed the privileges of the House of
Commons. [N.B. Especially the order that the writs should be re-
turned to the Chancery.] It assumed entire control of the elections,
and threatened fines and imprisonment if its injunctions were traversed
{History of the English Parliament, by G. Barnett Smith, 1892, Vol. I.
p. 361).

i66 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

magnificent Renaissance mansion which remains to
this day one of the principal architectural glories of the
county of Somerset. His portrait here reproduced is
by permission of his hneal descendant the present owner
of Montacute, where, by the way, are preserved the
original minutes of the Gunpowder Plot inquiry.

As was customary at this period, the King's speech
abounded in metaphor, ^ nor was Speaker Phelips' reply,
in which he expressed the usual formal desire to be excused
from executing the office, less free from the extravagantly
flowery language then considered appropriate to the
occasion. Whilst he spoke of himself as " not tasting of
Parnassus' springs, nor of the honey left upon the lips of
Pluto and Pindarus by the bees," he defined the duties
of the Chair as being : " Managed by the absolute
perfection of experience, by the profoundness of Utera-
ture, and by the fullness and grace of natural gifts,
which are the beauty and ornament of arts and actions."
Nevertheless, the Speaker of the Gunpowder Plot
Parliament deserves to be remembered for his energetic
vindication of the privileges of the House of Commons.
The important case of Sir Thomas Shirley, wherein the
amount of protection afforded by the House to its mem-
bers was carried a step further than in the well-known
instances of Haxey and Strode, was determined in the
opening session of James's first Parliament.

The member for Steyning, Sussex, a small borough
long consigned to oblivion, had been cast into prison, after
his return to, but before the meeting of ParHament, in
execution of a private debt. Instead of wasting time in

1 It occupies more than twelve closely printed double columns in
Cobbett's Parliamentary History.

SIR EUWARD PHELIPS

1603-4

From a painting at Montacttte^ Somerset

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 167

discussing abstract matters of law, the House focused
its attention on the means necessary to secure Shirley's
immediate release. The Warden of the Fleet was com-
manded to deliver up his prisoner, and six members
acting as a deputation of the whole body, to be accom-
panied by the Serjeant and the Mace, were empowered
to free him, if need be by force, and to bring him
in triumph to Westminster. The Warden of the Fleet,
however, proved obdurate, whereupon he was summoned
to the Bar and admonished by the Speaker in the follow-
ing terms : " That, as he did increase his contempt, so
the House thought fit to increase his punishment ; and
that their judgment was that he be committed to the
prison called Little Ease, within the Tower."

An ingeniously worded request to the King was sent
through the Vice-Chamberlain desiring him to command
the contumacious Warden to deliver Shirley " not as
petitioned for by the House, but as if himself thought it
fit out of his own gracious judgment." It was now the
Warden's turn to sue for release from durance vile, and,
on his making due submission for his dilatoriness in com-
plying with the original Order of the House, the Speaker
pronounced pardon, the Warden, on his knees at the Bar,
expressing unfeigned regret for his offence. To legalise
the position an Act was hastily passed whereby the
privileges of members in cases of arrest were, for the first
time, defined. A creditor was authorised to sue for a
new execution against any one delivered by virtue of his
Parliamentary privilege, and power was taken to discharge
from liability those out of whose custody such persons
should be released. ^

* I James I, c. 13.

i68 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

The Journals at this time reveal a growing tendency
to make rules for the guidance of the House and its
presiding officer. On 26 March, 1604, a Mr. Hext moved
" against hissing to the interruption and hindrance of the
speech of any man in the House," and the clerk re-
corded that the motion was " well approved." ^ And
on 27 April it was agreed for a rule that " If any doubt
arise upon a Bill, the Speaker is to explain, but not sway
the House with argument or dispute."

Nor was the lighter side of Parliamentary life wholly
unrepresented at this period, for on 3 July, 1604, the
Merchant Taylors Company gave a solemn feast to the
Speaker and a great number of members of the House
of principal rate and quality to the number of one
hundred. The King sent a buck and a hogshead of wine,
and the Clerk of the House, not to be outdone in gener-
osity, presented the Company with a marchpane repre-
senting the Commons in session.

Phelips was taken ill in March, 1607, and, as there was
no precedent for choosing a temporary Speaker, a com-
mittee was ordered to search the records in order to avoid
a Parliamentary deadlock. But, as Phelips resumed the
Chair next day, nothing was done to meet the emergency,
and though temporary Speakers were occasionally chosen
in Commonwealth times, it was not until 1853 that the
Chairman of Ways and Means was empowered to act as
Deputy Speaker. Under more recent Standing Orders
the Speaker may call upon the Chairman to take the
Chair at any time. PheUps, who, in the opinion of Sir
Julius Caesar, was the most worthy and judicious Speaker

1 Commons Journals, Vol. I, p. 152.

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 169

since Sir John Popham, became Master of the Rolls, and
in that capacity occupied the house in Chancery Lane
which so many Speakers have inhabited. He opened
the indictment of Guy Fawkes, at which the vener-
able Sir John Popham presided as Lord Chief Justice.
Fawkes was executed in Old Palace Yard on 31 Jan-
uary, 1606, and from an old print pubhshed at the time
some idea can be gathered of its appearance at this
date.

The Crewes of Crewe Hall are said, on the authority of
Ormerod, to have been a family of established position
in Cheshire as early as the thirteenth century, but more
discriminating genealogists have preferred to date the
fortunes of the family from one John Crewe, a tanner at
Nantwich in the sixteenth century. Cases of nepotism
may have occurred in connection with the Speaker's
office, but to John Crewe of Nantwich belongs the unique
honour of having had two sons, Randolph and Thomas,
both of whom sat in the Chair of the Commons. Both
were bred to the law, Randolph at Lincohi's Inn and
Thomas at Gray's. Both took the usual lawyer's road
to notoriety by standing for ParHament. Randolph, who
bought the estate of Crewe Hall from the heirs of Sir
Christopher Hatton in 1608, entered the House of Com-
mons as member for Brackley, Northants, in 1597.^ On
5 April, 1614, he was chosen Speaker nemine contradicente,
though there is some doubt as to the constituency he then
represented.

The session opened with two separate speeches from

» He is called Randal in the official return, but this variation in the
spelling of the Christian name has not been uncommon, especially in
Cheshire.

170 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

the throne, one delivered at Westminster on the open-
ing day, and one, a few days later, in the Banqueting
House, Whitehall. The Speaker's reply has not been
preserved. Two months later the Houses were dis-
solved without having passed a single Bill, a prece-
dent in Parliamentary history which earned for this
assembly the name of the " Addled Parliament." It
is on record that Speaker Crewe's experiences in the
Chair " gave him a strong distaste for politics," and well
they may have done, for during his tenure of office were
heard the first mutterings of the storm which was soon
to break over England in the form of Civil War.
In 1625 he became Chief Justice of the King's Bench,
only to be dismissed a year later by Charles I for re-
fusing to acknowledge the legality of forced loans. Sir
Randolph Crewe, after his retirement from public life,
lived in Westminster, where, according to Fuller, he was
renowned for his hospitality ; and dying there in January,
1646, he was buried in a chapel which he built at Barthom-
ley on his Cheshire estate. The present Earl of Crewe is
descended from him.

It was some years before James summoned another
Parliament, and meanwhile he resorted to the old and
discredited system of raising money by means of be-
nevolences, a grievance as old as the days of Richard III,
by selling patents for peerages and baronetages, and
by the creation of monopolies. Before Crewe's younger
brother was preferred to the Chair, Sir Thomas
Richardson, the son of a country clergyman in
Norfolk, became Speaker in James's third Parliament.
In making his formal excuse to the House he " wept
outright," an incident which points to his well-known

SIR RANDOLPH CREWE

1614

From a painting in the Speaker s House

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 171

tenderness of heart. His refusal, when Chief Justice
of the Common Pleas, to allow Felton, the assassin of
the Duke of Buckingham, to be siibjected to torture,
marks an epoch in the annals of the criminal law.
Richardson was faced in Parliament by the redoubtable
Coke, who; after an interval of twenty-seven years, now
re-entered the House as member for Liskeard.

Though Richardson's tenure of the Chair was marked
by many events of the highest constitutional importance,
he does not seem to have been what is called a strong
Speaker. The ParUament over which he presided soon
showed itself active against the holders of monopolies. It
impeached Sir Giles Mompesson, the chief delinquent in
this category ; it imprisoned a bishop who was impHcated
in a charge of bribery; it degraded Lord Chancellor
Bacon, who was proved to have accepted money cor-
ruptly tendered, if without corrupt motive. And when
the hostility between King and Commons, which charac-
terised the entire reign, came to a crisis in December,
1621, the House addressed a Petition and Remonstrance
to the King recommending that he should declare war
against Spain, and that the Prince ^ " may be timely
and happily married to one of our religion." James,
in return, directed the Commons to forbear from
meddling " with anything concerning our government
and mysteries of State," warning them, at the same
time, that they derived their ancient liberty of freedom
of speech from " the grace and permission of his ancestors
and himself."

By the dim candlelight of a winter afternoon,* the
House forthwith resolved that " The Liberties, franchises,

1 Charles I. * 18 December, 1621.

172 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

privileges and jurisdictions of Parliament, are the ancient
and imdoubted birthright and inheritance of the subjects
of England; and that the arduous and urgent affairs
concerning the King, State, and the defence of the Realm,
and of the Church of England, and the making and
maintenance of laws, and redress of mischiefs and griev-
ances, which daily happen within this Realm, are proper
subjects and matter of counsel and debate in ParUament ;
and that in the handling and proceeding of those businesses
every member of the House hath, and of right ought to
have, Freedom of Speech, to propound, treat, reason
and bring to conclusion the same ; and that the Commons
in Pariiament have like liberty and freedom to treat of
those matters, in such order as in their judgments shall
seem fittest ; and that every such member of the said
House hath like freedom from all Impeachment, Imprison-
ment, and Molestation (other than by the censure of the
House itself), for, or concerning any speaking, reasoning
or declaring of any matter or matters, touching the
Parhament, or Parliament business : and that, if any
of the said members be complained of, and questioned
for any thing said or done in Parliament, the same is
to be shewed to the King, by the advice and assent
of all the Commons assembled in Parliament, before
the King give credence to any private information."

On learning of this emphatic pronouncement of its
liberties, James dispersed the House by a compulsory
adjournment ; he sent for the Journal Book and tore
the protestation out of it with his own hand.^ At
the same time Coke and Pym were committed to the

1 The Manuscript Journals of the House of Commons. Privately
printed by the late Sir Reginald Palgrave, Clerk of the House, 1897.

SIR THONfAS RICHARDSON

1620-21

Fi-oni a d^-atving in the National Po7-traii Gallery

F. Cole, sculpt.

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 173

Tower. Reflections were cast upon Richardson from
time to time for his conduct in the Chair. It was alleged
that he curtailed discussion at a moment opportune for
the King, and Sir H. Manners declared that " Mr. Speaker
is but a servant to the House, not a master, nor a master's
mate," while one Sir W. Herbert bade him " sit stiU."
This much -tried man, who witnessed the earliest rise
of the Court and country parties, which, in after years,
so sharply divided the House, died at his house in Chancery
Lane in 1635. He was accorded the honour, seldom
bestowed upon a Speaker, of burial in Westminster
Abbey. His monument is stDl to be seen in the south
choir aisle, ^ surmounted by a bronze portrait bust by
Le Sueur, the sculptor of King Charles I's statue at
Charing Cross.

Sir Thomas Crewe, Sir Randolph's younger brother, was
Speaker in James's last Parliament, which met in Feb-
ruary, 1623-24, and was dissolved, in consequence of the
death of the King, in May, 1625. Elsjmge declared that
Sir Thomas, on presentation for the royal approval, made
the best speech, delivered on a similar occasion, since
Speaker Nevill's in the sixth year of Henry "VIII, that it
did not cohsist of mere verbal praises but that it was, on
the contrary, real and fit for the times. Yet it certainly
was not free from the extravagant metaphor indulged in
by Phelips and most of the previous Speakers, whose ad-
dresses to the Crown have been preserved. Sir Thomas,
amongst other oratorical gems, likened himself to a lowly
shrub planted amongst many cedars of Lebanon. He went
on to express the hope that the King, "hke Ahasuerus,"
would extend to him his sceptre of grace " to sustain him

1 The Dictionary of National Biography says wrongly, " north aisle."

174 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

in his fainting." After a passing allusion to the " hellish
inventions " of Guy Fawkes, he declared, in the most
uncompromising Protestant manner, that it was the wish
of every loyal subject of the Crown that the " generation
of locusts," the Jesuits and Seminary Priests, who were
wont to creep in holes and corners, but who now came
openly abroad, might, as with an east wind, be blown
away into the sea. He added that though the Pope cursed
Queen Elizabeth, God blessed her, and that the ark of true
religion would ultimately land James in Heaven, when
that "hopeful Prince"^ would sway the sceptre of
England, the whUe his father wore a celestial crown.*

It has been weU said that from this time forth
the history of England was written at the Clerk's
table of the House of Commons. Elsynge, Scobell,
and Rushworth are the three best-remembered men
who filled the office of Clerk or Clerk- Assistant in the
seventeenth century, and the historical collections of the
last-named are the most valuable record of the doings
of the Long Parliament extant. It is sad to think that
this zealous pubhc servant spent the closing years of
his life in straitened circumstances in the King's Bench
prison in Southwark.

The animated debates on the war with Spain (for which
the House voted £300,000) ; the impeachment of the Earl
of Middlesex for bribery, in which Coke took the lead,
whilst the prosecution ultimately devolved upon the
Speaker's brother acting as Attorney-General; the im-
portant concession by the Crown whereby Parliament

1 Charles I.

" Journals of the House of Lords, Vol. Ill, p. 211. When reappointed
in the next reign he made a somewhat similar oration, not forgetting
his old enemies the Jesuit locusts.

SIR THOMAS CREWE

1623-4, 1625

From a painting in the Speaker's House

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 175

won the right of appointing its own Commissioners for the
disbursement of supply : all these intricate questions
were so tactfully handled by the younger Crewe, that he
was once more voted to the Chair when Charles I ascended
the throne. He now sat for Gatton, in Surrey, a small
borough, as notorious in later times as even Old Sarum.
Its political history, prior to the passing of the great
Reform Bill, excited Lord Rosebery's scathing ridicule
in a recent speech in the House of Lords, though he did
not suggest that Gatton was corrupt when a Crewe sat
for it.

Charles's first Parliament, holding that the refusal of
supplies to the Crown was its most potent weapon
against the abuses of prerogative, would only grant a
beggarly £140,000, by way of subsidy. It was there-
fore dissolved after a session of less than three months.
To Thomas Crewe succeeded Sir Heneage Finch, son
of Sir Moyle Finch, of Eastwell, Kent, and member
for the City of London.^ His brief term of office was
marked by an increasing boldness on the part of the
Commons, as instanced by the impeachment of Buck-
ingham, the King's prime favourite. It was managed by
that trio of patriots, Eliot, Pym, and Dudley Digges.*
Sir John Eliot, writing in 1625, spoke of the Speaker-
ship as being then regarded by the general body of
members as "an of&ce frequently filled by nullities,
men selected for mere Court convenience," nor was the
charge altogether an unjust one.

Eliot came into collision with the Chair when Sir John

' Of which he was also Recorder.

" Eliot and Digges were arrested, but their imprisonment was held
by the Judicature to be a breach of privilege.

176 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Finch, cousin to the Sir Heneage above mentioned,
filled the post in the third Parliament of this reign ;
the first, by the way, in which Oliver Cromwell, then
only twenty-nine years of age, had a seat. Sir John
Eliot, desiring to raise a question on the subject of
tonnage and poundage. Finch, who was a very nervous
man, refused to put it on the ground that the King
had commanded the House to adjourn. Eliot then
read the remonstrance for himself, and on the Speaker
rising to adjourn the debate, he was forced back into the
Chair by Denzil Holies and some other members. Holies
exclaiming : " That by God's wounds he should sit there
tin it pleased him to rise." ^ The Speaker then burst
into tears, saying : " I will not say I will not, but that I
dare not." Straightway the House adopted the substance
of Eliot's motion, and shortly afterwards ParHament was
dissolved, not to meet again for eleven years.

This was not the first occasion on which tears started
to this nervous Speaker's eyes. A royal message of
5 June, 1628, commanding the Commons not to
meddle with affairs of State or to asperse the King's
ministers, having been read in the House, Eliot rose
ostensibly to rebut the implied charge of imphcating
ministers. The Speaker, apprehending that he in-
tended to make an attack upon the Duke of Buck-
ingham, cried whilst he faltered out : " There is a
command laid upon me to interrupt anyone that should
go about to lay aspersion on the Ministers of State."
Eliot then resumed his seat, and on the next day the
Speaker brought down a conciUatory message from the
King.

• Parliamentary History, Vol. II, p. 487.

SIR HENEACE FINCH
1625-26
From a paiiithtg at Giiitiihall by y. M. IVrigltt

SIR JOHN FINCH

1627-8

From a painting hy Van Dyck in the possession of Lord Barnard

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 177

That Finch was the creature of the Crown appears
certain when it is remembered that he was mainly re-
sponsible for the judgment in the Ship Money case — that
monstrous exaction never intended to be spent wholly on
ships. On the other hand, he was quite unable to stem the
rising tide of popular indignation, which found its ade-
quate expression in the right of free speech so forcibly
contended for by Pym, Hampden, and Coke until it
became a reality, and not the sham it had been under
the Tudors. But there is this much excuse to be made
for Finch, that no Speaker before his time had ever been
confronted with so many difficulties.

On 7 June, 1628, the very day on which Charles I
gave a reluctant assent to that bulwark of English
Constitutional Hberty — the Petition of Right — a strong
Committee of the Commons was appointed to draw
up the preamble of the Bill of Supply. It numbered
thirty -two members, including an ex -Speaker and a
future one in Coke and Glanville, Selden, the most famous
jurist in Europe,^ Pym, Sir John Eliot, and Sir Dudley

1 The " great dictator of learning of the English nation " was the
title by which Selden was known, not only at home, but on the Conti-
nent. Some of his political opinions have been quoted in recent dis-
cussions of the great Constitutional question now agitating the public
mind. It will, therefore, not be inappropriate to recall the views
which he entertained on the relations of the two Houses.

"There be but two erroneous opinions in the House of Commons:
That the Lords sit only for themselves, when the truth is, they sit as
well for the Commonwealth. The second error is, that the House of
Commons are to begin to give subsidies, yet if the Lords dissent, they
can give no money."

In another remarkable passage, dealing with the composition of the
hereditary chamber, he said :

" The Lords that are ancient we honour, because we know not
whence they come ; but the new ones we sUght, because we know
their beginning." (Selden's Table Talk, edited by S. W. Singer,
1847.)

178 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Digges. Coke, then in his seventy-seventh year, but
in full possession of his remarkable powers, was
Chairman, and on the next sitting day he reported the
findings of the Committee to the House. The form of
words, omitting the assent of the Lords to a money grant,
and requiring only their assent to the Bill founded
upon such grant to clothe it with the form of law,
had been altered three years before and accepted
by the Upper House without demur ; while in 1626
a Supply Bill, with a similarly worded preamble, was
only lost owing to the premature dissolution of Parlia-
ment.

In 1628 the popular indignation against the Duke of
Buckingham, who, rightly or wrongly, was believed by
the Commons to be the primary cause of all the recent
strainings of the Royal Prerogative, was at the flood-tide.
Coke denounced him by name as " the grievance of
grievances," and it was felt that the rights of the repre-
sentative Chamber in the matter of finance stood in need
of more exphcit and emphatic assertion. A few days
later ^ a free conference between the two Houses was
appointed to be held in the Painted Chamber, at which
Coke, Glanville, and HakewU, the latter a legal antiquary
deeply versed in the laws and customs of Parliament,
were to speak on behalf of the Commons. Unfortunately
the names of the Lords' representatives are, contrary
to custom, not given in their own journal. On 17 Jtme
the conference took place, not in the place first appointed,
but in the Star Chamber, and at it the Lords made formal
complaint of the wording of the preamble, " Wherein
they were excluded, contrary to ancient precedents, though

* On 13 June.

THE KNIGHTS, CITIZENS AND BURGESSES OF THE COUNTIES, CITIES AND BOI
IN PARLIAMENT, HOLDEN AT WESTMINSTER THE 17 OF MARCH, 1627-8, I

(SPEA
From a woodcut in tke p

iOUGH TOWNES OF ENGLAND AND WALES AND THE BARONIE OF THE PORTS NOW SITTING
N THE THIRD YEAR OF THE RAIGNE OF OUR SOVERAIGNE LORD KING CHARLES, ETC.
KER SIR JOHN FINCH)
wesshn oj Sir Walter Spencer-Stanhope

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 179

the last were not so."^ They intimated their desire to have
the name of the Commons struck out of the preamble,
requesting the Lower House to show warrant for the
insertion, as they, on their part, were prepared to show
cause for the omission. Lord Keeper Coventry, whose
role in life seems to have been, though with indifferent
success, to mediate between the King and the popular
leaders, had previously been instructed by the Peers to
signify at the conference " the great care the Lords had
had, all this Parliament, to continue a good correspond-
ency between both Houses, which is best done where
nothing is intrenched upon either House ; to show them,
that in the front ^ of the Bill of Subsidies, which
they lately sent up, the Commons are only named ;
whereas in many precedents (but^ only in the last Parlia-
ment) it is ; * neither naming the Lords nor yet the
Commons ; That the Lords conceived this rather to have
happened by some slip, than done of set purpose ; To
move them, that the word^ may be struck out, for as
the Commons give their subsidies for themselves and for
the representative body of the Kingdom, sp the Lords
have the disposition of their own."

The Journals of the Commons state expressly that
" this course was not liked, as being of a dangerous
example, in point of consequence " ; and a further mes-
sage was delivered to the Peers by Sir Edward Coke,

* An allusion apparently intended to refer to the alterations which
had been made in 1625 and 1626.

* Or preamble.
' i.e. except.

* We, Your Majesty's most humble and loyal subjects, in your
High Court of Parliament assembled, etc.

« "Commons"

i8o SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

the wording of which is so curious as to deserve quota-
tion in full : —

" There is nothing more desired by that ^ House than
the good concurrence between the Lords and them,
which they esteem an Earthly Paradise. They have en-
tered into consideration of the proposition to omit the
words ' The Commons ' in the Subsidy Bill, which they
find to be a matter of greater consequence than can be
suddenly resolved on. But to-morrow morning they will
consider of it, and return an answer with all the con-
venient speed they can."

A dramatic surprise was in store. A deadlock be-
tween the two Houses was averted by the Lords passing
the Bni as it stood, ^ and as soon as the Commons learnt
of it they sent the following magnanimous message
to their late opponents : —

" That, after the Conference yesterday touching the
amendment of the Subsidy Bill propounded by the Lords,
they took the same presently into their consideration,
with a full intent to have proceeded therein this morn-
ing ; but were prevented by a constant report that their
Lordships had passed and voted the said Bill of Subsidies.
Yet, nevertheless, the Commons have thought good to
signify unto their Lordships, that they wiU always en-
deavour to continue a good correspondency with their
Lordships, knowing well that the good concurrence be-
tween the two Houses is the very heartstring of the
Commonwealth, and they shall be ever as zealous of their
Lordships' Privileges as of their own rights."

Whilst the crisis was still undetermined the Duke of
Buckingham had called the attention of the Peers to a

^ The Commons.

2 Journals of the House of Lords, 17 June, 1628, Vol. Ill, p. 860.

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH i8i

statement made by a member of the House of Commons/
who declared that he^ had said at his own table : " Tush,
it makes no matter what the Commons or Parliament
doth ; for, without my leave and authority, they shall
not be able to touch the hair of a dog." The Duke
asked leave to move that the member in question
should be called upon to prove his words, as not only
had he never uttered them, but that they were never
so much as in his thoughts.^ The next day he returned
to the charge, adding that Mr. Lewkenor had acknow-
ledged having made use of the words attributed to him,
though he refused to name his informant.

After the Conference was over, the Duke again ap-
pealed to the Peers to be allowed to make the same
protest before the Commons as he had made in the
House of Lords. Lord Keeper Coventry was instructed
to intimate his desire to the Lower House, but he does
not seem to have made any such dramatic appearance
as his entrance at the Bar would have given rise to.*
The Duke's unpopularity seems to have been at its
summit all through the crisis of June, 1628, and, signifi-
cantly enough, on the same day that the deadlock be-
tween Lords and Commons was averted a prot^g^ of his.
Dr. John Lambe, was fatally injured by a mob of London
apprentices, and a couplet, illustrating the vindictive
feeUng which prevailed against his patron, was hawked
about the town and passed from mouth to mouth : —

" Let Charles and George do what they can,
The Duke shall die hke Doctor Lambe."

' Mr. Lewkenor. " The Duke. ' Lords Journals, i8 June, 1628.

* There were two members named Lewkenor in the House at this
time, Richard, Knight of the Shire for Sussex, and Christopher, member
for Midhurst.

i82 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

As all the world knows, Buckingham fell by an assassin's
knife, at Portsmouth, only two months later.

One further fact concerning this memorable dispute
between the two Houses must be placed on record. The
Speaker, Sir John Finch, was prevented, on the day of
the prorogation, from carrying up the Subsidy Bill to
the Lords for the Royal Assent, according to ancient
custom. He was thus debarred from making a speech
to the Throne and alluding to the victory won by the
Commons in the matter of finance. To which, the
Joxurnal states, " much exception was taken." Finch's
last appearance in the House of Commons — he had
succeeded Lord Coventry as Lord Keeper — was when
he appeared at the Bar in 1640, after being im-
peached by the Long Parliament. Though he spoke in
his own defence, and spoke well, he did not await the
conclusion of the indictment, but fled to The Hague,
where he died in 1660.^

The Speaker of the " Short Parliament " came of a
very ancient West of England family, and it is strange
that Sir John Glanville's election should have received
the royal approbation, for he was known to have been
opposed to the Court, and, in a former House, he
had prepared a protest against arbitrary dissolution.
Possibly during the period of personal government
his convictions had undergone modification. Great
changes in popular feehng had, indeed, taken place
in those eleven years in which Charles had essayed to
rule without Constitutional assistance. Hampden had

1 The first article in his impeachment was his arbitrary conduct
in the Chair on the occasion of Sir John Eliot's motion on tonnage
and poundage. He is buried in St. Martin's Church, near Canterbury,
under a stupendous marble monument.

SIR JOHN GLANVILI.E

1640

Frojn a. pahttiitg at the N/itional Portiait Gallery

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH i8^,

become a popular hero through his opposition to ship
money ; the abuse of justice by the Court of Star Chamber
had sunk deep into the pubhc mind ; Strafford had been
recalled from Ireland to give the King counsel in his dire
necessity ; and, though Coke and Eliot were dead and
Holies was no longer a member, Hampden and Pym re-
mained the indomitable champions of English liberty
when Glanville succeeded to the Chair.

His tenure of it was too brief for fame ; but a very sin-
gular story of his private life deserves to be rescued from
oblivion. His elder brother, Francis, a profligate and a
spendthrift, had been cut off with the proverbial shiUing
by his father, and when the will was read it had such an
effect upon the son's mind that he retired from society
and became a changed man. One day Sir John, seeing
the alteration in his brother's mode of life, invited him
to dine at his house, and placing a dish before him, re-
quested him to take off the cover and help himself to
the contents. To the surprise of all present, it was found
to contain the title deeds of the family estate of Kil-
worthy, with a formal conveyance from the Speaker to
his elder brother. Nor was this the only disinterested
action of Glanville's life, for he is said to have reclaimed
the celebrated Sir Matthew Hale from an idle and dis-
solute life to become a great pleader and a greater
judge. 1

When the Long Parhament was about to assemble,

^ Sir John Glanville's portrait is in the Speaker's collection, and
there is another likeness by an unknown artist in the National Portrait
Gallery, painted at the age of sixty-two. The ex-Speaker of the Short
Parliament was imprisoned in the Tower from 1645 to 1648. Some
of his speeches are contained in Rushworth's Collections. He was
buried at Broad-Hinton, Wilts.

i84 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Charles I designed the post of Speaker for Sir Thomas
Gardiner, but, as he failed to obtain a seat in the
House, William Lenthall, by the merest accident, was
chosen in his stead ; 504 members being returned to
serve at Westminster, of whom more than half had
sat in the previous Parliament. The remarkable man
who was called to the Chair in November, 1640, was
born in 1591, not at Henley-on-Thames as has been
generally supposed, but at Hasely in Oxfordshire, of
parents whose lineage in that county can be traced
to the fifteenth century, when a Lenthall married the
heiress of Pypard of Lachford. He received the early
part of his education at Thame grammar school under
Richard Bourchier, and before he was sixteen years old
he was entered at St. Alban Hall, Oxford, was called to
the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1616, and entered the House
of Commons as Member for Woodstock in the last Parha-
ment of James I. He therefore sat for some years in the
House with the redoubtable Coke.

Having prospered at the Bar, he bought Besselsleigh,
in Berkshire, from the ancient family of Fettyplace, in
1633, a property which is still enjoyed by his descendants.
In the course of the next year, he paid the Cavalier Lord
Falkland, it is believed under an assumed name, £7000
for Burford Priory, the house with which his name will
always be chiefly associated. His wife, Elizabeth Evans,
it will be remembered, was a cousin of Lord Falkland.
The statement that Burford was acquired for him by
the ParHament appears to be untrue. However that
may be, he was living in the town for some years before
he became the owner of the Priory.

Nearly every modem writer who has treated the sub-

WILLIAM LENTHALL

1640, 1647, i6S4, 1659, 1659-60

From a painting in the i\atiojtal Portrait Gallery

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 185

ject of Parliamentary history and control has lauded
LenthaU to the skies. Yet the opinion of many of
his contemporaries was decidedly unfavourable. Claren-
don thought him " in all respects very unequal to
the work ; and not knowing how to preserve his own
dignity, or to restrain the licence and exorbitance
of others, his weakness contributed as much to the
growing mischiefs as the malice of the principal con-
trivers."

D'Ewes, who sat under him from 1640 until ejected
from the House by Pride's Purge, was suspicious of his
honesty, and being himself a recognised authority on
questions of Parliamentary procedure and etiquette, he
was a vigilant and unsparing critic of his conduct
in the Chair, until it was more than hinted that the
Member for Sudbury, and not the Speaker, was the
right man to settle questions of order, and to com-
pose jarring discords in debate. On one occasion he
reminded Lenthall that it was his duty to read to the
House a message from the King, which he was about to
delegate to the Clerk. Alternately patronising and criti-
cising, D'Ewes would have been a thorn in any Speaker's
side, and during the early days of the Long Parliament
Lenthall must often have longed to be rid of him.

Sir H. Mildmay was another member who treated him
with scant courtesy. He dared to say in his place that
the Speaker should come down to the House in good
time. On which Lenthall, in a sudden access of passion,
threw down a shiUing upon the table, this being the
customary fine imposed on members who came in late.
But if he was not exactly loved in the early days of his
career, he was cordially hated by the Cavaliers when he

i86 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

continued to sit at Westminster after the death of the
King.

There was, however, one responsible official of the
Long Parliament whose personal scruples proved, in
the hour of crisis, to be tenderer than those of its
presiding officer. This was Henry Els3mge, Clerk of
the House from 1640 to 1648, when he voluntarily
relinquished the service of the Commons to pass the
remainder of his days in grinding poverty, rather than
have it said that he even tacitly concurred with
Cromwell and the Army in the trial and condemnation
of his Sovereign. He appears to have been esteemed
by men of all shades of political opinion, and to have
consistently maintained the dignity of his office, despite
occasional differences of opinion with the irrepressible
D'Ewes, whose egregious vanity sometimes brought
him into collision with constituted authority. Such was
Elsjmge's acknowledged ability and discretion that in
the turbulent years preceding his withdrawal from
Westminster quite as much genuine respect was paid to
the impersonal Clerk at the table as to the Speaker
invested by the House at large with the traditional
authority of the Chair.

Lenthall, a consummate opportunist throughout his
career, made the utmost possible use of the tool he found
ready to his hand, and, in the early days of his power,
he was deeply indebted to Elsynge for guidance and
advice, habitually leaning upon him as a prop to sup-
port his own inexperience in questions of procedure
demanding an immediate decision from the Chair.
What he thought of his colleague's unfailing devotion
to duty and high character appears in the vindication

5 7.

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 187

of his own conduct, which he issued at the Restoration,
when the changed circumstances of the time compelled
him to make tardy confession of his gains and losses in
the service of the State.

Almost the only unfavourable critics, in modem times,
known to the author are John Forster, who in his
Arrest of the Five Members calls him "weak and common-
place," and the late Mr. Charles Townsend, whose Memoirs
of the House of Commons stUl afford such good reading.
But Townsend somewhat overstates the case when he
calls Lenthall "a poor creature, the tame instrument of a
worse and more vulgar tyranny, the buffeted tool of the
Army and the Rump, subdued to sit or go, to remain
at home or return to find the doors of St. Stephen's
shut or open, according to the will of his masters,
the officers, and at the bidding of Cromwell." Rather
would we say, with Dr. Gardiner, that, if not a great
and heroic man, he knew what his duty was, and
defined it in words of singular force and dexterity.
Great historical crises have been determined one way
or the other, and will be determined hereafter, not so
much by men of heroic degree as by men who know what
duty is and are prepared to act upon the knowledge.
In the case of an office like the Speaker's there can be
no posthumous fame without contemporary appreciation.
And this, notwithstanding the adverse opinions quoted
above, was accorded to the presiding genius of the
Long Parliament to an extent unparalleled in the
previous history of the Chair. The Corporation of
Windsor voted him a gift of wine and a sugar-loaf ^ in
the early days of his Speakership, and similar presents
were showered upon him from time to time by the various

> Tighe and Davis, Annals of Windsor, 1858, Vol. II, p. 154-

i88 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

municipalities which espoused the Parliamentary cause.
The inscription on his portrait in the National Collec-
tion also shows that it was painted expressly to com-
memorate his action in the Chair at the time of the
attempted arrest of the Five Members.

Without any special gifts of oratory, Lenthall, at a
time of exceptional difficulty, impressed his personality
upon the House by his eminent common sense ; and,
although his honesty at the time of the breaking off of
negotiations with the King has been called in question,
there is no room to doubt that by sheer force of character
he preserved, during the twenty years in which he was
in and out of the Chair, the historic continuity of his
office, and this at a time when the monarchy itself
suffered an interruption. On the other hand, he was
avaricious; obsessed by a desire for the accumula-
tion of wealth ; ^ greedy of power and rank ; and,
towards the close of his career, somewhat unduly
impressed with a sense of his own importance. One
fact emerges very clearly from his tenure of office :
he made rules, with the assistance of Elsynge, for the
preservation of order in debate, without which the pro-
ceedings of the Long Parliament would have been even
more turbulent than they sometimes were.

The quorum of the House of Commons was fixed at its
present number on 5 January, 1641, when Lenthall had
not been in the Chair more than two months. As late
as 1801 an attempt was made to raise the limit to sixty,

1 At one time he held the Mastership of the Rolls worth ;£3000 a
year, the Speakership for which he received ;^20oo, a commissionership
of the Great Seal ;^i50o, the Chancellorship of the Duchy of Lancaster,
^1500 ; and he was also Chamberlain of the City of Chester, a lucrative
sinecure coveted by many lawyers, before and since Lenthall's day.

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 189

but without avail, and at forty it remains to this day.
In the "Short Parliament" Lenthall was one of the
committee on ship money and chairman of the com-
mittee on grievances. Mr. Firth, in his admirable Life
in the Dictionary of National Biography, states that he
had occupied the Chair, in the absence of the real Speaker,
during one or more debates in the Short ParUament, but
the official Journals ^ show that it was as Chairman of the
Committee of the whole House that he so presided.

Lenthall's first complete session was an index to the
stormy times ahead of him. In one year the House of
Commons passed the Triennial Bill, a measure which it
almost immediately ignored; it impeached Strafford
and Laud ; it declared the levying of taxes without
consent to be illegal; it abolished the Star Chamber;
and, after a short recess, it sat for fifteen hours to pass
the Grand Remonstrance.^ No wonder that the Speaker
complained in pathetic tones to the House of the unusual
length of their sittings. The unaccustomed strain of long
hours in the Chair told upon his strength ; he became
irritable and petulant, and after a little more than a year
of office he had serious thoughts of tendering his resig-
nation to the King.

Long sittings in the House itself were not the only
strain upon the Speaker's patience. On a fast day,
piously observed by Parliament in November, 1640,
Dr. Burgess and Master Marshall preached between them
before the unfortunate Commons for the space of seven
hours ! * and there were occasions when the protracted

' Commons Journals, 23 April, 1640, Vol. II, p. g.-
* 22 November, 1641.

' Diurnal Occurrences of the Great and Happy Parliament, 1641,
p. 4.

igo SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

debates prevented the Speaker from going home to
dinner.

Lenthall's personal expenditure at this time was heavy,
as he entertained lavishly, amongst his guests being
many courtiers as well as members of the Lower House. ^
Early in his career he lived in a house on the site of
the Westminster Fire Office in King Street, Covent
Garden ; but later on he took Goring House, on the site
of Buckingham Palace, then a perfect rus in urbe, and
it was there that most of his entertaining was done.
Sir John LenthaU, his son, also Uved in the same house
and seems to have owned the freehold at one time.

On 3 January, 1641-42, that misguided monarch
Charles I desired to impeach the five most prominent
opponents of his government in the House of Commons,^
and he sent a message, delivered at the Bar of the House
to the Speaker, requiring from him the five members, that
they might be arrested, in His Majesty's name, on a
charge of high treason. LenthaU, by command of the
House, enjoined them to give attendance in the House
de die in diem. On the next day the House met
early in the morning, and considered in committee
the charges which the King had brought against
five of its number. Notice was taken of the muster
of armed men at Whitehall and in the immediate
neighbourhood of the Houses of ParHament. At noon
the sitting was suspended " for an hour's space,"
but before it had ended the King's design to seize the
accused was unfolded.

1 On 9 April, 1642, the House voted LenthaU a sum of £6000 in
consideration of his long and strict attendance to duty.

2 Denzil Holies, Haselrig, Pym, HampdeB, and Strode.

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 191

Lenthall returned to the Chair between one and two
o'clock, when the House resumed the discussion on the
gathering of armed men in the precincts of Westminster.
The five members were then in their places, uncertain
whether to remain or to depart, when news was brought
in hot haste to the Speaker by a Mr. Fiennes to the effect
that the King was nearing Westminster Hall at the head
of a large company of guards. Leave was given to the
accused to withdraw, but they had barely quitted the
House and reached the boats which lay on the river at
Westminster Stairs, when a loud knock on the door
announced the entrance of the only King of England who
has ever penetrated into a House of Commons in session.

According to Rushworth, the Clerk-Assistant, who was,
of course, an eye-witness of all the events of that memo-
rable day : " His Majesty entered the House, and as
he passed up towards the Chair, he cast his eye on the
right hand near the Bar of the House, where Mr. Pym
used to sit ; but His Majesty not seeing him there
(knowing him well) went up to the Chair, and said, ' By
your leave, Mr. Speaker, I must borrow your Chair a
little ' ; whereupon the Speaker came out of the Chair,
and His Majesty stepped into it. After he had stood in
the Chair awhile, casting his eye upon the members as
they stood up uncovered, but could not discern any of
the five members to be there — ^nor, indeed, were they
easy to be discerned (had they been there) among so
many bare faces all standing up together,

" Then His Majesty made this speech : —

" ' Gentlemen,

" ' I am sorry for this occasion of coming unto you.
Yesterday I sent a Serjeant-at-arms upon a very im-

192 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

portant occasion, to apprehend some that by my com-
mand were accused of High Treason ; whereunto I did
expect obedience, and not a message. And I must de-
clare unto you here, that albeit no king that ever was
in England, shall be more careful of your privileges, to
maintain them to the utmost of his power, than I shall
be, yet you must know that in cases of treason, no person
hath a privilege. And therefore I am come to know if
any of these persons that were accused are here.'

" Then, casting his eyes upon all the members in the
House, he said, ' I do not see any of them ; I think I
should know them.'

" ' For I must tell you, gentlemen, that so long as
these persons that I have accused (for no sHght crime,
but for treason) are here, I cannot expect that this
House wiU be in the right way that I do heartily
wish it. Therefore I am come to tell you, that I must
have them, wheresoever I find them.'

"Then His Majesty said, ,/ Is Mr. Pym here?' To
which nobody gave answer. ' Well, since I see all my
birds are flown, I do expect from you, that you shall
send them unto me, as soon as they return hither. But
I assure you, on the word of a king, I never did intend
any force, but shall proceed against them in a legal and
fair way, for I never meant any other.

" ' And now since I see I cannot do what I came for,
I think this no unfit occasion to repeat what I have said
formerly. That whatsoever I have done in favour, and to
the good of my subjects, I do mean to maintain it.

'"I will trouble you no more, but teU you I do expect
as soon as they come to the House, you will send them
to me ; otherwise I must take my own course to find
them.' "

When the King was looking about the House, the
Speaker standing below by the Chair, His Majesty asked

JOHN RUSIIWORTH, CLERK ASSISTANT OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

1640
From a paint hig at the S/teakei-'s House

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 193

him whether any of these persons were in the House ?
whether he saw any of them ? and where they were ? To
which the Speaker, falling on his knees, thus answered : —

" May it please your Majesty,

" I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak
in this place, but as the House is pleased to direct me,
whose servant I am here ; and I humbly beg Your Ma-
jesty's pardon, that I cannot give any other answer than
this, to what Your Majesty is pleased to demand of me."

The King, having concluded his speech, went out of
the House, which by this time was in great disorder,
and many cried out, so that he might hear, " Privilege !
Privilege ! " Fortimately for posterity, Rushworth, on
this occasion, disregarded the condition of his appoint-
ment on 25 April, 1640, namely : " That he shall not
take any notes here without the precedent directions
and command of this House, but only of the orders and
reports made to this House." On the contrary, whilst
the hand of Elsynge, his official superior, was stayed by
doubt, Rushworth took down the King's words in short-
hand, and also the memorable reply which he received from
Lenthall. The accuracy of his notes is unquestionable, as
the King, baffled and perplexed as he was when standing
on the step of the Speaker's chair, had noticed Rush-
worth's pen at work and sent for the report of the words
so noted down, returning it to him with corrections.
The incidents of this single day inspired John Forster,
the biographer of Dickens, with material for an entire
volume. Soon after this unique incident in the history
of the House of Commons Charles left Whitehall,
never to return to it till he came there to die; and

194 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

on the final disruption between Crown and Parliament
the only course which remained was the arbitrament of
arms.

In June, 1642, the Speaker gave a horse and fifty
pounds in money in defence of the Parliament, a sufii-
cient indication of the trend of his political convictions,
and in direct contrast to the fulsome language in which
he had addressed the Throne at the conclusion of the
session of 1641. In that speech, reported in full in the
Journals of the House of Lords for 2 December, he said : —

" Give me leave here, most gracious Sovereign, to sum
up the sense of eleven months' observation, without in-
termission (scarce) of a day, nay an hour in that day,
to the hazard of hfe and fortune, and to reduce aU into
this conclusion : The endeavours of your Commons
assembled, guided by your pious and religious example,
is to preserve Religion in its purity, without mixture or
composition, against these subtle invaders ; and, with
our lives and fortunes, to establish these Thrones to your
sacred person, and those beams of Majesty your Royal
progeny, against treason and rebellion."

Lenthall probably participated in the spoliation of
Whitehall Palace, and he secured for his own collection a
portrait of the King, by Vandyck,^ and a group, in the
manner of Holbein, of Sir Thomas More and his family.
This latter picture hung at Burford Priory for many
years, and after being sold in 1833, it reappeared at
Christie's during the present year,^ when it fetched 950
guineas at auction.

Some of the Speaker's biographers have assumed,
quite erroneously, that he secured for the gallery at

'■ Sometimes stated, however, to have been a gift to the Speaker
from the Sovereign. « 1910.

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 195

Burford some of the pictures removed from Hampton
Court at this period. In making this statement they
were probably unaware that Lenthall owned a large
landed property, in Herefordshire, also called Hampton
Court, which had been in the possession of his family
since the reign of Henry IV. Sir Roland Lenthall,
Master of the Robes to that sovereign, and who fought at
Agincourt, had licence to embattle his manor-house and
to impark a thousand acres, and from his brother Walter,
whose will was dated in 1421, the Speaker was seventh
in direct descent. A curious portrait, painted on panel,
presented by Henry IV to Sir Roland, is still preserved
at Besselsleigh, together with the bulk of the pictures
from Burford, an interesting collection of Stuart reUcs,
including a glove of Charles I, the Speaker's walking-
stick, a portrait group of himself and his family by
Dobson, and a great number of rare Civil War tracts and
pamphlets. The canopy of the Chair which Lenthall
filled with such distinction was presented by him to
Radley Church, near his Berkshire estate, at the Resto-
ration. Though black with age, it is still in good pre-
servation, and is in all probability the oldest piece of
Parliamentary furniture in existence.

Lenthall continued to preside over the House until
26 July, 1647, when, the Army and the Parliament
having quarrelled, both Lords and Commons and the
City were placed at the mercy of the military party,
which had, by that time, become a highly organised
political association. The Speaker, acting on a hint
conveyed to him by Rushworth, abandoned his post and
left London, fearing the violence of the mob. On the
same day the Common Council appeared at Westminster

196 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

and compelled the two Houses by threats to rescind their
late votes, Cromwell and the army being the absolute
masters of the situation.

" Several members having been desired by the House
to repair to the Speaker's house, ^ reported that Mr.
Speaker was not to be heard of, that he had not lodged
at his house that night, but was gone out of town yester-
day morning. "2

On 6 August the truants returned with the army
for escort, and Lenthall was back in the Chair he had so
recently deserted. An ordinance annulling all orders
" made or pretended to be made " in his absence was
promptly passed, and Pride's Purge, the real object of
which was to exclude the Presbyterians from the House
as being too favourable to the King, took place on Decem-
ber, 1648, apparently without articulate protest from the
Speaker. It has often been stated by unauthoritative
writers that in the previous August Lenthall gave his
casting vote in favour of breaking off negotiations with
the King in the Isle of Wight on the basis of the
Hampton Court proposals. Neither Dr. Gardiner, in his
exhaustive History of the Civil War, nor Professor Firth, in
the Dictionary of National Biography, makes any allusion
to this supposed discreditable incident in his career ; and
the present writer was at first disposed to regard both
debate and division as the phantom of some partisan
brain. However, on searching the official Journal for
the year in question, he found that on 28 July — ^not in
the month of August — the Speaker did give a cast-
ing vote, but only on a minor and immaterial issue

1 Goring House, in Pimlico, now Buckingham Palace.

2 Commons Journals, 29 July, 1647.

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 197

connected with a more important decision of the House.
On the question being put : " That a Treaty be had in
the Isle of Wight with the King in person, by a Com-
mittee appointed by both Houses upon all the proposi-
tions presented to him at Hampton Court, for the taking
away of Wards and Liveries, and for settling of a safe
and well-grounded Peace," a member, unnamed, moved
that the words " and not elsewhere " be added after the
words " Isle of Wight " to the question already proposed
from the Chair. On a division being taken, fifty-seven
were found to have voted for the inclusion of those
words, and fifty-six against. A Mr. Askew, who was in
the Gallery at the time, and who withdrew into the
Committee Chamber without having declared upon which
side he wished his vote to be recorded, was ordered by
the Speaker to make his choice, and having given his
vote with the Yeas,^ the numbers became equal, fifty-
seven on either side. The Speaker then gave his casting
vote, but only against the addition of the words " and
not elsewhere " ; and on the Main Question being put,
it was unanimously resolved " that a Treaty be con-
cluded," etc. etc., in the terms of the original motion.*

Whilst Lenthall must therefore be acquitted of the
charge of having influenced the decision of the House at
a critical moment in the King's fortunes, he cannot be
wholly exonerated from a suspicion of double dealing at
this period in the struggle between the Crown and the
Parliament, as there is evidence of his having been en-
gaged in secret correspondence with the Prince of Wales
at the very moment that the question of resuming nego-

^ Sic in the original Journal, but the sense requires the substitution
of the word " Noes " for " Yeas."
' Commons Journals, Vol. V, p. 650.

198 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

tiations with his royal father was hanging in the balance.
Manning, though he may be presumed to have con-
sulted the Journals of the House when he wrote his book
on the lives of the Speakers, gives an inaccurate version
of the facts related above, and treats Lenthall's vote as
if it had turned the scales in favour of the King, which,
it will be seen, it did not.

It was, however, Lenthall's casting vote which saved
the hfe of Lord Goring ; ^ and the humanity and courage
which he displayed in incurring the displeasure of the
more powerful party, which was in favour of sending
Norwich to the scaffold, probably induced him, on his
deathbed, to issue a public apology for his attitude at
the King's trial. After Goring's reprieve the Speaker
was invited to a banquet by the Lord Mayor, who re-
signed to him the civic sword, an honour usually paid to
Royalty alone.

After the establishment of the Commonwealth the
nation was not truly represented at Westminster, and
the rift between the Army and the Parliament broad-
ened in consequence. A Bill was brought in, with
Cromwell's approval, to fix a time for the dissolution
of the existing House, as many of his adherents were
beginning to chafe under the imcontrolled rule of a
single chamber. During the Dutch war the Army be-
came still more disaffected, until it was rumoured that
Cromwell was meditating the restoration of monarchical
government under another guise. " What if a man
should take upon himself to be King ! " he said to
Whitelocke, realising, as he did, that the rivalry between
the Army and the ParUament coUld not be indefinitely
prolonged without grave danger to the State.

* Afterwards Eaxl of Norwich.

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 199

Continuous Parliamentary government is, in all
essentials, antagonistic to the supremacy of an army,
and this was the condition which Cromwell had to take
seriously into account when, in 1653, he determined to
get rid of the existing House of Commons, lest the Army,
which had made him what he was, should instal Lam-
bert, the second man in England and the darling of the
soldiery, in his place. After he had addressed a meeting
of officers at the Cockpit, in the month of April, urging
the reform of the realm, but not with the existing Parha-
ment, news was brought to him at Whitehall that the
House was disposed to bring its existence to a close. The
rumour proved to be untrue, for the House was busily
engaged in passing a Bill designed to perpetuate its
authority. Once his mind was made up Cromwell acted
at once. He marched a file of musketeers down to the
House, and stationed them at the very spot where
Charles I's guard had remained stationed on the occasion
of the attempted arrest of the five members. This time
they filed through the doorway, Cromwell shouting to the
House that he would put an end to " their prating." The
Speaker was pulled out of the Chair, the " bauble " mace
was taken away, the members were dispersed by force,
and Cromwell, with the keys in his pocket, returned to
Whitehall. " Make way for honester men ! " was the
cry which rang in Lenthall's ears as he was helped out
of the chair.

Scobell, the Clerk of the House, siding with the victor,
put the finishing touch to the work of the Lord General
by entering on the Journal page : " Wednesday, 20th
April, 1653. This day his Excellency the Lord General
dissolved this Parhament." He made a false entry in

200 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

order to curry favour with Cromwell, well knowing that
the only authority which could effect a dissolution of
the House of Commons was the Crown. Though Crom-
well could and did disperse the House, he could not dis-
solve it.

With the expulsion of the Long Parhament fell Lenthall,
for a time, for he was not a member of the Barebones or
Little Parhament which elected Francis Rous as its
Speaker. This assembly, " the Reign of the Saints," ^
consisted of 140 nominees of Cromwell, which, after it
had served the purpose of its masters by preparing the
Instrument of Government, and paving the way for
Ohver's assumption of the title of Protector, was cajoled
by its Speaker into summary abdication.

In the first Parhament of Ohver, Protector, summoned
in September, 1654, the first name put forward was
that of the old Speaker. " Something was said to excuse
him, by reason of his former services, and something
objected as if he had served so long, that he had been
outworn " ; ^ but in the end his re-election to the Chair
was imanimous, "in regard of his great experience and
knowledge of the orders of the House and his dexterity
in the guidance of it." This Parliament came to an end
on 22 January, 1654-55 ; but in the next, the second
Parliament of the Protectorate, he was not re-elected
to the Chair.

Lenthall now hankered after a writ of summons to
Cromwell's House of Lords, and he complained that he,
who had been for some years the first man of the nation,
was denied to be a member of either House of Parhament ;

1 Oliver Cromwell, by John Morley, 1900, p. 358.

2 Burton's Diary.

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 201

for he was held to be incapable of sitting in the House of
Commons by his place as Master of the Rolls, whereby he
was obliged to attend merely as an assistant in the other.
Cromwell eventually sent him a writ, and in the carica-
ture of the Upper House, which met in January, 1658,
he took his place, in company with Fleetwood, Monk,
and Pride. Hazelrig, whom Cromwell had designed for
the same dignity, refused to be promoted, and became the
recognised leader of the Commons, and, after Cromwell's
death, one of the most powerful men in England.

On the fall' of Richard Cromwell the Army desired to
restore the Long Parliament, and a deputation waited on
Lenthall to urge him to return to his seat. After many
excuses,^ he consented to preside over the forty-two mem-
bers of the Rump, and on 7 May, 1659, he proceeded
once more to St. Stephen's Chapel with the mace in
front of him. His position was now greatly increased
in dignity, even commissions in the army were not valid
until countersigned by him, and no Speaker before him
was invested with such far-reaching authority.

" Cut out more work than can be done
In Pluto's year but finish none,
Unless it be the bulls of Lenthall,
That always pass'd for fundamental." 2

Once more the attenuated assembly was to be
violently dispersed. On 13 December Lambert drew up
his forces in Westminster, obstructing all passages to
the House both by land and water, setting guards at
all the doors, and interrupting the members from coming
to take their seats. When the Speaker appeared in his

1 Lenthall had previously declared that he was not altogether satis-
fied that the death of the King had not put an end to the Parliament.

2 Butler's Hudibras, and an obvious allusion to the " Rump."

202 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

coach the horses were turned back. " Do you not know
me ? " he said. " If you had been with us at Winnington
Bridge, we should have known you," repUed the soldiers.^
Lenthall was unceremoniously conducted to his own
house, the mace was taken from him by Lambert, and
the Army recovered supreme authority.

On Christmas Eve, 1659, a new revolution took
place. The soldiery assembled in Lincoln's Inn Fields
and resolved to restore the Parliament. They halted in
Chancery Lane at the Speaker's door, for Lenthall was
in residence at the Rolls House, and there they hailed
him as their general and the father of their country.
Two days later he was again in the Chair, and the
remnants of the Long Parliament were once more restored.
Pepys noted in his diary that the Speaker hesitated to
sign the writs for the choice of new members in the place
of the excluded, but on Monk declaring for a free Parha-
ment in February, 1659-60, the Restoration was in sight.
Military and Parliamentary rule had alike become distaste-
ful and obnoxious to the people, and the nation at large
was prepared to welcome the restoration of the Monarchy.

Lenthall, having decided to throw in his lot with
Monk, declared himself to be devotedly attached to
the monarchical principle, and he told a personal friend,
who was present at his deathbed,^ that Monk was able
to assure Charles II that, had it not been for his secret
concurrence and assistance, the Restoration could never
have been brought about.

' Sir George Booth headed a rising in Cheshire for Charles II.
Lambert marched against him and defeated him at Winnington (not
" Warrington," as the Dictionary of National Biography has it) Bridge.

* Dr. Dickenson, a physician in St. Martin's Lane and a Fellow
of Merton.

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 203

Lenthall was a candidate for the University of Oxford
in the Convention Parliament, but, in spite of Monk's
influence being cast in his favour, he was not elected,
nor was he able to retain the Mastership of the Rolls at
the Restoration. He was excepted from the Act of
Indemnity, but, possibly on account of his having lent
Charles II ;f3000, a sum which has never been repaid to
this day, he subsequently obtained the King's pardon.^

His son. Sir John Lenthall, was returned for Abingdon
in 1660, but his connection with Parliament on this
occasion was brief. Having made an incautious speech
on the Indemnity Bill, in which he said " that he that
drew his sword against the King committed as high an
offence as he that cut off the King's head," he was
severely reprimanded at the bar by the new Speaker, Sir
Harbottle Grimston, who had no great hking for the
presiding genius of the Long Parhament, and, perhaps,
rather welcomed the opportunity of administering a
reproof to his offspring. Two days later he was expelled
the House, soon after to be rewarded by the King with
the Governorship of Windsor Castle.

Lenthall seems to have thought it advisable to publish
a pamphlet, copies of which are now extremely rare,
purporting to give a full and accurate account of his
profits and gains in the public service from 1648 to 1660,
but deliberately excluding all mention of sums received
before the first-mentioned date. In it he declared that
before he became Speaker he had an assured income of
£2500 from his practice at the Bar, that when he suc-
ceeded Sir Charles Caesar as Master of the RoUs the

1 The original document with the royal seal and signature is still
preserved by the family at Besselsleigh.

204 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

emoluments of the office were less than in the time of
his predecessor by £2200, a sum equivalent to what he
received in respect of private Bills and Pardons. He
pointed out that as the Clerks of the House were also
paid by fees these could not have been excessive, since
one of the ablest men who ever executed that ofifice^
died in such poor circumstances that he was buried
at the expense of his friends. He asserted that the
Chancellorship of the Duchy of Lancaster brought him
"only labour for his pains," that he was prepared to
state on oath that from 1648 he never received anything
from the Chair by way of fee or reward; and that,
having settled the bulk of his estate on his son, he
estimated his total annual income in 1660 at ^800, and
his personal property (including, oddly enough, his
debts) at no more than £2000. The short remainder
of Lenthall's hfe was passed in retirement at his
Oxfordshire home.

In a remote situation in a fold of the Cotswold hills,
in the valley of the little river Windrush, and surrounded
by the most delightful sylvan scenery, Burford Priory
exhibits many interesting features of the domestic archi-
tecture of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth
centuries. After years of wanton neglect, which eventu-
ally led to its becoming a melancholy ruin — the home
of bats and owls — it has recently been thoroughly and
lovingly repaired, rather than restored, under the capable
supervision of its present owner, Colonel de Sales La
Terriere, acting as his own architect.

In 1808 the whole of the north wing was pulled
down, together with half of the eastern front. The

' Elsynge.

>•
►J
Cj
H
S

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 205

south wing, which was built by the Speaker — as was the
existing but disused chapel connected with the main
buUding by an external gallery — fell into decay and was
demoUshed in order to provide material for new farm
buildings within the last fifty or sixty years. Neither
of the wings so ruthlessly destroyed has been rebuilt, but
the ballroom, or great chamber, on the first floor, with
a beautiful plaster ceiling and a chimney-piece enriched
with the armorial bearings of the Lenthalls, presents
much the same appearance as it must have done when
the Speaker of the Long Parliament hung the pictorial
spoils of Whitehall on its lofty walls.

An even more interesting feature of the Priory, as it
stands to-day, is the rediscovery of some of the original
pointed arches of the thirteenth-century religious house.
These, which were found embedded in the interior walls
during the repairs undertaken during the last two years,
appear to have been deliberately concealed from view in
the time of Henry VIII by the then owners, the Harmans,
whose heraldic supporters, with the Lenthall coat of
arms between them, are still to be seen over the
entrance door. These arches, the very existence of
which must have been quite unknown to the Speaker,
have been carefully re-erected within a few feet of where
they were found, and constitute, with their fine curves
and time-worn edges, an enduring hnk between the
monastic building and the Tudor dwelling-house. The
stone fire-place, now in the hall, though not occupying
its original site, may date from an even earher period
than the ownership of the Harmans.

Since its conversion from ecclesiastical to lay uses
Burford has known many owners, most of them

2o6 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

persons of distinction in their day, and nearly all of
whom have left their mark upon the old building.
After the Harmans it came into the possession of the
Duchess of Somerset, but, having passed to the Crown,
Queen Elizabeth sold it to Sir John Fortescue, Chancellor
of the Exchequer in 1589, who, in his turn, parted with
it to Sir Lawrence Tanfield, Chief Baron of the Exchequer
in 1625. He rebuilt the greater part of the house in
the reign of James I, and Lucius Cary, Lord Falk-
land, Lenthall's immediate predecessor here, was his
grandson.

King James and Anne of Denmark stayed with the
Tanfields at the Priory in 1603 ; Charles I refreshed him-
self and his troops at the Speaker's in 1644 on his way
from Oxford to Bourton-on-the- Water ; Charles II dined
here in 1681 with Sir John Lenthall,^ and attended the
races held on the neighbouring downs, the King being
received by the Mayor and Corporation of Burford on
the occasion. These time-honoured races, which gave
birth to the Bibury Club of after days, were held on
an upland course between Burford and Bibury for
150 years before their removal, first to Danebury,
near Stockbridge, and, more recently, to Salisbury.
Nell Gwynne was also an occasional visitor to the
Priory in its roystering days, and it will be recollected
that one of the minor titles of her son, the Duke of St.
Albans, was Lord Burford.

William III slept at the Priory in 1695, when it was
in the occupation of the fifth Earl of Abercom, who
married the widow of William Lenthall, only daughter

' The Speaker's son and a well-known profligate at the Court of
Whitehall.

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 207

and heiress of James Hamilton, Lord Paisley, by his
wife Catherine, daughter of a brother of the Speaker.
Lord Abercom seems to have carried on the dissipated
traditions of the Priory in the days of Charles II, for
he was tried at Oxford in 1697 for the murder of John
Prior of Burford, his wife's steward. It is only fair to
add that he was acquitted of the capital charge. Incident-
ally, justice was appeased by the hanging of a gardener in
his stead. Numerous alterations were made to the house
at the beginning of the nineteenth century, since which its
history has been one of sordid disfigurement at the
hands of its responsible owners until it was saved from
utter ruin and destruction by Colonel La Terriere in
1908.

When Lenthall was nearing his end his conscience so
troubled him that he sent to Witney to ask Dr. Ralph
Brideoak, afterwards Bishop of Chichester, to come over
to Burford and hear his dying confession and to
absolve him from his sins. It was then that he
apologised for his share in the trial and execution of
the Kiag; and though it is usually unsafe to attach
much importance to deathbed confessions, admirers of
the independence which he displayed earUer in his
Parliamentary career can appreciate the remorse which
fiUed his soul and induced him to make such reparation
as he could when at the point of death.

Dr. Brideoak, having entreated the dying man to
relieve his conscience by a fuU confession, invited him
to say to what extent he considered that his pubHc
career had transgressed the teaching of the Ten Com-
mandments. Laying stress upon the fact that dis-
obedience, rebellion, and schism were the greatest

2o8 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

sins against the fifth of these precepts, Lenthall replied :
"Yes, sir, there is my trouble, my disobedience, not
against my natural parents, but against the Pater Patriae,
our deceased Sovereign. I confess, with Saul, I held their
clothes whilst they murdered him ; but herein I was not
so criminal as Saul was ; for God, Thou knowest ! I never
consented to his death ; I ever prayed and endeavoured
what I could against it ; but I did too much. Almighty
God, forgive me ! "

" I then desired him to deal freely and openly on
that business, and if he knew any of those villains that
plotted or contrived that horrid murder, who were not
yet detected, now to discover them. He answered that
' he was a stranger to that business ; his soul never
entered into that secret, but what concerns myself I
will confess freely. Three things are especially laid to
my charge, wherein, indeed, I am too guilty : that I
went from the Parliament to the Army ; that I proposed
the bloody question for trying the King ; and that I
sat after the King's death. To the first I may give this
answer, that CromweU and his agents deceived a wiser
man than myself, that excellent King, and they might
deceive me also, and so they did. I knew the Presby-
terians would never restore the King to his just rights ;
those men swore they would. For the second no excuse
can be made, but I have the King's pardon, and I hope
Almighty God will show me His mercy also. Yet, sir,'
said he, 'even then, when I put the question, I hoped
the very putting the question would have cleared him,
because I believed four for one were against it ; but they
deceived me also. To the third I make this candid con-
fession, that it was my own baseness and cowardice and

HENRY PELHAM

1647
From a painting in the possession of the Earl oj Yarboroiigh

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 209

unworthy fear to submit my life and estate to the mercy
of those men that murdered the King, that hurried me
on, against my own conscience, to act with them, yet
then I thought also I might do some good and hinder
some ill. Something I did for the Church and Univer-
sities, something for the King, when I broke the Oath
of Abjuration, as Sir O. B. and yourself know ; some-
thing, also, too for his return, as my lord G., Mr. J. T.,
and yourself know. But the ill I did overweighed the
httle good I would have done. God forgive me for this
also.' " Brideoak then allowed him the absolution of the
Church, and LenthaU received the Sacrament the next
day. Having repeated the substance of his confession to
Dr. Dickenson, of Merton College, who was at Burford
at the time, he spent the few remaining hours of his life
in devotion and penitential meditation .^ In his will
he humbled himself to the dust, and ordered that
no monument should be raised to his memory other
than a plain stone with the legend " Vermis sum."
The original terms of the will are worth quoting : " As
to my body and burial I do leave it to the disposition
and discretion of my executors hereafter named. But
with this special charge: That it be done as privately
as may be without any pomp or state, acknowledging
myself to be tmworthy of the least outward regard of
this world, and unworthy of any remembrance, that
have been so great a sinner. And I do further charge
and desire that no monument be made for me, but at
the utmost a plain stone with this superscription only :

^ This deathbed repentance and confession was twice printed in
1662, and reissued forty years later as an appendix to the Memoirs of
the Two Last Years of the Reign of King Charles I, by Sir Thomas
Herbert and others.

210 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

' Vermis sum.' " The inscription was, however, placed on
his coffin plate, as was discovered when the vault in which
he was buried was opened to allow of another interment.
There is a portrait of Lenthall, attributed to Vandyck,
in the Speaker's House, but it is more probably the work
of Henry Peart, one of his many pupils. Rushworth,
whose name will always be associated with LenthaU, by
reason of his action on the attempted arrest of the five
members, is also commemorated in the Speaker's Portrait
Gallery.

Some mention should be made of the temporary Crom-
wellian Speakers, eight in number, who sat in the Chair
of the Commons between the date of Lenthall's first
leaving it in 1647 and the final dissolution of the Long
Parliament. Henry Pelham, of Belvoir, Lincolnshire,
though not mentioned by Manning, was chosen by the
Presbyterian section of the House by general approba-
tion on 30 July, 1647, on Lenthall's joining the Army,
and not long after Charles was taken prisoner.^ The
member for Grantham (who sat for the same con-
stituency in the Short Parliament of 1640, and earher
for Great Grimsby) was conducted to the Chair by Sir
Anthony Irby and Mr. Richard Lee, and there he re-
mained until replaced by Lenthall in the month of
August, when the Army and Cromwell had become the
real masters of the situation. As one of the leading
Presbyterians, he was secluded and imprisoned when
Pride's Purge took place in 1648, but was liberated six
days later.

In the "Barebones," or Little ParUament, the Chair

' He was the third son of Sir William Pelham, of Brocklesby, by
Anne, daughter of Charles, second Lord Willoughby of Parham.

. "\(iiiiri I'h'' //■/■•.•, t ^,ii.<. iiniu' ri_ai/nu.- ^^- luj-

•Jf!.}/ /J.-- hu fii(/./(n hare ju-t Jr rn/' .;■'///■/*■>
j\vf God It fcr& . am/ // Gods Kiro sfn//^ pr .

fkam;is kous
1653

F>-oiii a (•riiit

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 211

was filled by the Rev. Francis Rous, a Cornish gentleman
of good family and education. His career was a most sin-
gular one, even in an age of xmexpected happenings. An
ordinance passed by the Lords on 10 February, 1643-44,
deprived Richard Steward, the Provost of Eton, of his post
and appointed Rous in his stead " for the term of his
natural life." He contrived to get Eton exempted from
the " Self-Denying Ordinance," in order that he might
retain his emoluments, and it was probably owing to
Rous's exertions that the College was also exempted
from the sale of the estates of religious corporations.
The Provost was rewarded for his subservience in the
Chair by a writ of summons to Cromwell's short-lived
House of Lords. He was buried in Lupton's Chapel
at Eton, and his portrait still hangs in the Provost's
Lodge.

Sir Thomas Widdrington, of an old Northumbrian
family, many of whose members were CavaUers, filled the
Chair in Oliver's second Parliament, from 17 September,
1656, till it was dissolved on 4 February, 1657-58. He
then became Chief Baron of the Exchequer. He was
brother-in-law to Fairfax, and sat in the Commons Chair
when Cromwell declined the crown. At the Restoration
Widdrington was deprived of all his offices. Pepys
alludes to him as " My Lord Widdrington going to seal
the Patents for the Judges in January, 1659-60," he
having been a Commissioner of the Great Seal on three
separate occasions. Such evidence as exists as to his
demeanour in the Chair shows him to have been any-
thing but a strong Speaker, but his incompetence was
perhaps partly due to his habitual iU-health. On
8 January, 1657, the adjournment of the House

212 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

for a week was agreed to by reason of his indisposition.
On the i2th the Speaker was brought in a sedan chair
to the lobby door, and with much ado he was hoisted
into the Chair, but " looked most piteously." Being
asked to deal plainly with the House, he was invited to
declare the cause of his sufferings. " If you please to
go on," was his meek answer, " I shall sit till Twelve
o'clock." But his intentions were obviously beyond
his strength, and the House again adjourned for a
week.

In 1657 Cromwell was an inexorable master, and, as
Thurloe observes, he required " too much to have been
expected" of Parliament. The House confirmed more
than a hundred Bills and Ordinances in one day, nothing
being read but the titles. From 24 to 30 April members
were kept in attendance from eight in the morning till
nine o'clock at night, and the strain of sitting dinnerless
in the Chair told upon Speaker Widdrington's health.
On a division, in which the numbers were equal, he
rose and said, " I am a Yea, a No I should say." Amid
much ill-bred laughter another member claimed that he
too had been mistaken in giving his vote ; but it was
determined that, while some latitude might be extended
to a weary Speaker, other members were not at Hberty
to recall their votes. Later in the same sitting Speaker
Widdrington blundered in putting a question to the
House for its decision, and, when the mistake was chal-
lenged, he appeared to be quite at a loss to explain his
meaning. The House thereupon " fell into great con-
fusion." During Widdrington's temporary absence from
indisposition, that great lawyer, Bulstrode Whitelocke,
well known from his Memorials of English Affairs, filled the

SIR THOMAS WIDDRINGTON

1656

From a drawmg in the National Portrait Gallery

BULSTRODE WHITELOCK

1656-7

From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 213

Chair for a short time.^ When a proposal came before
the House that lawyers should be precluded from prac-
tising their profession if elected to Parliament, he used
the following words : —

" With respect to the proposal for compeUing lawyers
tojsuspend^their practice while they sit in Parhament,
I only insist that in the Act' for that purpose it be pro-
vided^that merchants should^ forbear their trading, phy-
sicians from visiting their patients, and country gentle-
men from selling their corn or wool while they are members
of this House."

In Richard Cromwell's only Parliament Chaloner Chute,
of the Vyne (a fine property which he bought in 1653
from the sixth Lord Sandys), " a worthy gentleman of
the long robe," was Speaker. He resigned from ill-
health on 9 March, and died on 14 April. He had a great
reputation as an advocate, and amongst other eminent
men whom he defended was Archbishop Laud. Sir
Lislebone Long, " by general consent of the House," was
chosen in his stead ; but on 14 March he too informed
the House that he was too unwell to sit, and within
forty-eight hours of Chute he died. Thomas Bampfylde
(M.P. Exeter) succeeded Long on 16 March, 1658-59,
after one Mr. Reynell (M.P. Ashburton) had been pro-
posed. Bampfylde was, however, preferred as being " a
person of greater experience and of approved learning and
gravity." From his nephew. Sir Coplestone Bampfylde,
the present Lord Poltimore is descended. This Speaker's
tenure of office was interrupted by the Committee of
Safety. The last of Lenthall's many substitutes was

• He is not mentioned by Manning, but the fact of his having been
Speaker is established by reference to the Commons Journals, Vol. VII,
p. 482.

214 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

William Say, or Saye.^ a Bencher of the Middle Temple,
and one of the Regicides, who sat in the Chair for a
few days in January, 1659-60, during Lenthall's tempo-
rary absence from indisposition. He was a member of
the Long Parliament from 1647. At the Restoration his
name was exempted from the Act of Indemnity, but he
contrived to make his escape to the Continent.

It is a curious fact that of these Cromwellian Speakers
Pelham, Rous, and Bampfylde were members of old
knightly families boasting pedigrees which satisfied that
most exclusive of genealogists, Mr. E. P. Shirley, who in-
cluded their names in his Noble and Gentle Men of England.
Lenthall, Widdrington, Chute, and Long were all men
of good family. Whitelocke, on his mother's side, was
descended from the very ancient Buckinghamshire house
of Bulstrode of Hedgerley. Even the Regicide Speaker
could claim kinship with the Sir John Say who filled the
same ofhce in 1449, so that in the darkest days of the
Commonwealth the House was jealous of the status and
origin of its presiding officer.

At an age somewhat older than that of most holders
of the office, Sir Harbottle Grimston was unanimously
elected Speaker at the Restoration, on the motion of Mr.
William Pierpont. Early in life he had been a strong
Presbyterian, and prominent amongst those who opposed
the rise of Cromwell and the Independents in the army.
He was excluded from the House by Pride's Purge, and,
disapproving as he did of the King's execution, he with-
drew from public Hfe. Again elected for Essex in 1656,
he was once more excluded. About 1652 he purchased
the reversion of the estate of Gorhambury, his second

' M.P. Camelford.

CHALONER CHUTE

1658-59

Front a pahUuig at the I'yue^ Bastitgsiokc

SIR HARBOTTLE GRIMSTON

1660

From a painting; in t/ie National Portrait Gallery by Lely

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 215

wife having been a great-niece of Sir Nicholas Bacon, the
builder of the now ruined mansion. Grimston held the
Mastership of the Rolls concurrently with the Speaker-
ship, and until his death in 1685.^ At the Restoration
he was living in Lincoln's Inn, and he entertained the
King at his house there soon after his arrival in London.

The existing mace of the House of Commons dates
from Sir Harbottle Grimston's Speakership. The earlier
"fool's bauble," removed by Cromwell, was made in
1649 by Thomas Maundy, a goldsmith in Fetter Lane,
and, though it was formerly supposed that it was re-
fashioned at the Restoration, it appears certain that the
one now in use is wholly of the Charles II period. It
weighs upwards of 250 ounces, and is rather less than
five feet in length, whereas the Commonwealth mace is
known to have been considerably smaller. The tradition
that a mace at Kingston, in Jamaica, is the one turned
out of the House by Cromwell appears to be without
foundation, as the oldest now preserved in that island is
of eighteenth-century workmanship. When the House
of Commons is not in session the Serjeant-at-Arms re-
turns the emblem of his office to the custody of the Lord
Chamberlain's Department, whence it is reissued after
each Parliamentary recess.

The Convention Parhament met on 25 April, 1660.
Charles II landed at Dover a month later, and on 29 May
(his thirtieth birthday) the only one of the Stuarts who
had tact and who knew when to give way entered London

' In 1803 the Speaker's lineal descendant, the third Viscount
Grimston, presented Sir Harbottle's portrait to the historical series
preserved at Westminster, and his coat of arms from the old Rolls
Chapel is still to be seen in a window of the museum at the Public
Record Office.

2i6 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

amidst universal rejoicing. The " Pensionary Parliament "
of Charles II, though often unfavourably contrasted with
the Long Parliament, showed itself extremely jealous of the
privileges of the Commons, and sat for an even greater
number of years than its famous predecessor. It ex-
tended over seventeen sessions, and was presided over
by four Speakers.

The first of these, Sir Edward Tumour, an ancestor of
the present Earl Winterton, occupied the Chair for
ten whole years. Samuel Pepys, who knew him well,
appeared before him on 4 March, 1668, to deUver his
celebrated defence of the principal officers of the Navy.
In the speech of his life he held the attention of a crowded
House for over three hours in justification of himself and
his colleagues. So favourable an impression did the
speech produce that when Sir WilHam Coventry, the
Chief Commissioner of the Navy, met him the next day
he greeted him in the following words : " Good-morrow,
Mr. Pepys that must be Speaker of the Parhament
House." Coventry also told this invaluable pubhc ser-
vant that he could earn £1000 a year at the Bar ; the
Solicitor-General said that he was the best speaker in
England ; and the Speaker himself declared that in all
his experience of the House of Commons he had never
heard such a good defence. All which must have been
extremely gratifying to Pepys' well-known vanity. The
diarist confesses that before going to Westminster on
this memorable morning of his life he drank half a pint
of mulled sack and a dram of brandy, after which he
felt himself " in better order as to courage." He took
great interest in the House of Commons even before he
became a member, and in his Diary for 27 July, 1663, he

-¥*^p^l^ ,.^

THE MACE

From a photograph in the possession of the ScTJeaitt-at-A rii/s { Mr. II. D. £}-skui
of Cardross)

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 217

relates how he crowded into the House of Lords, stand-
ing close behind the Speaker when he recapitulated the
Acts of the session to the King and desired the Royal
Assent. " The Speaker's speech was far from any
oratory, but was as plain (though good matter) as any-
thing could be, and void of elocution."

No man up to this date had occupied the Chair for
anything like so long a time as Speaker Turnour. Len-
thall's longest continuous term of office was, as we have
shown, under seven years ; but during the decade of
1661-71 the Speaker witnessed events as stirring and
as far-reaching in their pohtical effect as any of his pre-
decessors had taken part in. He saw the wreck of
Clarendon (though his poUcy continued to commend itself
to the majority of the House of Commons), the loss of
England's command of the sea in the disastrous war with
Holland, ending with the humiliating Treaty of Breda,
hurriedly concluded after the Dutch fleet had sailed up
the Medway, bombarded Chatham, and threatened Dover
and Harwich. And when the thunder of the enemy's
guns caused a panic in London the Speaker was hindered
from taking the Chair until after the King had proceeded
to the House of Lords, for fear anything should be resolved
upon by the Commons contrary to the wishes of the
Court. ^

* Considerable light is thrown upon the temper of the House
at the time of this discreditable manoeuvre by the ubiquitous Pepys.
Writing on 25 July, 1667, when details of the disaster were still wanting,
he said : " Contrary to all expectation by the King that there would
be a thin meeting, there met above 300 this first day, and all the dis-
contented party ; and indeed the whole House seems to be no other
almost. The Speaker told them, as soon as they were sat, that he
was ordered by the King to let them know he was hindered by some
important business to come to them and speak to them as he had

2i8 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Speaker Turnour saw the rise of the Cabal, that inner
conclave of the King's advisers, two of whose members,
at least, were in favour of restoring the Roman Catholic
religion in this country ; but he may never have known
that by a secret treaty, which Charles concluded with
Louis XIV in 1670, in return for a heavy bribe, the King
was pledged to declare his own adhesion to the Church
of Rome as soon as the times were deemed to be ripe
for a public declaration. [ >i

Like many other pubUc men at this period. Speaker
Turnour received large grants of public money, amount-
ing in the aggregate to £11,000, as free gifts ; nor did
he altogether escape the stigma of corruption. It was
found that he was in receipt of a small gratuity from the
East India Company, and in 1669 it was rumoured in
the House that evidence existed of corrupt dealings on
his part on a much larger scale. His elevation to the
Judicial Bench may have been accelerated by a desire
to shield him from unpleasant consequences if these
charges were found to be proven.

An order which was passed by the House shortly be-

intended, and therefore, ordered him to move that they would adjourn
themselves till Monday next, it being very plain to all the House that
he expects to hear by that time of the sealing of the peace." Four
days later, when the signing of the peace was generally known, he
wrote : "I went up to the Painted Chamber thinking to have got in to
hear the King's speech, but upon second thoughts did not think it would
be worth the crowd, and so went down again into the Hall. . . . But
presently comes down the House of Commons, the King having made
them a very short and no pleasing speech to them at all." The King
informed them that he had made peace, but gave no particulars and
dismissed Parliament until October. But it leaked out that the
Speaker's detention had been deliberately planned " for fear they should
be doing anjd;hing in the House of Commons to the further dissatis-
faction of the King and bis courtiers."

SIR EDWARD TURNOUR

1661

From a painting in the Speaker s Hoitse

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 219

fore his retirement from the Chair — " That the Back
Door of the Speaker's Chambers be nailed up and not
opened during any sessions of ParHament " — ^has given
rise to some speculation without eUciting any definite
agreement as to its motive. Though backstairs influence
was so much in the ascendant at this period, it does not
appear that the House, in making the order, had any
ulterior object in view beyond regulating the entry of
its members through one, and that the main, approach
to the Chamber. From a much earlier date the Speaker
had been provided with private apartments in which to
don his robes, but there is no evidence to show that he was
required to live in the Palace in the seventeenth century.
Sir Edward Tumour, when in town, Uved, like so many
of his predecessors, at the Rolls House in Chancery Lane.
He died 4 March, 1675, at Bedford during the hearing of
the assizes, and was buried with much ceremony at
Little Parndon, Essex, on the south side of the chancel.

An account of St. Stephen's Chapel, as it appeared in
the sixteenth century, has been given at an earUer page.
In the second part of Chamberlayne's AnglicB Notitia,
published in 1671, there is a very fuU and interesting
account of both Houses of ParHament as Pepys saw them.

" The Commons in their House sit promiscuously,
only the Speaker hath a Chair placed in the middle, and
the Clerk of that House near him at the Table. They
never had any robes (as the Lords ever had), but wear
every one what he fancieth most, which to strangers
seems very unbecoming the gravity and authority of the
Great CouncU of England."

But few nowadays will be f oimd to endorse the recom-
mendation which follows : —

220 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

" During their attendance on Parliament, a robe or
grave vestment would as well become the honourable
members of the House of Commons, as it doth all the
noble Venetians, both young and old, who hath right to
sit in the Great Council of Venice, and as it doth the
Senators of Rome at this day."

Though Chamberlajme only mentions one Clerk, there
had been an assistant at least as early as the reign of
James I. In the House of Lords, while the Clerk of the
Parliament sat on the " lowermost woolsack " in 1671, his
two assistants knelt behind it and wrote their minutes
in the same uncomfortable posture. In another passage
Chamberlayne speaks of the House of Commons as the
" Grand Inquest of the Realm," an early use of a very
familiar definition. But even before this the watchful
eye of a foreigner had noted the general aspect of the
House of Commons in the latter half of the seventeenth
century. Monconys, who accompanied the Due de
Chevreuse to London, Oxford, and other places in 1663,
has placed on record his impressions of St. Stephen's,
and, if for no other reason, they are valuable because
they contain the earliest reference of which the author
is aware to the green benches of the Lower House : —

" Avant diner je fus a Westminster, d'oii les Deputez
de la Chambre Basse sortoient. Le lieu ou ils s'assem-
blent est une Chambre mediocrement grande, environn^e
de six ou sept rangs de degrez converts de sarge verte,
& disposez en Amphiteatre, au milieu desquels il y a un
preau, au fonds duquel vis a vis de la porte est une grande
Chaise a bras, avec un dossier de menue sarge dor6 &
ouvrage, haut de sept ou huit pies, dans lequel s'assoit
le President, tournant le^ dos a^a fengtre, & le visage k
la porte. Au dessus de la porte, bien plus haut que les

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 221

demiers degrez, il y a une tribune, ou il y a encore trois
ou quatre rangs de ces degres ; il y a place pour 500
personnes. Devant la chaise du President il y a un
Bureau, oii sont les Griffiers, ou Secretaires."

This French traveller and his patron were lodged in
Westminster during their visit to London, at a house
in the immediate vicinity of Palace Yard, which appears
to have been set apart for the reception of foreign am-
bassadors on their first coming to town.

" II y a une assez belle place au devant, au fond de
laquelle M. le Due alia loger, k cinq pieces par semaine
ou 100 Chelins, dans la maison que M. Brunetti lui
avoit loii^e, & ou le Roi loge les Ambassadeurs extra-
ordinaires les trois premiers jours qu'ils arrivent, & oii
il les d6fraye." ^

The session of 1671 is memorable in the annals of
Parliament for the contention then first seriously ad-
vanced by the Commons that the Lords were unable to
amend a Money BiU. A sUght diminution of a proposed
duty on sugar having been proposed by the Peers, a
deadlock ensued between the two Houses, and, as neither
side was disposed to give way, the Bill was dropped.
Six years later the same difficulty was experienced
when the Lords amended a Bill granting money for an
increase in the fleet. On this occasion, however, the
Lords did not insist upon their amendment. But in
the following year the struggle between the two

' Mr. de Moncony's descriptions of London, though little known,
are so vivid and so evidently the results of personal experience, that
they will repay careful attention. In the National Review, some years
ago, the present author wrote an article on the French traveller's impres-
sions of 1663, and the above extracts are taken from an edition, published
in Paris in 1695, in the writer's possession.

222 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Houses was renewed over a Money Bill for the dis-
bandment of troops. Public opinion being found to be
hostile to a reduction of the armed forces of the Crown,
in view of the threatening attitude of France, the ques-
tion was not fought out to a conclusion ; but the venal
assembly, contemptuously known as the " Pensionary
Parliament," passed the Resolution quoted in every text-
book of constitutional history, which has ever since been
held to debar the Lords from amending, though not of
rejecting or suspending, a Money Bill originating in the
Lower House.

Sir Job Charlton, whom Roger North calls " an old
Cavalier, loyal, learned, grave, and wise," was the next
Speaker. He is generally said to have been the son of
a London goldsmith, by name Robert Charlton, and
that his mother was the daughter of another, by name
Thomas Harby ; but in the exhaustive list of London
goldsmiths printed in Jackson's English Goldsmiths
and their Marks, neither of these names occurs. It
seems more probable that he came of a Shropshire
stock, and that his father was Robert Charlton, of Whit-
ton, in that county. He represented Ludlow in 1659,
1660, and 1661, and died at his seat at Ludford, Here-
fordshire, 24 May, 1697. As he only held of&ce for eleven
days, little or nothing is known of his conduct in the
Chair. He became Justice of the Common Pleas, but
was removed on account of his opposition to James II's
dispensing power. He had also been Chief Justice of
Chester, but here he was no luckier, for he had to resign
the post in favour of Jeffreys, who had " laid his eye on
it." Charlton was the first Speaker to be made a Baronet,
and when he resigned from ill-health, the House, for the

SIR JOB CHARLTOX

1672-3

Front a painting in the Speaker s House

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 223

first time for 150 years, elected a Speaker who was not a
lawyer. This was Sir Edward Seymour, of Maiden Bradley,
Wilts, an aristocratic Tory, who held office for five years,
when he too resigned on the plea of ill-health, though
there is reason to believe that this was but a convenient
excuse. The real reason was a difference of opinion with
Danby, the master mind of the Government.

Seymour was first voted to the Chair on 18 February,
1672-3, and in October of the same year a wholly irregu-
lar debate was initiated by Sir Thomas Littleton, who
declared that he was unfitted to hold the office, owing
to his being a Privy Councillor and his having admission
to the most secret conclaves of the Court. " You are too
big for that Chair, and for us," he said; " and you, that
are one of the governors of the world, to be our servant,
is incongruous." A Mr. Harbord was even more uncom-
plimentary. " You expose the honour of the House in
resorting to gaming-houses, with foreigners as well as
Englishmen, and other ill places. I think you to be an
unfit person to be Speaker, by your way of living."
Colonel Strangways, however, came to Seymour's rescue,
declaring that as for his being a gamester, exception
might just as well be taken to the Judicial Bench for
the same reasons.^

In Seymour's first session a debate arose on the printing
of addresses to the King in connection with grievances
concerniag the billeting of soldiers. On a motion to
adjourn the debate, the numbers (on a division) were
found to be equal, whereupon the Speaker gave his
casting vote in favour of adjournment, saying, " He
would have his reason for his judgment recorded, viz.

^ Cobbetf s Parliamentary History, Vol. IV, p. 589.

224 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

because he was very hungry." Seymour was a very
proud, not to say overbearing, man, and he was un-
popular with the general body of members. A trick
was once played upon him by a wag, who handed
him a petition, which the Speaker began to read aloud :
" The humble petition of OUver Cromwell — the devil,"
whereon a shout of laughter caused him to throw down
the paper and hasten from the Chair.

On 10 May, 1675, a serious disturbance arose in Com-
mittee of the whole House on the consideration of His
Majesty's answer to an address for recalling British sub-
jects from the service of the French King. The riot could
only have been quelled by a strong man, and the Speaker's
intervention has scarcely had a parallel since that day
until Mr. Speaker Peel's memorable intervention in the
Home Rule debate on 27 July, 1893.^ Seymour " very
opportunely and prudently rising from his seat near the
Bar, in a resolute and slow pace, made his three respects
through the crowd, and took the Chair." The mace
was laid on the table and the disorder ceased on the
Speaker stating that he had acted, " though not accord-
ing to order, with the intent of bringing the House into
order again." ^ He " maintained the dignity of the Chair
after that of the House was gone" by obliging every
member present to stand up in his place and engage on
his honour not to resent any of that day's proceedings.
As an instance of his pride it is related that when he
was presented to William III the King remarked that
he believed Sir Edward was of the Duke of Somerset's
family, whereupon the ex-Speaker retorted "that the

^ Commons Journals, Vol, GXLVIII, p. 469.
^ Grey's Debates, Vol. Ill, p. 129.

SIR EIIWARD SEVMOl'K

1672-73

Prpiti a draiving in the JSaitonnl Portrait Gallery

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 225

Duke was rather of his family." Once, when his coach
broke down at Charing Cross, he ordered the next
gentleman's to be stopped and brought to him, and
when its occupant expressed surprise, Sir Edward told
him that it was more proper for him to walk in the
streets than for the Speaker of the House of Commons.

The year 1675 was a memorable one in English politics.
Alternately inclining to the counsels of Shaftesbury and
religious toleration, and to the advice of Danby, who
desired the supremacy of the Anglican Church, Charles
had allowed the Nonconformists to be harried to please
the Churchmen, and had assented to the Test Act of
1673 to gratify the hatred of both persuasions for the
Roman Catholics. But a haunting fear in the public
mind that the Protestant succession to the throne was
still endangered convinced Danby that a new and more
stringent test was required. The reorganisation of his sup-
porters in the Commons which followed led to a cleavage
of parties, out of which was gradually evolved the perma-
nent division of English political opinion into two distinct
bodies : the Tory and the Whig of after days.

Whilst Danby's proposals were under consideration the
relations of the two Houses became once more strained.
Eveljm, writing in the summer of 1675, mentions a con-
ference of Lords and Commons in the Painted Chamber,
at which the Lords accused the representatives of the
people of infringing their privileges, and brought forward
once more the oft-quoted precedent of Henry IV. To
gain time the King suddenly prorogued Parliament for
four months, and the storm blew over.

Sir Robert Sawyer, Pepys' " old chamber fellow " at
Magdalene College, Cambridge, succeeded Sir Edward
Q

226 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Seymour in the Chair on ii April, 1678 ; but years
before that the same assiduous gossip had noted that " he
do very well in the world." Like his two predecessors, he
resigned from ill-health. Within a month of his election
he was found to be suffering from a violent fit of the
stone, attributed to his long sitting one day in the Chair.
Sawyer's subsequent career was a chequered one. He
became Attorney-General, defended the Seven Bishops,
was expelled the House for his conduct in the case
of Sir Thomas Armstrong in 1600, and was again re-
turned (for Cambridge University) later in the year.
The beautiful seat of Highclere, Hants, came to Lord
Carnarvon's family from the Sawyers. The eighth Earl of
Pembroke married Margaret Sawyer, Sir Robert's only
daughter and heiress, in 1684, and her father built the
church at Highclere in which he lies buried. Se3miiour's
health being conveniently re-established, he returned to
the Chair on 6 May, 1678, and held office till the
Pensionary Parliament was dissolved, 24 January,
1678-79.

On the meeting of Charles's third Parliament the King
wished to force Sir Thomas Meres upon the House, but
the Commons desired to have the services of Seymour
once more. In a long dispute Seymour's re-election was
refused by the King,^ and, though the Commons did not
insist upon their original choice, they elected Serjeant
Gregory in preference to the King's nominee. This was
the last occasion on which the Sovereign attempted to
impose his own choice upon the House ; and with Sey-
mour's rejection began that period of 150 years, more or
less, ending with the Speakership of Mr. Shaw Lefevre,

* 15 March, 1678-79.

SIR ROBERT SAWYER
1678
From a painting; in the possession 0/ tiie Earl o/Carna^i'on

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 227

during which the evolution of the non-partisan Speaker
steadily proceeded. At the same time it should be noted
that, though Charles failed to force Sir Thomas Meres
upon the House, he was still powerful enough to procure
the removal of his successor from the Judicial Bench when
he gave a judgment in opposition to his personal wishes.
Sir William Gregory, of How Caple, Herefordshire (a
junior branch of the family of Gregory of Styvechal, in
Warwickshire), like Speaker Charlton, was so removed
for giving judgment against the King's dispensing
power. He only sat in the Chair for four months,
during which time the famous Habeas Corpus Act —
the Statute which becomes more famous still when
suspended — was passed into law.

Towards the close of the reign of Charles II the growth
of the party system brought with it considerable expense
to ParUamentary candidates, especially in the counties.
Evelyn's brother George spent nearly £2000 in 1678-79
by " a most abominable custom " in carrying the county
of Surrey against Lord Longford and Sir Adam Brown,^
when most of the money was spent in eating and drink-
ing. His colleague was Arthur Onslow, grandfather of
the celebrated Speaker of the same name. In 1685
Evelyn and Onslow stood again, their opponents being
Sir Adam Brown, who was stone deaf, and Sir Edward
Evelyn, a cousin of the diarist. But, through a trick
of the sheriff in holding the election a day before it
was expected, the old members were not returned.

The new names of Whig and Tory were generally
applied to the respective members of the country and
the Court party at the next general election. Though

' Evelyn's Diary, 4 February, 1678-79.

228 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

summoned for October, 1679, Charles's fourth ParUament
did not meet for the despatch of business until a year
later. Sir William WilHams, the Whig member for
Chester, and a notable champion of the liberties of the
Commons, was elected Speaker, nemine contradicente, on
21 October, 1680. The first Welshman to fill the Chair,
he migrated from Jesus College, Oxford, the home of the
leek, to Gray's Inn.^ Luttrell tells a story of Sir Robert
Peyton, 2 who had been expelled the House, going to
Williams a few days after the dissolution and demand-
ing satisfaction for a severe rebuke administered to him
at the time of his expulsion. He wanted to challenge
the Speaker to a duel, but thought fit to retreat in
haste on the " young gentlemen of Gray's Inn " (of
which Wilhams was a Bencher) showing signs of taking
the law into their own hands on account of what they
held to be Peyton's insolence to the Chair.

In this Parliament, though the Exclusion Bill was
thrown out in the Lords, the Lower House set itself
steadily to curtail the prerogative of the Crown. It
was, in consequence, dismissed in January, 1680-81.
Popular excitement ran high in London over the fate
of the Bill, and the King thought it prudent to
summon his fifth Parliament to meet at Oxford in the
month of March. Convocation House was fitted up for
the Commons, and the Lords sat in the gallery above.
Wilhams was unanimously recalled to the Chair, but
after sitting for a week the King sent it about its busi-
ness, saying, " Now am I King of England, if I never was

1 This Parliament ordered the Votes and Proceedings of the House
of Commons to be printed, and in the Journal Office are preserved
many of the earliest issues extant.

2 Knight of the Shire for Middlesex.

SIR WILLIAM GREGORY
1678-9

From a painting in the Speakei's Hotise

SIR WILLIAM WILLIAMS

1680, i6So-8i

/ ,1 />nill'ini^ in the S/', eiAi"'s ! !

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 229

before." Relieved of the Speakership, Williams returned to
the Bar and became Solicitor-General in 1687. He died at
his chambers, in Gray's Inn, in 1700, and was buried at
LlansHen, Denbighshire. His portrait by Sir Godfrey
Kneller has recently been presented to the House by Sir
Alfred Thomas, Chairman of the Welsh Parliamentary
Party.

The Welsh precedent, once set, was soon followed, for
in James II 's only Parliament Sir John Trevor, of Bryn-
kinalt, the ancestor of the present Lord Trevor, was
unanimously called to the Chair, and at the accession of
William III he was re-elected. Having been convicted of
taking bribes, he was expelled the House in March, 1695,
though he was allowed to remain Master of the RoUs,
an office which he had held concurrently with the Speaker-
ship. In the Speaker's Portrait Gallery at Westminster
there hangs his likeness, showing him to have had a
decided squint, a defect which, it might be thought, would
have increased the proverbial difficulty of catching the
Speaker's eye. His early days had been passed in the
chambers of a kinsman in the Inner Temple — Arthur
Trevor. One day a visitor observed a strange-looking boy
seated at a desk, and asked his name. " Oh," said old
Trevor, " he is a connection of mine whom I have
allowed to sit here to learn the knavish part of the law."
Being addicted to high play, he became a recognised
authority in gambling disputes, and amongst his fellow-
gamesters he had the authority of a judge whose decision
was final.

Trevor is said to have owed his promotion to the Chair
to his cousin, the notorious Judge Jeffreys; and some
years before, on a motion to remove Jeffreys from the

230 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Recordership of London, Trevor's was the only voice
raised in his cousin's behalf. It was probably owing to
this support that he was advanced to the position
of a K.C. when Jeffreys became Chief Justice. The
wits of the day declared that justice might be blind,
but that bribery only squinted ; and when Trevor
was expelled in 1695 they added that he could no longer
take an obUque view of every question from the Chair.
When Archbishop Tillotson chanced to meet him some
little time before his disgrace, Trevor exclaimed, in an
audible whisper, " I hate a fanatic in lawn sleeves " ;
whereon the Archbishop turned and faced him, saying,
" And I hate a knave in any sleeves."

On the Bench he appears to have been as upright as
he was unscrupulous in the House of Commons, and
though he favoured the Protestant interest he remained
faithful to James II. As Master of the Rolls he lived in
Clement's Lane, then a fashionable street. On the
erection of the New Law Courts, the greater part of it
was demolished, but a small portion remains at the nor-
thern end. Dying there in May, 1717, he was buried in
the Rolls Chapel, so unnecessarily pulled down some
years ago to make way for an extension of the Public
Record Office. In the museum erected on its site Trevor's
arms, with an enlarged copy of his signature, taken from
one of the windows of the old chapel, are still to be seen.
The Trevor estate at Knightsbridge belonged to the ex-
Speaker, and, as Master of the Rolls, he set the bad
precedent of hearing suitors at his private house, in what
was then a pleasant suburb of London.

With the Revolution which placed William III upon
the throne, the history and importance of the Speaker-

SIR JOHN TREVOR

1685, 1689-90

From a fiahithig in the Speaker's House

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 231

ship may be said to enter upon a new phase. From
that date the first Commoner of the realm has occupied
his proper station at the head of Enghsh gentle-
men ; whilst the character and consideration of his office
was then, for the first time, recognised by the legislature.
By I Wilham and Mary, c. 21, he ranks next to the
peers of Great Britain, both in and out of Pariiament,
though not until many years later did he cease to hold,
concurrently with the Speakership, any office of profit
under the Crown. The great Arthur Onslow, to silence
any imputations of leaning towards the ministry of the
day, set an example of independence almost invariably
adhered to by his successors, yet, in his case, the now
customary reward of a peerage after long service in the
Chair was unaccountably withheld.

The Speaker of the Convention Parliament, which
assembled on 22 January, 1688-89, was naturally a
member of the Whig party ; and though Sir Edward
Seymour, the vehement Tory of earlier days, joined the
Prince of Orange at Exeter in the vain hope of once more
presiding over the Commons, the choice of the House
fell upon Mr. Henry Powle, the son of Henry Powle, of
Shottesbrooke, and member for the royal borough of
Windsor. Powle had identified himself with the opponents
of the Court in the reign of Charles II, and was more
than suspected of having been in the pay of Barillon ;
but his tact and discretion caused him to become the
trusted adviser of William, who, on the first convenient
opportunity, conferred on him the Mastership of the
RoUs.

" I will not invade prerogative, neither will I consent
to the infringement of the least liberty of my country,"

232 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

were the proud words in which he sought to define his
ParUamentary position ; but the proudest day of his hfe
was when, on 13 February, 1688-89, he stood at the head
of the assembled Commons in the Banqueting House at
Whitehall, Lord Halifax, the Speaker of the Lords, and
the peers facing him, and heard the Declaration of Right
asserted prior to the tender of the crown to William.
In the magnificent procession which paraded the streets
of London to proclaim the King and Queen, the Speaker
in his coach took precedence even of the Earl Marshal
and others of the great nobility. At the dissolution Powle
lost his seat on petition and returned to the administra-
tion of justice at the Rolls, maintaining his wonted in-
dependence when he refused to attend the Lords at their
pleasure, declaring that he was an assistant to, but not
an attendant upon, the Upper House. He did not live
to see Trevor's expulsion from the Chair, having died at
Quenington, in Gloucestershire, in 1692. On his tombstone
is inscribed the following epitaph, possibly, according
to the practice of the times, his own composition : —

" Regi et regno fidelissimus,
Aequi rectique arbiter integerrimus,
Pius, probus, temperans, prudens,
Virtutum. omnium
Exemplar magnum."

The next Speaker after Trevor's fall was a man of an
altogether different mould and of a different pohtical com-
plexion. The rise of his family was somewhat singular.
Richard Foley, and his son Thomas after him, made a for-
tune in Stourbridge by selling nails. Thomas Foley bought
Witley, in Worcestershire, for his eldest son, and Stoke
Edith, the old home of the Lingens, for his second son,

HENRY POWLE

1688-9

From a print

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 233

Paul. In 1679 Paul Foley became member for the city of
Hereford, but, though a Tory, he was not a courtier, and he
supported the Revolution of 1688-89. Only a year before
his elevation to the Chair he showed his independent
spirit, in Grand Committee on the state of the nation, and
used remarkably plain language in stating his personal
opinionson the King's veto. " I believe," he said, " the
King hath a negative voice, and it is necessary that it
should be so. But if this be made use of to turn by all
bills and things the Court likes not, it is misused ; for
such a prerogative is committed to him for the good
of us all." 1 Roger North called him " a factious lawyer,
very busy in ferreting out musty old repositories," which
was another way of stating that he had a great know-
ledge of precedents. North was also responsible for
the cryptic utterance attributed to Foley, that — " Things
would never go well in England tiU forty heads flew
for it." In 1695 he was put into the Speaker's chair
in opposition to Sir Thomas Littleton, the nominee
of the Court, and there he remained till within a year
of his death. Foley has been styled the first non-partisan
Speaker, and, though this is not a strictly accurate
description, his tenure of the office undoubtedly marks a
stage in the evolution of the office.

Paul Foley, hke Speaker Phelips, was a mighty builder
in his day. Stoke Edith, one of the best-proportioned
country houses in England, a thoughtful mingling of
brick and stone, was in part designed by Wren, who
appears to have been consulted on most of the im-
portant houses built at the close of the seventeenth
century. The harmony and proportion of Foley's house

1 Porritt's Unreformed House of Commons, 1903, Vol. I, p. 444-

234 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

were somewhat marred by alterations carried out by the
brothers Adam, when the windows were taken out and
replaced by others less suitable to the original design.
Sir James Thomhill, who was entrusted with the
decoration of the great hall, introduced an allegorical
figure of constitutional liberty, with Foley's own por-
trait in a contemplative attitude.^

On the occasion of Foley's first election to the Chair,
Sir Thomas Littleton, the candidate of the Whigs, was
defeated by 179 votes to 146 ; but in 1698, after his
rival's retirement, having been again put forward by the
Junto, he was chosen Speaker in WiUiam's third Pariia-
ment by a large majority. Shortly before the meeting
of the new House in December, 1698, a curious pamphlet.
Considerations upon the Choice of a Speaker of the House
of Commons in the Approaching Session, was published
by the Tories with a view to excluding Littleton. His
appointment, like Sir Edward Seymour's, was a reaction
from the custom of promoting lawyers, the House once
more preferring to have a country gentleman to preside
over their deliberations.

Sir Thomas Littleton, who was the youngest son of a
poor baronet, had, however, served an apprenticeship
to trade, having been trained in business habits from
his youth. He is said to have been recommended to
WilHam III by the Duke of Shrewsbury, the " favourite

* Paul Foley was the ancestor of the present Lord Foley. He
married Mary, daughter of John Lane, an alderman of the City of
London, and dying on ii November, 1699, was buried at Stoke Edith.
The Speaker's nephew was one of the twelve emergency peers created
by Queen Anne in 1 7 1 2 to secure a Tory majority in the House of Lords.
When they made their first appearance at Westminster, Lord Wharton
ironically asked them if they desired to give their votes singly, or, as
a jury, through their foreman.

PAUL FOLEY

1694-95, 1695
From a immature in the possession of
Paul Henry Foley, Esq., at Stoke Edith

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 235

of the nation," according to Swift, and a statesman whose
biography deserves to be written at length. Although he
had but one eye, his political vision was remarkably clear,
and at critical moments in the Uves of both William III and
Anne the Duke rendered invaluable service to the Crown.
The sessions of 1698-99 and 1700 proved to be full of
humihations for the Court. Though the ministry had
succeeded in securing the election of a Whig Speaker,
the new House of Commons contained a composite
majority made up of avowed Tories and members who
were opposed to a forward military policy. Charles
Montagu, afterwards Earl of HaUfax, who must not be
confounded with the celebrated Trimmer, had carried all
before him in the last Parliament, but he now found
himself powerless to guide or control the deUberations
of the House. In addition to demanding the reduction
of the Dutch guards, the Commons became inquisitive
in the matter of royal grants, and proposed to appoint
Commissioners to inquire into the manner in which the
forfeited Irish lands had been conferred on William's
personal favourites. In order to force their Bill through
the House of Lords the Commons deliberately tacked it
on to a Bill granting the Land Tax. And though WiUiam
reluctantly gave his assent to the measure, rather than
throw the Constitution into the melting-pot, he prorogued
ParUament ^ without making a speech from the throne,
and wrote to a friend : —

" This has been the most dismal session I ever had.
The members have separated in great disorder and after
many extravagances. Unless one had been present, he
could have no notion of their intrigues : one cannot
even describe them."

1 II April, 1700.

236 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Party government was still in its infancy in 1700, and
the prolonged quarrel between the two Houses having
engendered a dangerous spirit in the Commons, the way
was paved for a better understanding between the King
and the acknowledged leaders of the Tory party. Thus
was established, almost unconsciously, the general prin-
ciple, ever since accepted, that ministers who cannot
command a majority in the House of Commons cannot
cling to office without being discredited in the country.

When his fourth ParUament was about to assemble
in February, 1700-1, William intimated to Littleton,
who lacked the physique necessary to the efficient per-
formance of the duties of the Chair, his desire that he
should give way to Harley, and, with the prompt com-
pliance of a courtier, the late Speaker absented himself
from the House on the day of meeting, to be rewarded
with the valuable office of Treasurer of the Navy, a post
which he retained till his death, unshaken by all the
efforts made to remove him. On this occasion Harley
was proposed by Sir Edward Seymour, the ex-Speaker
of the Pensionary Parliament, but the House was by no
means unanimous in his favour, 249 members voting for
him and 129 against him. Bishop Burnet, who knew
Littleton well, wrote of him earlier in his career : —

" I happened in looking for a house to fall accident-
ally on the next house to Sir Thomas Littleton, knowing
nothing concerning him. But I soon found that he was
one of the considerablest men in the nation. He was at
the head of the opposition that was made to the Court,
and living constantly in town, he was exactly informed
of all that passed. He came to have an entire confidence
in me, so that for six years together we were seldom two
days without spending some hours together. I was by

gsact-^'^-'®^^

IK THOMAS i.rrri.i-', ION
i6qS

Frotii It /'>-/ nt

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 237

this means let into all their secrets, and indeed without
the assistance I had from him I could never have seen
so clearly into affairs as I did. We argued all the matters
that he perceived were to be moved in the House of
Commons till he thought he was a master of all that
could be said on the subject, and it was observed of him
that in all debates in the House of Commons he reserved
himself to the conclusion, and what he spoke commonly
determined the matter."

Burnet and Littleton were living at the time referred
to — the latter end of the reign of Charles II — near the
Plough Inn, which was on the south side of Carey Street,
Lincoln's Inn Fields, and convenient to the Rolls Chapel,
where Burnet was then preacher. Manning gives a
slightly different version of Burnet's estimate of the
Speaker.^ Burnet, however, was wrong in saying that
Littleton was the first Speaker who had not been
brought up in the profession of the law. Littleton
had a profound antipathy to the members of the
long robe in Parliament, and in the debates upon the
Bill for allowing counsel to prisoners in cases of high
treason, and the impeachment of Sir John Fenwick, who
had asked for further time to produce witnesses, he argued,
as a private member, as follows : —

" Here ye shall have cunning lawyers defending an im-
peachment. I hope I shall not degrade your members
to argue against lawyers ; but when an impeachment is
by gentlemen of his own quality, I think a cause is as
well tried without counsel, and I would disagree with
the Lords." He further observed, in the same contemp-
tuous strain : " It may be the counsel have a mind to
another fee."

' Supplement to the History of My Own Time, edited by Miss
Foxcroft, 1902, p. 485.

238 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

He was a stout party man, and from his place in the
House he declared that the principle which ever guided his
vote was the party from whom the proposition emanated.
" For my part, I have a way how to guide my vote
always in the House, which is to vote contrary to what
our enemies without doors wish." Such slavish adher-
ence to party ties carries joy to the heart of the party
whips, who dislike above everything the " independent "
member, who watches the opportunity to snatch a momen-
tary notoriety by stabbing his own side in the back.

Littleton was again put forward for the Chair on
December 30, 1701, when 212 members voted in his
favour and 216 against him, the closest contest on record.
Harley was then re-elected without further opposition.
Like Sir Thomas More and " tough old Coke," Harley's
principal triumphs were achieved in other spheres than
that of the Chair of the Commons, so that it is unneces-
sary to dwell at any length upon the career of this
nimblest of politicians. Belauded by Pope and beloved
of Swift, this brilliant statesman may be said to have
embarked on a ministerial career whilst stiU Speaker of
the Commons, for he was Secretary of State for the
Northern Department for some months before he quitted
the Chair for the third and last time.

By birth and education a Whig, by imperceptible
stages he developed into the leader of the Tory and
Church party. On becoming Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer, ^ he virtually filled the position of Prime Minister,
and when, at the general election of 1710, the Tory party
had a large majority at the poUs he was all but supreme.
In King William's time, when he had only ^^500 a year,

• In 1710.

ROBERT HARLEY

170O-I, I70I, 1702

From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 239

he is said to have spent half this sum in employing clerks
to copy out for him treaties and official papers, so that
members were almost afraid to speak before him. His
enemies said that he had spies and inspectors in every
public office. In contrast to his great rival Bolingbroke,
who fascinated the House as much by his handsome
appearance as by his neatly turned speeches, Harley's
physical proportions were unimposing ; his features
were homely, and there was little that was impressive in
his voice or carriage. " Can it be true," said M. Le Sac,
a celebrated mattre de danse, " that Mr. Harley has been
made an Earl and Lord Treasurer ? I wonder what the
devil the Queen can see in him ! He was a pupil of mine
for two years, and a greater dunce I never taught."

In 1701 he was elected Speaker by 120 votes over Sir
Richard Onslow ; on the second occasion he only beat
Sir Thomas Littleton by four ; and in 1702 there is no
mention in the Journals of his re-election, the Clerks of
the House having neglected to minute the proceedings
of the first two days of the session. Harley is said
to have been the inventor of the newspaper press as an
engine of party warfare, and, apart from his pohtical
eminence, he deserves to be gratefully remembered for
the literary taste displayed in the formation of the
splendid library, of which the MS. portion is now in the
British Museum, it having been acquired for the nation
for the small sum of £10,000.

On the meeting of Queen Anne's second Parliament,
which became the first Parliament of Great Britain by
Proclamation dated 29 April, 1707, there was a furious
party contest for the Chair. The Tory candidate was
Mr. William Bromley, of Baginton, who was to have

240 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

his revenge later on, and the chosen of the Whigs was
plain Mr. John Smith, M.P. for Andover, who carried the
day by 248 votes to 205. Mr. Smith came of a respectable
Hampshire family, and previous to his elevation to the
Chair he had acted as a party whip. His close friendship
with Godolphin also stood him in good stead.

The Scotch members sat at Westminster for the first
time on 23 October, 1707, and when the ministerial
crisis which drove Harley from office early in the next
year necessitated a reconstitution of the ministry, the
Chancellorship of the Exchequer was conferred upon the
Speaker. Mr. Smith only held the post for two years,
and, though he remained a member of the House until
his death in 1723, his subsequent career was uneventful.
He subsided into the less influential but more lucrative
sinecure of a Tellership of the Exchequer. On one occa-
sion he was indiscreet enough to inform the House that
the debts of the Civil List, then stated to be £400,000,
had not amounted to half that sum two months before
the estimates were made. The deficiency had apparently
arisen from excessive disbursements on account of secret
service. Swift had a thrust at the ex-Speaker when he
wrote in the Invitation to Dismal —

" Wine can clear up Godolphin's cloudy face
And fill Jack Smith with hopes to keep his place."

And keep it he did, until the accession of George I
dispelled all danger of removal. As an orthodox Whig,
he supported Walpole in opposition to the Stanhope
Administration, and one of his last public utterances was
on a curious motion to close the House of Lords against
Commoners for the future.^

1 Speaker Smith's portrait is in the Speaker's collection at West-
minster, and his family is represented at the present day by Mr. Assheton
Smith, of Vaynol, near Bangor.

JOHN SMITH

1705, 1707
From a drawing in the National Portrait Gallery

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 241

Anne's third Parliament was presided over by Sir
Richard Onslow, a descendant of the man of the same
name who was Speaker in 1566. The portrait of the
Speaker of 1708-10 has been drawn by the infinitely
greater Arthur Onslow, the third of the family to fill the
Chair.

" TaU and very thin, not well shaped, and with a face
exceeding plain, yet there was a certain sweetness with
a dignity in his countenance, and so much of life and
spirit in it, that no one who saw him ever thought him
of a disagreeable aspect. His carriage was universally
obliging, and he was of the most winning behaviour that
ever I saw. There was an ease and openness in his ad-
dress, that even at first sight gave him the heart of every
man he spoke to. He had always something to say that
was agreeable to everybody, and used to take as much
pleasure in telling a story to a man's advantage, as others
generally do to the contrary. It was this temper that
made him so fit for reconciling differences between angry
people, an office he frequently and readily undertook
and seldom failed of succeeding in." ^

So far it might be thought that Sir Richard possessed
every qualification for the post, but less partial judges
perceived in " stiff Dick," as he was irreverently called
by the Tories, an unfortunate propensity to quarrel-
someness which led him on more than one occasion
to challenge a fellow-member to a duel. He fought
Mr. Oglethorpe, a young man of twenty-two, for some-
thing he had said in the course of a debate, and he was
only restrained by an order of the House from prose-
cuting another affair of honour with Sir E. Seymour,

• Historical Manuscripts Commission Report on the MSS. of the
Earl of Onslow.

243 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

At the time of his election many would have preferred
Sir Peter King, who, missing the Chair, attained the
Woolsack in the next reign.

Paul Jodrell, the Clerk of the House, was also suggested
as being the most competent adviser in matters of pre-
cedent and procedure, much as the late Sir Thomas
Erskine May's name was put forward in recent years as
the greatest authority on Parliamentary history and the
mainstay of every Speaker with whom he acted. " Stiff
Dick " found himself in the uncomfortable position of
being confronted with no less than three ex-Speakers,
two of them sitting, comparatively negligible quanti-
ties, on the ministerial benches — Littleton and Smith,
and the redoubtable Harley on the Opposition side.
Lord Shaftesbury, writing in November, 1708, when
Onslow was quite new to the Chair, said : " The late
Speaker beset the old one ; and he wiU have, I fear, a
hard task, if this be not an easy session."

Whatever his shortcomings, Richard Onslow ingra-
tiated himself at Court. King WiUiam shortly before
his death called him into his closet and " bade him con-
tinue the honest man he had always found him." Anne
made him a Privy Councillor. ^ George I made him
Chancellor of the Exchequer and a peer, and on his
resigning the Chancellorship he succeeded in getting
himself made Teller of the Exchequer for life, the first
instance of that appointment being conferred for that
period. His manner in the Chair was somewhat imperious.
When the House went up to the Lords to demand judg-
ment against Dr. Sacheverell, every complaint took the

* Said to be the last favour which Lord Godolphin ever procured
from the Queen.

SIR RICHARD ONSI.OW

1708

Frovt a paintmg in the Speaker s House

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 243

form of a threat : " My Lords, if you do not immediately
order your Black Rod to " do this or that, " I will return
to the House of Commons at once."

With the return of Harley to of&ce at the head of
a solid Tory majority, and a Parliament strongly
attached to the Church, Mr. William Bromley, who
had been disappointed of the Chair on a previous
occasion, was unanimously chosen on 25 November,
1710.^ A perfect type of the English country gentleman,
Bromley was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and at
the time of his election to the Chair he represented the
University. After taking his degree he made the tour
of the Continent and published an account of his travels.
The title-page shows that he considered printing an act
of condescension i^ " Remarks on the Grand Tour of
France and Italy lately performed by a person of quality,
1692." In the Doge's Palace at Genoa he observed with
approval " an excellent method for freedom in voting,"
and was in advance of his time and party in commend-
ing the ballot boxes which rendered it " impossible the
suffrage of any particular person should be known."
From Genoa he proceeded to Rome, where he was re-
ceived in audience by the Pope. " In the evening I was
admitted to the honour of kissing the Pope's shpper,
who, though he knew me to be a Protestant, gave me
his blessing, and, like a wise man, said nothing about
reUgion."

He was sceptical as to the genuineness of the Sancta
Scala at St. John Lateran, and was relieved to hear from

1 For his speech on taking office see Beyer's Political State of
England.

' Townsend, Memoirs of the House of Commons, 1844, second
edition, p. 178.

244 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

one of the cardinals that they were not the actual stairs
ascended by the Saviour, but as they were generally
considered to be so it was not thought advisable to un-
deceive the devout. From Rome he went to Florence.
He was delighted to see the portraits of King Charles
and King James, but he would not permit himself
to speak of King William, except as the " Prince of
Orange."

His political opponents professed to believe that he
must be a Papist and Jacobite at heart, on account of
his having kissed the Pope's toe ; and, in consequence
of the derision cast by the Whigs on the casual impres-
sions of a fairly intelligent traveller, he withdrew from
circulation such copies as remained in the bookseller's
hands. A second edition appeared, without Bromley's
permission, just at the time when he was first proposed
for the Chair. To this was added a fictitious table of
contents, attributed, though we believe erroneously, to
Walpole, turning Bromley's observations into ridicule. ^

During his Speakership his house at Baginton, in
Warwickshire, was burnt to the ground, and the story goes
that he was informed of the catastrophe whilst sitting
in the Chair, the news having been brought to town by
special messenger. Very calmly, and without quitting
the Chair, he is said to have given directions for the
immediate rebuilding of his ruined home. This was done,
and Queen Anne came to see it and planted a cedar in
the garden. On the new house the inscription " Phoenix
Resurgens " was placed, but none the less it was burnt
down again in 1889, and nothing now remains of it but

^ Both these little books are now rare and there is no copy of either
of them in the library of the House.

WILLIAM BROMLEY

171O

From a firint

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 245

the outside walls with the inscription, which has not yet
been made good.

That Bromley was held in esteem by the House at
large is apparent from its having adjourned for six whole
days on the occasion of the death of his only son, " out
of respect to the father and to give him time both to
perform the funeral rites and to indulge his just affliction."
He was offered, and accepted, a seat in the Govern-
ment before the dissolution of August, 1713, and on
quitting the Chair for the Treasury Bench he became
the recognised leader of the Tory party in the House of
Commons. At Harley's instigation he wrote to Sir
Thomas Hanmer, asking him to allow himself to be
nominated for the Chair in the new Parliament. Having
secured his main object, he sought to ensure the re-
election of his chaplain. Dr. Pelham. The manoeuvre
was not successful, and history does not record whether
another and minor request weighed with his successor.
Dating from Whitehall, 22 September, 1710, Bromley
had written to Hanmer : —

" You'll smile at the transition from chaplain to coach
horses. I have a pair that drew my great coach, and
beheve you cannot be better fitted, and I offer them to
you before I dispose of them. One especially is a very
fine horse, and better than sixteen hands high. You
shall have him or them on reasonable terms."

With the death of Queen Anne Mr. Bromley's official
career practically came to a close. To the end of his Ufe
he came out on Parhamentary field days with a set
oration against the Whigs, emphatically denouncing such
evils as Hanoverian aUiances, the maintenance of a stand-
ing army, and the Septennial Act. He died at Baginton,

246 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

in the summer of 1732, in his sixty-ninth year, " a not un-
favourable specimen of the Tory squire in poUtics, having
sat in twelve Parliaments and under four Sovereigns."
His library was fortunately saved from the fire in 1889,
as was the fine service of plate used by him as Speaker.
There is a portrait of him at Westminster, and another
in the possession of his descendant, Mr. WilUam Bromley-
Davenport, late M.P. for Macclesfield.

The last Speaker of Queen Anne's reign was Sir
Thomas Hanmer, the Shakespearean commentator, and
the head of a family which had been settled in the
Welsh marches since the reign of Henry III. At
the early age of twenty-one he married the widowed
Duchess of Grafton, who had been first wedded to one
of Charles II's illegitimate sons at the tender age of
twelve. Educated at Westminster and Christ Church,
Oxford, he entered the House of Commons as member
for Thetford, where the Grafton interest was no doubt
paramount, and took up his abode in Pall Mall at a
house on the south side of the street. He soon made
his mark in debate, and in a letter of Lord Berkeley of
Stratton, written in 1712, he was said to " outshine all
in the House."

In the course of the next year Swift, who, it was
rumoured, occasionally helped him in the composition of
his speeches, confided to Stella the opinion that " he was
the most considerable man in the House of Commons."
Though of generally Tory prochvities, he was looked
upon as somewhat of a waverer about this time, and,
after he had refused office under Harley, from a growing
distrust of his policy, that astute minister desired to
relegate him to the Chair, where he thought that he

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 247

would be more safely occupied than in playing the role
of a Parliamentary free-lance. But before this could be
contrived the debates on the Commercial Treaty with
France, arising out of the eighth and ninth Articles of the
ill-starred Treaty of Utrecht, gave Hanmer the chance
of his life.

The Articles were the work of Bolingbroke even more
than of Harley, and were designed in the interests of
free trade with France, at the expense of Spain, Portugal,
and Italy. They proposed concessions in the importa-
tion of French wines to the certain injury of the Portu-
guese trade ; whilst the silk and woollen manufactures
of France were to enter England free. A revolt of
English manufacturers and traders at once took place,
and the cry of " Treat the foreigner as he treats us ! "
was immediately raised. Petitions against the Treaty
poured in, and for a month nothing else was talked of
in London. This was the age of pamphlets, and pubUc
interest in the subject was stimulated and inflamed by
the appearance of two rival periodicals, one. The Mer-
cator, or Commerce Retrieved, written by Daniel Defoe,
upholding the free trade clauses of the Treaty ; and
the other. The British Merchant, or Commerce Preserved,
(said to have been written by General Stanhope who led
the opposition in the House of Commons), which was
strongly in favour of a protective tariff. A tariff reform
debate in the reign of Queen Anne may seem something
of an anomaly to modern readers, but the strenuous
party fight which took place on 14 May, prior to the
introduction of the Government Bill to make the Articles
effectual, raised the whole question of free imports and
the imposition of a commercial tariff with France.

248 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

General Stanhope quoted the preamble of an earlier
tariff concluded between Louis XIV and Charles II in
1664, which declared : —

" That it has been found by long experience that the
importing of French wines, brandy, linen, salt and paper,
and other commodities of the growth, product, and manu-
factures of the territories and dominions of the French
King, has much exhausted the treasure of this nation,
lessened the value of the native commodities and manu-
factures thereof, and caused great detriment to the
Kingdom in general."

At this point Speaker Bromley interposed, saying
" that there was no such thing in that Act," but, being
found to be mistaken after the Clerk of the House had
read the original words. General Stanhope was allowed
to proceed with his arguments, to show the disadvantages
of an open trade with France. ^ When the Bill went
into Committee it occupied the House for five whole
days, and Hanmer, who had originally favoured the
scheme of the Government, made an elaborate speech
against it. He said that though he had given his vote
for the bringing in of the Bill, having in the interval
weighed and considered the allegations of the petition-
ing merchants and traders, he had been convinced that
the passing of the Bill would inflict great prejudice to
the home woollen and silk manufactures, increase the
number of the poor, and ultimately affect the land.

" WhUe he had the honour to sit in the House he
would never be blindly led by any ministry ; neither,

' Boyer says, in relating this incident, " He " (General Stanhope)
" and some other members animadverted with some vehemence on the
Speaker's mistake." {Political State of Great Britain, Vol. V, p. 370.)

THE STUARTS AND THE COMMONWEALTH 249

on the other hand, was he biased by what might weigh
with some men, viz. the fear of losing their elections.
The principles upon which he acted were the interests
of his country and the conviction of his judgment, and
upon those considerations alone he must oppose the
Bin."

This speech made a great impression upon the House,
and when the division was taken, " near eleven at night
and after candles had been brought in," the Government
was defeated by the narrow majority of nine, and the
Bill was killed. Only one of the four members for the
City of London voted for it ; the other three and
the members for Westminster voted for its rejection.
The London drapers, mercers, and weavers were over-
joyed at the result, and Hanmer became for a time a
popular idol. Bonfires and illuminations expressed the
general satisfaction on the news becoming known. ^ The
coolness which ensued between Sir Thomas Hanmer
and the ministry was temporarily patched up when he
consented to take the Chair in the new Parliament. The
precarious session of 1714, when the chances of the
Stuart and the Hanoverian d3aiasties were nearly equally
balanced, gave the Speaker an opportunity of testifying
to his regard for the Protestant succession.

The country party declared that this was in danger
under Her Majesty's Government, and when ministers
attempted to shelve an inconvenient topic by moving the

1 A very interesting letter from the Tory point of view, describing
the preliminary debate in the House on 14 May, will be found in the
Wentworth correspondence, pp. 234, 235. Peter Wentworth, writing
to his brother, Lord Strafford, who had negotiated the Treaty of
Utrecht, states that he was an attentive listener to the debate from
one o'clock till ten at night.

250 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

previous question, the Speaker, speaking in Committee
of the whole House, baffled the attempt in a remarkable
speech, in which he said that " he was sorry to see that
endeavours were used to stop their mouths, but he was
of opinion that this was the proper, and perhaps the only,
time for patriots to speak ; that though, for his own part,
he had all the honour and respect imaginable for Her
Majesty's ministers, he felt that he owed more to his
country than to any minister ; that, in the debate, so
much had been said to prove that the succession was in
danger, and so little to make out the contrary, that he
could not but believe the first." Henceforth he became
the recognised leader of the Hanoverian Tories, or, as
they were nicknamed, the Whimsicals. With the death
of George I the last chance of the restoration of his
friends to political power disappeared, and Hanmer
withdrew from public life to pursue his Shakespearean
studies.^

1 As recently as July, 1907, Speaker Hanmer's plate was brought
to the hammer at Christie's, when it realised high prices.

/ Allen, dele. II'. Bond, sculpt.

SIR THOMAS HANMER

I713-4
Fro3}i a/>rznt

CHAPTER VII

THE HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA.
RISE OF THE SYSTEM OF CABINET GOVERNMENT, WITH
MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITY TO PARLIAMENT

Seventeen
George I —

Spencer Compton
George II —

Arthur Onslow

George III —

John Cust

Fletcher Norton

Charles Wolfran Corn-
wall

William Wyndham
Grenville

George IV —

Henry Addington
John Mitford

Speakers

Charles Abbot
Charles Manners-Sutton

William IV —

James Abercromby

Victoria —

Charles Shaw-Lefevre
John Evelyn Denison
Henry Bouverie Wil-
liam Brand
Arthur Wellesley Peel
William Court Gully

Edward VII and George V —
James William Lowther

WITH the accession of George I and the rout
of the Tory party the Speakership acquired
a permanent character hitherto unknown
in its annals. Whilst the House of Lords
was the most compact body in the State, Sir Robert
Walpole, after 1721, taught the nation to look upon the
House of Commons as the real seat of power in the legis-
lature, with the result that a corresponding increase took

251

252 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

place in the importance and dignity of the Speaker's
office. No longer to be regarded as a stepping-stone
to rapid legal preferment, the Chair in the early days
of the eighteenth century was filled more often than not
by men with little or no legal training. It has been
shown that in the Middle Ages instances occurred in
which a Speaker was re-elected on three, four, and even
five occasions ; but when the House of Commons knew
but one president during an entire reign (and history
repeated itself under George II), new records of long
service in the Chair were established which have never
since been surpassed or even equalled.

Ah aristocrat by birth. Sir Spencer Compton, the third
son of the Earl of Northampton, came of a good Tory
stock, but in early life he deserted to the Whigs. This
"most solemn, formal man in the world," according
to Horace Walpole, entered the House as member for
Eye in 1698, became Speaker in March, 1715, was re-
elected in 1722 (from which date he combined the then
lucrative office of Paymaster-General with the duties of
the Chair), and was raised to the Peerage as Lord Wil-
mington on the accession of George II. The new King
wished to make him his Prime Minister, but Walpole
having promised the Queen £100,000 a year from Parlia-
ment, whereas Wilmington had only ventured to propose
£60,000, the arrangement fell through. But on Walpole's
fall and nominal replacement in 1742, he achieved his
heart's desire and became First Lord of the Treasury.

Though not a strong Speaker, Compton could on occa-
sion administer sharp reproof. When a member once
called upon him to make the House quiet, declaring that
he had a right to be heard, he answered, " No, sir, you

G. Kneller, putxt

/, Faber, sculpt. /,-J

SIR SPENCER COMPTON
I714-5, 1722
From a print

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 253

have a right to speak, but the House has a right to judge

whether it will hear you." ^ Though often called Prime

Minister, he was never so in the sense that Walpole was.

Carteret, who is said to have been the only peer of

Cabinet rank who could talk to the first two Georges in

their native tongue, was the chief minister. In this

connection it will be remembered that the late Mr,

W. H. Smith, when leader of the House, was First Lord

of the Treasury, though never Prime Minister. Lord

Wilmington seems to have excited in an uncommon

degree the mirth and ridicule of the wits of the day.

Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, in his " New Ode to a

great number of great men newly made," wrote : —

" See yon old, dull important Lord
Who at the longed-for money board
Sits first, but does not lead."

And Lord Hervey, the " Sporus " of Pope, said of him : —

" Let Wilmington, with grave contracted brow.
Red tape and wisdom at the Council show.
Sleep in the Senate, in the circle bow."

The " Broad-bottomed Administration," a remarkably
aristocratic body, seeing that there were five Dukes, a
Marquis, and an Earl in it, replaced Lord Carteret's, and
was itself upset on Pelham's death. An arch-mediocrity
in office. Lord Wilmington could make an effective speech
on ceremonial occasions, and a jest of his on the Duke
of Newcastle deserves to be remembered as much as the
gibes of his political opponents : " The Duke always
loses half an hour in the morning, which he is running
after the rest of the day, without being able to overtake
it." During the whole of his official career this " transient,

^ Hatsell's Precedents of Proceedings in the House of Commons, 1818,
Vol. II, p. 108.

254 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

embarrassed phantom " lived in St. James's Square, at
a house erroneously supposed to have been Nell Gwynne's,
and now merged in the Army and Navy Club. It
had originally been built for Moll Davis, a yoimg
actress and dancer, whose professional career presented
many similar features to Nelly's own. Naive and flippant
on the stage, what she lacked in beauty she made up for
in agility, and her antics on the stage made the pulse of
Pepys beat quicker as he sat in the pit of Old Drury
marking time with his foot as he applauded the measure.
Lord Wilmington inherited the house from his mother,
Mary, Countess of Northampton. Its last occupier was
Lord De Mauley, until it was pulled down to make way
for the Army and Navy Club.

The Speaker's next-door neighbour in the Square, at
No. 21, was " Beau Colyear," Lord Portmore, who
married James II's ugly mistress, Katherine Sidley ; and
before he came there Arabella Churchill, another of
James's favourites, lived in the house. Lord Portmore
was a great patron of horse-racing, even before the foun-
dation of the Jockey Club in the middle of the eighteenth
century. Lord Wilmington died in July, 1743, and was
buried at Compton Wjmyates, Warwickshire, one of the
most charming country houses in the Midlands. Having
never been married, his titles became extinct, ^d his
estates passed to his brother, from whom the present
Marquis of Northampton is descended. There is a good
portrait of Speaker Compton, by Sir Peter Lely, at
Westminster.

Throughout the whole of the next reign, during Wal-
pole's last administration and those of Lord Carteret,

ARTIU'R ONbMlW

1727-8, 1734-5. I74I. 1747. 1754
From It painting possibly i>y Hysing in the National Portrait Gallery

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 255

the Pelhams, the Duke of Newcastle, the elder Pitt, and
the Coalition Ministry of 1757, the Chair was filled, in
five successive Parliaments, by the great Arthur Onslow,
the third of his family to be so honoured, and unquestion-
ably one of the most distinguished Speakers the House
has ever known. As from 1720 to 1727 he represented
Guildford, and from 1728 to 1761 the county of Surrey,
in the Whig interest, at the time of his retirement in
the latter year there can have been very few members
of the House who sat in it when he was first called to the
Chair.

The story goes that having in early life conceived a
great desire to become Speaker, Sir Robert Walpole
wrote reminding him that " the road to that station lay
through the gates of St. James's " ; but whether or not
Onslow owed his selection to the direct interest of the
Crown, no better choice could have been made. He
was first returned for Guildford at a bye-election, and in
the course of the same year, 1720, he married. He em-
braced, as a matter of course, the orthodox Whig creed,
which professed to regard the passing of the Septennial
Act as coincident with a Constitutional millennium.

This measure, although often threatened with radical
curtailment of its provisions, still sets a convenient Umit
to the activities of a Parhament, and when Onslow made
his appearance at Westminster this great constitutional
landmark had not outrun its first allotted term.

The ideal Speaker, that was to be, chose for his London
home a modest dwelling in Leicester Street, a narrow
thoroughfare converging, at its upper end, upon Lisle
Street. Despite its proximity to the abode of Royalty
(in the person of the Prince of Wales at Leicester House,

256 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

where the Empire Theatre now stands), it can never
have been a very cheerful situation, and, at the present
day, having been long since deserted by private residents
of any and every rank in life, it is a singularly un-
attractive row of business premises. Probably no district
in the West End has so changed for the worse, from the
residential point of view, as the once fashionable Leicester
Fields, to give it the name usually attributed to it in the
reign of the first and second George.

Yet Onslow lived there for no less than thirty years,
only quitting it in 1752 to take up his abode at the finest
and largest house in Soho Square. No. 20 stands on the
site of Old Falconbergh House, built at' the end of the
seventeenth century by the head of the Bellasis family.

It has a handsome facade in the Square (reproduced
in this volume), and the London County Council would
be well advised to place a memorial tablet on its walls, if
only for the sake of an interesting link between the
Commonwealth and the reign of George III.

Mary, Lady Falconbergh, was Oliver Cromwell's
daughter, and is said to have borne a striking resemblance
to her father. Marrying in his lifetime, she did not die
until 1713, so that Arthur Onslow might well have re-
membered her. Sir Thomas Frankland and Mr. Anthony
Buncombe also Hved at No. 20, Onslow's immediate
predecessor there being the Lord Tylney for whom
Colin Campbell, the author of Vitruvius Britannicus,
built Wanstead House in the Essex marshes.

In its original state Falconbergh House, to give it its
earhest name, must have been well suited to the holding
of the Speaker's levees, but the interior, with the excep-
tion of one room on the first floor decorated with coats

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 257

of arms and a highly enriched ceiUng, was practically
gutted by Messrs. Crosse and Blackwell in adapting it to
business purposes. The fine staircase and a quantity of
tapestry were then removed, but the well-proportioned
front fortunately escaped alteration. The Duke of Argyll
and Lord Bradford were other occupiers after the Speaker,
and, before it was consecrated to jam and pickles, this
historic mansion was used for a time as D'Almaine's
pianoforte showrooms.

Next door, now No. 21 in the square and the comer
house of Sutton Street, was the notorious '' White House."
Some years after Onslow had left the neighbourhood it
became a den of infamy unexampled in the annals of
disreputable London, thus affording another instance
of the vicissitudes which surround the former abodes of
the most impeccable citizens.

The positive identification of Speaker Onslow's house
has only been arrived at after an exhaustive examination
of the parochial rate-books. Much confusion has pre-
vailed in the minds of even recent writers on Soho
respecting the actual sites of houses in the square for-
merly occupied by distinguished men. The statement
that Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell and the Dutch
adventurer Ripperda lived at No. 20 is as inaccurate
as the one frequently put forward that Onslow's man-
sion was one and the same with the " White House "
of evil memory. As a matter of fact. Sir Cloudesley
lived on the west side of the square and Ripperda on
the north, in a house represented by Nos. 10 and ioa
of the modem numbering.

When first called to the Chair, Onslow confessed to
feeling apprehensive at being raised to so dangerous

258 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

a height, saying that greater men before him had tried
their abihties in the same station and had found the
eminence too high for them. He was then only thirty-
six, a comparatively early age for a Speaker, and had
sat in the House for rather less than eight years. When
his re-election was proposed in 1747 he felt some com-
punction at accepting a further term of office, telling
the House that, " painful as the situation [of Speaker] is,
at any time, and worn as I am, perhaps, with its labours,
since honourable gentlemen seem inclined to try my
poor abilities once more ... I do not think it decent in
me to dispute their commands. I therefore resign myself
to the judgment of the House, which has a right to dis-
pose of me here in whatever manner it may think proper."
And, pausing on the step of the Chair, he added, much
after the manner of his immediate predecessors, " It
is my duty to let honourable gentlemen know that,
before I go any further, they have it in their power to
call me back to the seat from whence I came, and to
choose some other person to fill this place."

And not until every member then present had cried
out, " No, no," did he consent to preside over the de-
liberations of the House for the fourth time. Onslow
was the first in the long catalogue to realise the supreme
importance of the independence and impartiality of the
Chair. Whereas most of his predecessors had been
pluralists or expectant office-holders, he raised the
character of the Speakership by resigning the lucrative
office of Treasurer of the Navy and contenting himself
with the modest income derived from fees on private
bills. Hatsell, who went to the Table of the House
while Onslow was still in the Chair, wrote of him, in

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 259

connection with the rules then obtaining, that the
Speaker endeavoured to preserve order in debate with
great strictness, yet always with civility and courtesy,
saying that he had often heard, as a young man, from
old and experienced members, that nothing tended more
to throw power into the hands of the Administration
than the neglect of or departure from these rules. That
he, Onslow, was of opinion that they had been instituted
by our ancestors as a check on the action of ministers,
and as a protection to the minority against the arbitrary
exercise of power. There can be little doubt that
Speaker Onslow's rigid adherence to duty, and his
detachment from political office, notwithstanding some
divergence from his standard on the part of his imme-
diate successors, paved the way for the wholly non-
partisan Speaker evolved during the nineteenth century,
and that the methods introduced by him have con-
tributed to the shaping of the system of Party Govern-
ment as understood at the present day. His demeanour
in the Chair is said to have been firm but impartial, his
voice clear and impressive, and his temper imperturbable.
By way of contrast this grave and dignified man, when
released from his official duties, would steal away from
Westminster to enjoy his pipe and glass incognito in the
chimney-corner of the "Jew's Harp," a famous tavern
and bowling alley in Marylebone Fields, the site of which
is now merged in the Regent's Park. As the great man
was driving to the House of Commons one day in his
state coach his identity was accidentally revealed to the
landlord, who insisted, on the occasion of the Speaker's
next visit, on treating him with the deference due
to his exalted position. But his secret having been

26o SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

betrayed, Marylebone and its diversions knew the First
Commoner no more.

During the forty-one years which Arthur Onslow
passed at Westminster he witnessed great changes, not
only in the composition and in the manners of the
House, but in the actual conditions of Parliamentary
life. Speaker Onslow the third saw the development of
the modern system of Cabinet Government coupled with
ministerial responsibility to Parliament. He saw the
elder Pitt make his first entrance on the Parliamentary
stage, ^ and during the most glorious period of the great
Commoner's career — those two short years in which
Clive laid the foundations of our Indian Empire, and
Wolfe, at the cost of his life, added Canada to the English
dominions beyond the sea — he was stiU in the Chair.
He witnessed the rise and fall of the Pelhams, and he
lived to see Pitt temporarily supplanted by Lord Bute.
He was also directly interested in a movement which
has exercised enormous influence on the House of Com-
mons and the management of parties — the rise of the
power of the newspaper press.

The Parliament of 1728 returned a large and docile
majority for Walpole, and one of the first questions
which agitated the minds of its members was the illicit
reporting of the debates. A pubhsher, who had ex-
tended and amplified the summaries of speeches given
by Boyer^ since the reign of Queen Anne, was summoned
to the Bar and imprisoned ; but still the practice grew.
In the Gentleman's Magazine, which first appeared in
1731, the reporting of the debates became a prominent

1 As M.P. for Old Sarum, 1734-35.

» In his monthly publication the Political State of Great Britain.

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 261

feature, as it did in the London Magazine, wherein they
were compiled by Gordon, the translator of Tacitus.
When the next Parhament met the Speaker himself
called the attention of the House to the subject, and in
so doing allowed it to be seen that he was personally
strongly opposed to the proceedings of the House being
made public. Few historical writers have taken any
notice of this debate.

In, the course of an interesting discussion, in which
Sir William Wyndham, Fulteney, and Sir Robert Walpole
took part, the most sensible view was that taken by the
leader of the Opposition. He, Wj^ndham, contended
that the public had a right to know something more of
the proceedings of the House than appeared in the votes.
But the majority, who seem to have lived in dread of
their constituents discovering what passed within the
walls of St. Stephen's Chapel, declared that it was a
high indignity and a notorious breach of privilege to
print the debates at all. The official record of the day's
proceedings runs as follows : —

" Thursday, 13 April, 1738.

" Privilege. A complaint being made to the House,
That the Publishers of several written and printed News
Letters and Papers had taken upon them to give accounts
therein of the Proceedings of this House ; . . .

" Resolved, That it is an high indignity to, and a
notorious Breach of the Privilege of this House, for any
News Writer, in Letters, or other Papers (as Minutes, or
under any other Denomination), or for any Printer or
Pubhsher of any printed News Paper, of any Denomi-
nation, to presume to" insert in the said Letters or Papers,
or to give therein any account of the Debates, or other
Proceedings, of this House, or any Committee thereof.

a62 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

as well during the Recess as the Sitting of Parliament ;
and that this House will proceed with the utmost severity
against such offenders." ^

The account in Cobbett's Parliamentary History of the
speeches delivered on this occasion is valuable from its
containing an early reference to the custom of the Govern-
ment and the Opposition sitting on opposite sides of the
House. Some doubt has been expressed as to the date
at which this practice was first introduced, but it is
evident that in 1738 it was well established. Mr. Thomas
Winnington, a member who was all in favour of drastic
treatment of offending newspapers and magazines, alluded
to his being in complete agreement with " the honour-
able gentleman over the way."

Sir Robert Walpole, in the course of his remarks on
the supposed iniquities of the Press, declared that all
the debates in which he had taken part which he had
had an opportunity of reading in print were so garbled
as to convey an entirely contrary meaning to that which
he had intended. As to the charge frequently brought
against him that he had instigated the publication of
newspaper articles, in order to suit the policy of the
Government, he only wished to say that, so far as he
was able to judge, four pages were written against the
Government for every one in its favour.

" No Government, I will venture to say, ever punished
so few Libels, and no Government ever had provocation
to punish so many. For my own part, I am extremely
indifferent what opinion some gentlemen may form of
the writers in favour of the Government, but I shall
never have the worse opinion of them for that ; there is

* Commons Journals, Vol. XXIII, p. 148.

WESTMINSTER AS SPEi>
From J^cdiaj

'7iamr., ,,. , A'/awMi .'^a/-i('.,,i „y„'J,tn „,-,,, „.,/r,//A^: I '■'/i'. ''//«*''. ^,lUiim;, »/«/„«l-/<,^/,4< /v /'ui/^ /y Cn/'r

'/l'.'/.' <//./, /./;./;'>' ,li„iv,y,/.> /''.i/.tf/'v

R ONSLOW KNEW IT IN 1740

■.dFouilliinu'rs Mn/>

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 263

nothing more easy than to raise a laugh : it has been
the common practice of all minorities, when they were
driven out of every other argument."

About this time a systematic attempt was first made
to classify the members of both Houses according to
their political convictions. Probably owing to an in-
creasing interest on the part of the outside public
in Parliamentary proceedings, the Court Kalendar for
1732 specified the members who were protesters against
the Hessian troops in 1730; and a rival pubHcation,
The Court and City Register, in its issue for 1742,
which was probably printed and circulated immediately
after Walpole's defeat, divided the Kst of Peers into those
who voted for and against the Cdnvention ; whilst those
members of the Commons " who are supposed to be
in the country interest at the creation of Robert, Earl
of Orford," have their names marked with an asterisk. "■
By passing a drastic Resolution against the printing
and publishing of its debates the House was only acting
on the principle observed since the time of Elizabeth,
when Hooker wrote : —

" Every person of the Parliament ought to keep secret
and not to disclose the secrets and things done and
spoken in the Parliament House to any manner of person,

1 These lists, of which those printed before 1740 are now very
scarce, were probably first issued soon after the accession of George II.
Watson's Court Kalendar for 1732, with a full list of both Houses of
Parliament and the London addresses of the members, in the author's
own collection, is the earliest hitherto met with. The British Museum
Library contains the 1733 and many subsequent issues, and a fairly
complete series of The Court and City Register from 1742 onwards.
The better-known Royal Kalendar first appeared in 1767, and is still
published annually.

264 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

unless he be one of the same House, upon pain to be
sequestered out of the House, or otherwise punished as
by the order of the House shall be appointed."

Notwithstanding the efforts of Sir Symonds D'Ewes and
others to spread the light, and the journals kept by private
members in the seventeenth century, our knowledge of
the actual sayings and doings of Parliament from day
to day remained extremely limited until the periodical
magazine and the daily newspaper had come to stay.
For a century after Speaker Onslow directed attention
to the subject the unequal struggle between the Press and
the Commons went on. Prosecutions, usually abortive,
of offending newspapers and magazines were instituted
from time to time, but the publications of Almon,
Debrett, and Woodfall attained too much popularity
with the outside world to be effectually suppressed.
In 1771 the whole question was threshed out in the
House, when the Press was so far successful that, from
that date forward, the Commons tacitly acquiesced in
the claim that the constituencies had a right to be in-
formed of the proceedings of their Parliamentary repre-
sentatives.

With the growth of the modern newspaper — ^both
the Morning Post and The Times from their earhest
issues have continued to supply a tolerably complete
record of the speeches delivered in both Houses — came
the shorthand reporters, who, as .Speaker Abbot noted in
his diary, gained a footing in St. Stephen's as early as 1786.
In 1803 they occupied the back bench in the Strangers'
Gallery without molestation, though, by one of those
curious anomalies which abound in connection with
Parliamentary institutions, the Press had still no official

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 263

recognition at Westminster. An earlier entry in the
same diary shows the scant regard entertained for the
newspaper press a century ago. Speaker Onslow
could not have been more emphatic in his disapproval
of what has been called the fourth estate of the
realm : —

" 19 December, 1798. Went to the Cockpit in the
evening to hear the King's Speech. Two thirds of the
room were filled with strangers and blackguard news-
writers."

When, in 1836, the House of Commons began the
publication of its own division lists (a reform which had
been advocated by Burke in 1770) the battle was vir-
tually won. The earliest instance known to the present
writer of the publication of a division list, or something
closely resembling one — a minority protest — was when
the names of the members who voted against Strafford's
attainder in May, 1641, were posted up outside West-
minster Hall and headed : " These are the Straff ordians,
Betrayers of their Country."

The names of the Lords who voted against the occa-
sional Conformity Bill in 1703 were published surrep-
titiously, as were those who voted for Sacheverell's
impeachment in 1710. From that time forth more or
less accurate particulars of the more important divisions
in both Houses, compiled in the first instance by Abel
Boyer, are to be found in the volumes of Cobbett's
Parliamentary History. It should be mentioned that
before the adoption of the present system of taking
divisions a trial had been made in 1834 of a very primi-
tive plan by which the names were called out by a

266 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

member in the House and another in the lobby outside,
and recorded by the Clerks.

After the great fire of 1834 reporters were admitted
to the temporary building used by the Commons, and
when, in 1852, the representatives of the people took
possession of their new chamber in the Palace of West-
minster,^ the Press was at last officially recognised, and the
reporters' gallery, as it at present exists, was an acknow-
ledged fact. So voluminous have the verbatim reports of
speeches become, and so vivid the descriptions of "scenes"
in the House within the last few years, that one is some-
times tempted to wish that the penal regulations of the
eighteenth century could once more be enforced ; for
there is some reason to believe that there would be little
or no obstruction of business if there were no picturesque
reporting of the scenes to which obstruction gives rise.
It is only fair to add that The Times has been an honour-
able exception amongst its competitors in the purveying
of sensational reports.^

During the long years in which Onslow ruled the House
many improvements were introduced in the keeping of
its official records, all of them tending to regularise and
simplify its procedure. The Journals, which had for
centuries been kept in a haphazard manner, according
to the capacity or incapacity of the Clerk of the House
for the time being, assumed a more intelHgible shape
after 1750, in which year the Clerk of the Journals is
first heard of. His office was from the first one of trust

^ 3 February, 1852, after an experimental sitting in the spring of
1850.

* The whole history of Parliamentary reporting has been ably
summarised by Mr. Porritt in Chapter XXX of The Unreformed House
of Commons, 1903, a work of consummate ability and vast research.

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 267

and responsibility, and, as the House had no library of
its own until early in the nineteenth century, he had the
custody of all books and papers relating to the business
of the House. He fulfilled, in addition to the compila-
tion of the Journals, which have always been accepted
as authoritative evidence in the courts of law, many of
the duties which now appertain exclusively to the Libra-
rian. It was owing to Speaker Onslow's exertions that
the House, in 1742, first ordered its Journals to be
printed.

On the recommendation of a Select Committee,
Nicholas Hardinge, then Clerk of the House, entrusted
the printing of the Manuscript Journals, from the com-
mencement in 1547, to Samuel Richardson, printer and
novelist, then in the first bloom of Pamela, or Virtue
Rewarded, in " whose skill and integrity," as the Com-
mittee reported, Mr. Hardinge could safely confide. They
were printed in Roman letter upon " fine English Demy
worth fifteen shillings a ream." By 1825, when another
report was made to the House on the same subject, the
outlay had reached a grand total of between £160,000
and £170,000.1

It is certain that Journal books of an earlier date than
1547 were formerly in existence, as a statute passed in
the sixth year of Henry VIII provided that members of
Parliament who absented themselves without the licence
of the Speaker and of the House, " entered of record in
the book of the Clerk of the Parliament appointed for
the Commons," should be deprived of their wages.
Many instances could be cited of quaint entries made

'■ Report of the Select Committee appointed to consider of printing
the Journals of the House. (Commons Journals, Vol. XXIV, p. 262.)

268 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

by the earlier Clerks of the House in its official Journals,
but two must suffice : —

" 31 May, 1604. Prohibitions Bill. During the argu-
ment on this Bill a young Jack Daw flew into the House,
called Malum Omen to the Bill."

" 14 May, 1606, A strange spanyell of mouse colour
came into the House." ^

The earliest issue of the printed Votes and Proceedings
now in the Journal Office is that of 21 March, 1681
(the Oxford Parliament). But the daily proceedings of
the House had certainly been published prior to that
date, and the author had in his own possession a single
sheet of earlier date in the reign of Charles II. This
solitary issue is, unfortunately, no longer in existence,
it having been accidentally destroyed by fire some years
ago. It was reserved for Sir Thomas Erskine May (Lord
Farnborough) to compile a general index to the whole
series of Journals from 1547 to the death of Queen Anne,
an invaluable work of reference containing many thou-
sands of cross references which, had he never written a
line of his better-known Treatise on the Law and Practice
of Parliament, would entitle him to rank amongst the
very highest authorities on this complex subject.

The form in which the Journals, which are elaborated
each day from the shorter minutes known as the Votes
and Proceedings (compiled in the first instance from
the Minute Books kept by the Clerks at the table), are
now produced and indexed leaves httle to be desired.
Yet such was the slavish adherence to precedent
which formerly characterised the compilation of these

1 Commons Journals, Vol. I, pp. 229, 309.

JEREMIAH DYSON, CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
From a portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds in the possession of Mrs. Myddclton

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 269

valuable records that not untU November, 1890, were
the names of members moving amendments to questions
inserted in their pages, although this convenient practice
had been followed in the Votes at least as early as 1837,
when Mr. Speaker Abercromby was in the Chair. In
February, 1866, an alteration was made in the form of
the printing of the Votes, whereby the Latin names of
the days of the week were replaced by their English
equivalents.^

In 1750, when the Clerk of the Journals instituted
a better method of preserving the official acts of the
House, Jeremiah Dyson was Clerk of the House. He
purchased the office in 1748, but he was the first to dis-
continue the objectionable practice of selling the sub-
ordinate clerkships to the highest bidder. Dyson left
the service of the House to re-enter it as the Tory member
for Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, after Onslow's retirement
from the Chair. He became a Lord of the Treasury and
a Privy Councillor, and, from his acknowledged authority
on questions of Parliamentary procedure, he acquired the
nickname of " Mungo " Dyson.^

Disorderly scenes were comparatively rare in the
House of Commons in the middle of the eighteenth
century, but in 175 1 the authority of the Speaker was
defied by a Mr. Alexander Murray, brother to the Lord
Elibank of that day, who was summoned to the bar to
be reprimanded for riotous behaviour in Covent Garden
during a recent Westminster election, and for threatening
the high baihff in the execution of his duty. He is said to

' The Lords still adhere to the use of Latin names of week days in
their Journals.

' The ubiquitous negro slave in Isaac Bickerstaffe's Padlock.

270 SPEAKERS OF THI? HOUSE OF COMMONS

have called repeatedly to his followers, " Will nobody
kill the dog ? " and to have incited them to other acts of
violence.

When Murray was brought to the bar he refused to
kneel in obedience to the Speaker's order, whereupon
the House marked its sense of his contumacy and the
enormity of his original offence by committing him to
Newgate.

There he caught gaol fever, and, after having dechned
to avail himself of an offer for his transference to the
milder custody of the Serjeant-at-Arms, he languished
in durance vile until the prorogation brought with it his
release. He then made a kind of triumphal progress
through the streets of London, escorted to his home by
a noisy mob, after which, like many another comet,
blazing for a brief hour in the Parliamentary firmament,
nothing more was heard of him.

In this same year [1751] Arthur Onslow spoke, of
course in Committee, in opposition to the clause in the
Regency Bill establishing a Council. Horace Walpole
thought his speech " noble and affecting," and it was
also warmly praised by Bubb Dodington. The Speaker
favoured the House with an historical retrospect of
the question from the Regency of the Earl of Pembroke
temp. Henry IH to the Hanoverian era, contending that,
though the royal power might with advantage be limited,
it could not be divided without grave injury to the State.
The Bill, however, received the Royal Assent, at the close
of the session, without material alteration.^

Onslow was a determined opponent of late sittings

* Commons Journals, XXVI, p. 32, and Cobbett's Parliamentary
History, Vol. XIV, p. 1017.

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 371

and late hours of meeting, for which he was inclined
to blame the Government of the day.

" This," he wrote, " is shamefully grown of late, even
to Two of the Clock. I have done all in my power to
prevent it, and it has been one of the griefs and burdens
of my life. It has innumerable inconveniences attending
it. The Prince of Wales that now is ^ has mentioned it
to me several times with concern, and did it again this
very day, 7 October, 1759, and it gives me hopes that,
as in King William's time, those pf his ministers who had
the care of the Government business in the House of
Commons were dismissed by him to be there by eleven
o'clock.

" But it is not the fault of the present King ; his hours
are early. It is the bad practice of the higher offices,
and the members fall into it, as suiting the late hours of
pleasure, exercise, or other private avocations.

" The modern practice, too, of long adjournments at
Christmas and Easter, and the almost constant adjourn-
ment over Saturdays, are a great delay of business and
of the sessions.

" This last was begun by Sir Robert Walpole for the
sake of his hunting, and was then much complained of,
but now everybody is for it.""

Onslow was a whole-hearted supporter and fearless
advocate of the privileges of the House of Commons
whenever it chanced to come into conflict with the
Lords. It was, in his opinion, within his province, in
presenting Money Bills, to advert not only to measures
which had received the Royal Assent or were in readiness

* George III.

» Speaker Abbot, Lord Colchester, also raised a wail in his diary
over the protracted sittings of the House, as is mentioned more par-
ticularly hereafter.

272 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

to receive it, but also to those which, after having occu-
pied the attention of the Commons, had failed to pass the
House of Lords. In the last ParUament of George II,
when several Bills had been thrown out by the Peers,
he thought it his right and duty to have animadverted
upon their failure and their value and importance to the
Constitution, and, as appears by a copy of his intended
speech endorsed in his own hand, he was only prevented
from deUvering his opinion at the Bar of the House of
Lords by the accident of the King's sudden indisposition,
which disabled him from coming in person to prorogue
Parliament.^

Onslow took leave of the House of Commons, two days
before the dissolution, on i8 March, 1761, in the follow-
ing simple words, spoken straight from his heart : —

" I was never under so great a difficulty in my life to
know what to say in this place as I am at present — In-
deed it is almost too much for me — I can stand against
misfortunes and distresses : I have stood against mis-
fortunes and distresses ; and I may do so again : But
I am not able to stand this overflow of good will and
honour to me. It overpowers me ; and had I all the
strength of language, I could never express the full
sentiments of my heart upon this occasion, of thanks
and gratitude. If I have been happy enough to perform
any services here, that are acceptable to the House, I am
sure I now receive the noblest reward for them : the
noblest that any man can receive for any merit, far supe-
rior, in my estimation, to all the other emoluments of
this world. I owe everything to this House. I not only
owe to this House that I am in this place, but that I
have had their constant support in it ; and to their good

• Vide Lord Colchester's Diary.

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 273

will and assistance, their tenderness and indulgence to-
wards me in my errors, it is, that I have been able to
perform my duty here to any degree of approbation :
Thanks therefore are not so much due to me for these
services, as to the House itself, who made them to be
services in me.

" When I began my duty here, I set out with a resolu-
tion and promise to the House, to be impartial in every-
thing, and to show respect to everybody. The first I
know I have done, it is the only merit I can assume : If
I have failed in the other, it was unwillingly, it was in-
advertently ; and I ask their pardon, most sincerely, to
whomsoever it may have happened — I can truly say the
giving satisfaction to all has been my constant aim, my
study, and my pride.

" And now, sirs, I am to take my last leave of you.
It is, I confess, with regret, because the being within
these walls has ever been the chief pleasure of my life :
But my advanced age and infirmities, and some other
reasons, call for retirement and obscurity.

" There I shall spend the remainder of my days ; and
shall only have power to hope and to pray, and my hopes
and prayers, my daily prayer will be, for the continuance
of the Constitution in general, and that the freedom, the
dignity and authority of this House may be perpetual."^

The ex-Speaker died of a gradual decay in Great
Russell Street on February 17th, 1768. He had removed
there, on quitting the Chair, in order to be near the
British Museum, of which he was one of the founders.
In his retirement he found his principal solace in his well-
stored Hbrary, and in the visits of politicians of both parties
who desired the benefit of his advice and experience.
He was buried first at Thames Ditton, near a former

^ Commons Journals, Vol. XXVIII, p. 1108.

274 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

residence of his at Imber Court, ^ but his remains
were subsequently removed to Merrow, near Guildford.
There are two portraits of him in the Speaker's House,
and another at Clandon Park. A likeness of him, as a
young man, habited in his Speaker's robes, attributed
to Sir Godfrey Kneller, is in the National Portrait
Gallery. But unless Kneller was a prophet as well
as a painter this ascription must be incorrect, for
Sir Godfrey died in 1723, and Onslow did not become
Speaker until 1727-28. The story, which originated with
Lord Colchester, that the chairs in which he and his uncle,
Richard Onslow, sat were removed to Clandon is apo-
cryphal, though Speaker Addington, in the next century,
claimed the chair as his personal property and took it
away with him. The chair occupied by Manners-Sutton
at the time of the great Reform Bill, is however pre-
served at Melbourne.

In Onslow's time a proposal was set on foot to
build a new House for the Commons, and plans were
even prepared for it and for a new House of Lords by
Lord Burlington, in consultation with the Speaker.
As early as 1719 the condition of many parts of the
old Palace of Westminster was considered to be danger-
ous, and the Speaker, after consultation by the Office of
Works, was requested to report on the repairs which were
necessary to make secure the passage leading from St.
Stephen's Chapel to the Painted Chamber, the roof and
gable end of the Court of Requests, the roof of the
Speaker's private chambers and those belonging to the
Clerk of the House, Paul Jodrell.^ The condition of the

' Speaker's Lane is still known locally.
* Commons Journals, Vol. XIX, p. 65.

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 275

Cottonian Library was inquired into at the same time,
and it was eventually condemned as ruinous. Nothing
game of Lord Burlington's scheme of 1733, yet from
time to time the demand for an enlarged Chamber is
renewed, and even quite recently the congested state of
the House on occasions of important divisions has been
put forward as an argument in favour of Home Rule for
Ireland !

The first Parliament of George III, which met for
business on 3 November, 1761, chose as its Speaker
Sir John Cust, of Belton, Lincolnshire, the ancestor of
the Earls Brownlow, and the Tory member for Grantham.
Horace Walpole, who was naturally critical of the suc-
cessor to the really great man whom Sir Robert had
selected to fill the Chair, wrote a few days later : —

" Sir John Cust is Speaker, and baiting his nose, the
Chair seems well filled."

He was by no means a success, and he allowed great
licence in debate. During the hearing of John Wilkes's
case he sat in the Chair for sixteen hours, which was
considered a great feat in those days.

" Think of the Speaker, Nay, think of the Clerks taking
most correct minutes for sixteen hours and reading them
over to every witness ; and then let me hear of fatigue !
Do you know, not only my Lord Temple — ^who you may
swear never budged as spectator — ^but old Will Chetwynd,
now past eighty, and who had walked to the House, did
not stir a single moment out of his place, from three in
the afternoon till the division at seven in the morning." ^

On 17 January, 1770, Cust was taken ill and could
not attend the sitting of the House; he resigned on

' Horace Walpole to the Earl of Hertford, 15 February, 1764.

276 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

22 January, and died five days later from a paralytic
seizure at an age when men are still considered young.
Educated at Eton, he lived in Argyll Buildings,
Great Marlborough Street, in 1761 and 1762, but re-
moved to Downing Street after the latter year. He is
buried in St. George's Church, Stamford. ^ Hogarth,
who had already painted the interior of the House of
Commons with Speaker Onslow in the Chair, introduced
Cust's portrait in The Times, Plate 2. Drawn in 1762,
the plate, for some unexplained reason, was not issued
until after the artist's death.

Lord North, in looking for another Speaker, reverted
to the practice of appointing an experienced lawyer.
His choice fell upon Sir Fletcher Norton, who, after having
been leader of the northern circuit, had been Solicitor-
General in the Bute Administration, and Attorney-
General in that of George Grenville. He was dismissed
from the latter post on the formation of the Rockingham
Cabinet in July, 1765. He was talked of for the Master-
ship of the Rolls, but the Lord Chancellor objected to
the appointment being made. If it had been, he would
have been the last Speaker who ever held that office.
At the Bar he earned the reputation of being a bold
pleader rather than a learned counsel, and his greed of
money gained him the nickname of " Sir Bull Face Double

' Of Speakers known to have been educated at Eton, Cust was
the first, though in the absence of the earlier school lists it is not
possible to say with certainty whether any of his predecessors were
trained at Henry's " holy shade." Speakers Grenville, Manners-
Sutton, Denison, Brand, Peel, and Lowther were all at Eton, whilst
Harley, Hanmer, and Abbot were Westminster boys ; and Arthur
Onslow, Cornwall, Addington, Mitford, and Shaw-Lefevre received
their early education at Winchester. No Harrow man has ever filled
the Chair.

SIR JOHN CUST

1761, 1768

F^'oiii a paintij/g in the S/ieaAers House

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 277

Fee. ' ' His demeanour, both in public and private, was over-
bearing, and his manners coarse ; and he showed his con-
tempt for his fellow-members when on one occasion he
told the House that in debating a point of law he should
value their opinion no more than that of a parcel of
drunken porters.

Mrs. Piozzi, in her autobiography, quotes one of the
many satirical verses made on this Speaker : —

" Careless of censure, and no fool to fame,
Firm in his double post and double fees.
Sir Fletcher, standing without fear or shame,

Pockets the cash, and lets them laugh that please."

Junius was even more severe in his strictures. "This,"
he said, " is the very lawyer described by Ben Jonson,"

who

" ' Gives forked counsel ; takes provoking gold
On either hand, and puts it up.
So wise, so grave, of so perplexed a tongue
And loud, withal, that would not wag, nor scarce lie
still, without a fee.' "

He fell foul of the elder Pitt in 1766, and accused him,
during the debates on the petition of the Stamp Act, of
" sounding the trumpet to rebellion," whereon Pitt in-
timated that he would be ready to fight a duel with him
" when his blood was warm." Naturally the Whigs
opposed his elevation to the Chair, but Norton was
successful by 237 votes to 121 recorded for Mr. Thomas
Townshend, who had been put forward, against his
will, as a protest against the nominee of the Court.
Horace Walpole had a strong aversion to Norton, though
he was quick to see that he would rule the House
more firmly than Speaker Cust had been able to do :

278 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

" Sir Fletcher Norton consented to be Speaker of the
House of Commons. Nothing can exceed the badness of
his character, even in this bad age ; yet I think he can
do less hurt in the Speaker's Chair than anywhere
else. He has a roughness and insolence, too, which will
not suffer the licentious speeches of these last days, and
which the poor creature his predecessor did not dare to
reprimand." ^

If ever a Court nursed a viper in its bosom, it was
Sir Fletcher Norton. No sooner was he installed in the
Chair than he entered into unseemly wrangles with
private members, and in a peculiarly offensive article,
" The Memoirs of Sir Bull Face Double Fee and Mrs.
G — h — m," 2 which appeared in the Town and Country
Magazine for May, 1770, it was said that he persistently
used his position to browbeat the minority. When some
disorder arose in debate, he cried, " Pray, gentlemen, be
orderly : you are almost as bad as the other House."
On II February, 1774, he called the attention of the
House to a letter written by Home Tooke in the Public
Advertiser, reflecting on his conduct in the Chair, but in
a truly magnanimous spirit the House vindicated its
Speaker and ordered Woodfall, the printer of the letter,
to appear at the Bar.

In the next Parliament, despite his unpopularity with
the Court, Norton was re-elected to the Chair and with-
out a contest, as his very audacity prevented men from
placing themselves in competition with such a notorious
bully. In presenting to the Lords the Bill for the better
support of the Royal Household on 7 May, 1777, he

' Horace Walpole to Mann, 19 January, 1770.
* Goreham.

SIR FLETCHER NORTON

1770, 1774
Fj-fliii a painting; by Sir U ni. Bcechy in the possession 0/ Lord Crantley

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 279

made an extraordinary speech, recalling some of the
utterances of the mediaeval Speakers in drawing attention
to the extravagance of the Plantagenet kings. He said
that the Commons had granted to His Majesty a very
great additional revenue, " great beyond example, great
beyond Your Majesty's highest expense." ^ Some con-
temporary reports gave the last word as " wants " in-
stead of " expense," but the Speaker denied their ac-
curacy.

The Court was, naturally, highly indignant, and
Richard Rigby was put up in the House to arraign the
conduct of the Speaker, which he did in a speech of
great acrimony, declaring that the general sense of the
House had been grossly misrepresented by its official
spokesman. Thurlow, who was Attorney-General at the
time, also contended that the Speaker had given utter-
ance to his own sentiments, and not those of the House
at all. But on this occasion Fox came to his rescue, and,
by a skilful piece of special pleading, induced the House
to assent to a motion exonerating the Speaker whilst
stultifying its previous action.

During the debate on Burke's Establishment BilP the
Speaker made a violent attack on Lord North : " There
was a strange scene of Billingsgate between the Speaker
and the Minister ; the former stooping to turn informer,
and accusing the latter of breach of promise on a lucra-
tive job, in which Sir Fletcher was to have been advan-
taged." * As the Speaker continued to act in hostiUty to
the Court, George III was determined that, if he could

* Cobbett's Parliamentary History, Vol. XIX, p. 213.

• 13 March, 1780.

' Horace Walpole to Mann, 14 March, 1780.

28o SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

prevent it, he should not be voted to the Chair a third
time. It was during Norton's tenure of office that women
were excluded from the gallery of the House in conse-
quence of a disturbance which took place in the year
1778. After that date they were only permitted to view
the proceedings from a ventilator in the roof of St.
Stephen's Chapel. Twenty-five tickets for this apart-
ment were issued every night by the Serjeant-at-Arms.
Wraxall relates that he had seen the Duchess of Gordon
habited as a man sitting in the Strangers' Gallery, and
the beautiful Mrs. Sheridan is said to have adopted the
same disguise in order to listen to her husband's oratory.

In the middle of the eighteenth century the House of
Commons presented a much more picturesque appear-
ance than it does at the present day. Members wore
their orders, stars glittered on the front benches, and
after the revival of the Order of the Bath red ribands
were contrasted with blue. Lord North was always
spoken of as " the noble lord in the blue ribbon." It
was the etiquette of Parliament to wear orders, as at
Court, and the lace cravat and ruffle, the powdered hair
worn in a queue, were all but universal.

The members for the City of London were the last to pre-
serve a trace of the former splendour of vestment when on
the first day of a new session they took their seats on the
Treasury Bench in all the gorgeousness of mazarine robes
and gold chains. The last Speaker of the unreformed
House, Manners-Sutton, with the red riband of the Bath
thrown across his manly figure, looked the impersonation
of grandeur in apparel. Even Fox, before he adopted
the blue frock-coat and buff waistcoat, was seen in the
House by the all-observant Wraxall in a hat and feather.

^M.tJ$>l]u^,1p St G.*'^-'''...

SIR FI.KTCHER NORTON
/I caricatiiri- l<y Inglcby lent hy Lord Gr,i)ith\

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 281

The American Revolution swept away Court suits,
swords, and bag wigs ; and Pitt dealt a mortal blow at
the wearing of hair powder. With the French Revolu-
tion came a more sombre taste in dress, levelling all dis-
tinctions ; and with an occasional eccentricity of attire,
adopted, as a rule, for the sake of acquiring notoriety,
the House presents at the present time a depressing
uniformity of sartorial art, reheved only by the uniforms
of the Mover and Seconder of the Address in answer to
the gracious Speech from the Throne, and the periodical
appearances of an officer of the Household when bearing
a message from the Crown.

Sir Fletcher Norton lived in Lincoln's Inn Fields till
his death on i January, 1789. He bought his house
there. No. 63, in 1758 for £1721, and when sold in 1884
it realized £13,000. Its windows were broken by a mob
on 8 May, 1771, when the town went mad because the
House had committed Brass Crosby and Richard Oliver
to the Tower in connection with Wilkes's agitation for
the liberty of the Press. An even greater crowd attacked
Lord North's house in the Cockpit at Whitehall and
threatened to pull it down.

After Speaker Norton's transference to the House of
Lords, as Baron Grantley of Markenfield,^ he exhibited
the same instability of political principle which had
marked his earlier career ; but he ultimately returned
to the Tory fold when his capacity for inflicting serious
harm on his party had vanished. On the meeting of
George Ill's fourth Parliament he had persuaded himself

' John Wilkes said, when he heard of the title which Norton had
selected, that it was most appropriate since it was composed of his two
favourite objects — a grant and a lie.

282 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

into believing that he would again be nominated for the
Chair, and he professed to be highly indignant when the
House chose Mr. Charles Wolfran Cornwall, member of
a respectable Herefordshire family and a Gray's Inn
lawyer without much practice at the Bar, in his place.
" Sir Fletcher Norton, who never haggles with shame,
published his own disgrace, and declared that he had
been laid aside without notice. Courts do not always
punish their own profligates so justly," were the scathing
words in which Horace Walpole pronounced his presi-
dential epitaph.

Mr. Cornwall's political complexion was supposed to
have been determined when he married, in 1764, Lord
Liverpool's sister. But for a time he attached himself
to Lord Shelburne and acted with the Whigs. Later
on he found political salvation under Lord North,
from whom he accepted the post of a Lord of the
Treasury. The new Speaker possessed a sonorous voice
and an imposing presence, two extremely valuable Par-
liamentary assets, but he was by nature of a shy and
retiring disposition, and was described by Walpole — a not
altogether unprejudiced critic — as "blushing up to the
eyes from a crimson conscience."

One of the minor economies in Burke's Bill for the re-
duction of the CivU List produced a curious situation
at the close of the session of 1782. The Jewel Office had
recently been abolished in the general process of retrench-
ment, and when the King signified his intention of pro-
roguing Parliament in person the officials hitherto re-
sponsible for the conveyance of the Regalia from the
Tower were found to be non-existent. No one seemed
to know exactly whose business it was to issue the order

CHARLES WOLFRAN CORNWALL

1780, 1784

From a painting by Gaimbrtrough in the Speaker^ s House

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 283

for the production of the crown and sceptre, or how they
were to be transported to Westminster. Neither the
Lord Chancellor or the Speaker could solve the riddle ;
but the Home Secretary ^ rose to the occasion at the
last moment, and, dispensing with a mihtary escort,
empowered the Bow Street magistrates to convey the
RegaHa of England in two hackney coaches with
blinds closely drawn, and guarded only by a handful
of police officers. They took a circuitous and unfre-
quented route by the New Road down Great Portland
Street and thence to Westminster, returning the same
way in the afternoon without attracting the slightest
pubhc attention. Had the secret of these unpretentious
vehicles been revealed a dozen armed desperadoes could
easily have overpowered the police and emulated the far
more hazardous exploit of Colonel Blood in the reign of
Charles II. And had any mishap occurred to the Crown
jewels the severest censure would justly have been cast
upon a system of economy fraught with such disastrous
consequences at the outset.

On 27 February, 1786, Cornwall gave a casting vote
against the Government on the question of the proposed
fortification of Portsmouth and Plymouth at what was
then considered the huge cost of a million of money.
The plan was condemned in the House by General
Burgoyne, Sheridan, and Fox, and the dawn had begun
to stream in through the windows of St. Stephen's Chapel
when the division was called. The members were found
to be 169 on each side, and an uproar arose unparalleled
since the defeat of Lord North in 1782. Silence having

' The Rt. Hon. Thomas Toivnshend. Previously to 1782 he was
officially styled Secretary of State for the Northern Department.

284 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

been restored Cornwall stood up, and, after declaring the
numbers, added that at so late an hour he was too
exhausted to enter into the merits of a subject already
fully discussed. " I shall therefore content myself with
voting against the original motion, and declaring that
the Noes have carried the question." Caricatures were
issued representing the Duke of Richmond, the Master
of the Ordnance and the real author of the scheme,
attempting to apply a match to a battery of artillery,
while the Speaker, in his robes, extinguished the fire by
the same means which Gulhver adopted when he suc-
ceeded in quenching the flames which broke out in the
royal apartments of Lilliput.

In the Coalition Ministry, headed by the Duke of
Portland in 1783, Cornwall was unanimously re-elected,
and he remained in the Chair till his death, which,
by a singular coincidence, occurred within twenty-four
hours of his old opponent. Sir Fletcher Norton.^

History has recorded the name of one, at least, of
those who have attained the great position of the Chair
whom the House was constrained to expel on the ground
of corruption proved up to the hilt ; of others, like
Dudley, Empson, and Rich, who deserve the contempt
of posterity in an even higher degree. A Speaker has
been known to burst into tears in the Chair ; but, up
till such a comparatively recent period as 1780, no case
had occurred in which a Speaker has been chiefly re-
membered for his having been addicted to drink.

A new precedent was set in an easy-going age, when
Mr. Speaker Cornwall relieved the tedium of long debates

1 Lord Grantley died on i January, and Mr. Cornwall on 2 January,
1789.

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 285

by copious draughts of porter, a flagon of which was
placed conveniently at his elbow.

" Like sad Prometheus fastened to the rock,
In vain he looks for pity to the clock.
In vain th' effects of strengthening porter tries,
And nods to Bellamy's for fresh supplies." ^

Cornwall had the advantage of hearing the greatest
oratorical triumphs of Pitt and Fox, the thunders of
Burke, and the lightning-like flashes of Sheridan's wit.
Was it Sheridan, or Lord Hervey, who said of a fellow-
member of Parliament that he was evidently bent upon
doing his party all the harm he could, since he spoke for
them and voted against them ? Yet not one of these
giants of debate could keep the Speaker from falling
asleep in his Chair.

Once when David Hartley, the worthy member for
Hull, but a portentously dull speaker, whose rising was
usually the signal for a general exodus, asked the Speaker's
permission to read a clause in the Riot Act, Burke ex-
claimed, before the Speaker could intervene, " You have
read it already ; the mob is dispersed." Another story
of the same unconscionable talker against time is that
Mr. Jenkinson, afterwards Lord Liverpool, leaving the
house as Hartley rose to speak, once rode down to
Wimbledon, dined there, rode back, and found him still
on his legs prosing to a select and patient few.

On his first entry into Parliament Cornwall lived in
Golden Square, then a fashionable quarter of the town,
but on being called to the Chair he removed to the Privy
Garden, Whitehall. His portrait, by Gainsborough, at

^ The RoUiad.

286 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

the Speaker's House is one of the best in the whole
collection. Wraxall, whose memoirs of contemporary
notabilities are especially valuable at this period, snap-
pishly said of him : " Never was any man in a public
situation less regretted or sooner forgotten."

When the necessity arose for appointing a successor
to Cornwall, and the younger Pitt looked round the
ministerial benches, he bethought himself of his cousin,
William Wyndham Grenville, who was exactly of his
own age. When only twenty-two he had been appointed
Chief Secretary for Ireland, his brother. Earl Temple,
being the Lord-Lieutenant, for it was an axiom in the
Pitt family that the Grenvilles must be taken care of.
It was an age of young men, and even whilst he was at
Eton Grenville had attracted the attention of the out-
side world. There was a rebellion in the school, and two
hundred boys left Eton for an inn at Maidenhead. They
observed great order and method in their proceedings,
choosing officers and keeping accounts of their expendi-
ture. Young Grenville was asked whether he would be
treasurer or captain. Without hesitation he said he
would rather be treasurer. Whilst the young rebels were
awaiting events Grenville received a letter from his
father^ ordering him to return to Eton immediately on
pain of never seeing his face again. Much perplexed at
the receipt of the letter, for before it reached him the
boys had taken an oath to stand by one another, he
determined to obey his father and quit the confederacy.

Showing his companions his accounts, he asked that
they might be examined to see if they were correct.
Whereupon young Montagu, a son of Lord Sandwich,

* George Grenville, First Lord of the Treasury 1763-65.

WILLIAM WYNDHAM GRENVILLE

1789.
Frovi a ptintiHg- in the National Portrait Gallery

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 287

who was captain, told him that he had made a good
treasurer, but a miserable leader of a party, and that he
did not doubt that they would meet again in some other
place, where Grenville might depend upon his being re-
proached for the desertion of his friends. Young Gren-
ville was sent back to Eton by his father for a few hours
(probably in order to be flogged), and was then taken
away from the school. Lord Granby, who had two sons
in the rebellion, sent them to the play, saying : " You
shall go there to-night for your pleasure, and to-morrow
you shall return to Dr. Foster and be flogged for mine ! ''
Lord Sandwich's son was a good prophet, for a cold and un-
sympathetic manner prevented Grenville in after life from
kindhng the enthusiasm so necessary to successful leader-
ship, be his industry and integrity what it may. That
he was quite conscious of this defect is apparent from a
letter he wrote to his brother years later : " I am not
competent to the management of men. I never was so
naturally, and toil and anxiety more and more unfit me
for it."

Few men have reached the Speaker's Chair at such
an early age, at any rate since the Middle Ages, as
Grenville. He was not thirty at the time of his
election by 215 votes to 144 recorded for Sir Gilbert
Elliot. On this occasion, as the King was ill, the new
Speaker did not go up to the House of Peers for the
royal approbation. Had the King's illness continued,
and the Regency Bill passed in 1788, the Whigs, on
entering of&ce, would have dissolved Parliament, and it
was generally understood that Michael Angelo Taylor
would have been appointed Speaker. But the recovery
of the King extinguished Taylor's brilliant prospects.

288 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

One of Gillray's clever caricatures satirises his dis-
appointment: "The New Speaker between the Hawks
and the Buzzards " depicts the opposing parties uniting
in preventing Taylor from ascending the Chair. Michael
Angelo Taylor, if remembered at all at the present day,
is rescued from Parliamentary oblivion by an Act which
he was instrumental in passing for the improvement of
the London streets, and which is always called by his
name.

Grenville only held office for five months, as he became
Home Secretary in the summer of 1789. The next year
he was made a peer, and when, on the death of Pitt,
the Tory party was rent into a multitude of fortuitous
atoms, he became Prime Minister of " all the Talents,"
the ministry which did indeed abolish the slave trade,
but failed in nearly everything else which it attempted.
The rewards which were showered on the Grenville
family during a long series of years, and especially under
Lord Liverpool, were so considerable as to give rise to
Lord Holland's witty saying : " All articles are now to
be had at low prices, except Grenvilles." William
Wyndham Grenville, it must be admitted, was as
great an offender in this respect as any member of
his family, for he held the post of Auditor of the Ex-
chequer, a sinecure worth £4000 a year, for forty years,
though much blamed for retaining it after he became
Prime Minister.

For calling the Grenvilles " a family of cormorants "
the Duke of Buckingham challenged the Duke of Bed-
ford of that day to a duel in Kensington Gardens.
His Grace of Stowe, who was of enormous bulk, should
have presented an excellent target to his adversary, but

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 289

though shots were exchanged on both sides, honour pro-
fessed itself satisfied without the shedding of a drop of
blood. The seconds were Lord Ljmedoch and Sir Watkin
Wynn, and a caricature of the scene was published, en-
titled " The Bloodless Rencontre," 1822.1

Speaker Grenville's knowledge of the procedure of the
House of Commons cannot have been extensive, and he
was probably content to rely upon the advice of Hatsell,
an acknowledged authority on the subject, and Clerk
of the House from 1768 to 1797. His clerk assistant, John
Ley, one of an old Devonshire family which has served
the House of Commons in an official capacity for 150
years, became Clerk in 1797. (at first as deputy to Hatsell),
and retained the post until his death in 1814. To him
succeeded Jeremiah Dyson, 1814-20 ; John Henry Ley,
1820-50 ; Sir Denis Le Marchant, 1850-71 ; Sir Thomas
Erskine May (Lord Famborough), 1871-86 ; Sir Reginald
Palgrave, 1886-1900 ; Sir Archibald MUman, 1900-02,
who was succeeded in the latter year by Sir Courtenay
Ilbert, transferred to Westminster from the Treasury.
Before becoming Speaker Grenville lived at the Pay Office
in Whitehall, and on resigning the Chair he removed to
20, St. James's Square (Sir Watkin Wynn's beautiful
Adam house), where he lived with his widowed sister.
His widow. Lord Camelford's daughter, survived him
until 1864, a remarkable link with the past.

Pitt's next choice for the Chair was Henry Addington,
the son of his father's regular medical attendant, and.

' This anecdote was told to the author by the Rt. Hon. G. W. E.
Russell, grandson of the sixth Duke of Bedford, who had heard it
from his father, Lord Charles Russell, Serjeant-at-Arms to the House
of Commons from 1848 to 1875.

290 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

like the previous Speaker, still in the prime of youth.
Sir Gilbert Elliot was again put forward by the Oppo-
sition, and though by a strange coincidence exactly the
same number of votes were recorded for Addington as
there had been for Grenville, EUiot's supporters feU
off by two. When old Addington heard of his son's
success he is said to have remarked: "Depend upon
it this is but the beginning of that boy's career."
On three subsequent occasions he was re-elected unani-
mously. "The doctor," as he was facetiously called,
had not sat long in the House, and his voice was
almost unknown in it, but he had applied himself
diligently to the study of the procedure and practice
of Parliament. A new departure was made in 1790, when
he was voted a fixed salary of £6000 a year, in place of the
old system of remuneration by fees and sinecure offices.
A genial mediocrity, he was very popular with the
country party, and Pitt had a high opinion of him,
which posterity has not altogether shared. On the other
hand spiteful Whigs, like Creevey, always spoke of
him as "the cursed apothecary." In the celebrated
altercation which took place between Pitt and Tierney
in May, 1798, his personal predilection for the former
overbore his impartiality. When he learnt that a duel
was to take place, not only did he make no attempt
to put a stop to it, but he went to Wimbledon
Common to be an eye-witness of the encounter. On
the following Sunday ^ two shots were exchanged
on either side without a hit, when the seconds pro-
nounced that honour was satisfied. Pitt's opponents
declared that he had indulged not wisely but too well in

» 27 May, 1798.

'id.pDixt. H. Scriven sculpt.

HENRY ADDIN'GTON

17S9, 1790, 1796, iSoi

From a />rint

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 291

the convivialities of the dinner table on the afternoon of
the debate, which gave rise to the duel. However this
may be, such symposia were not uncommon at the close
of the eighteenth century, and The Rolliad contains a
pointed allusion to a scene of this description in an
epigram on Pitt and Dundas : —

" I can't see the Speaker, Hal ; can you ? "
" Not see the Speaker, Will ! I see two."

Old John Ley, the Clerk of the House in succession to
Hatsell, was so disturbed at Pitt's condition on one
occasion that he declared he had not been able to sleep
all night for thinking of it.

But when the Prime Minister was told of this, he
laughed it off by saying :

" Could there possibly have been a fairer division ?
I had the wine, and the Clerk, poor man, had the head-
ache ! "

In February, 1801, Addington resigned the Speaker-
ship, and in March he became First Lord of the Treasury
in an administration which was only noteworthy for the
Peace of Amiens. The periodical recurrence of mediocrity
in high places, counterbalancing and correcting the
achievements of genius, is a curious and persistent feature
of English political life. Not easy to account for but
patent to all, it is probably not without advantage to a
community temporarily satiated with the heroic element
in public affairs, and, when an Addington succeeds a Pitt,
or a Wilmington replaces a Walpole as leading minister
of the Crown, it is often found that the Parliamentary
machine runs all the smoother from not being driven at full
speed. Almost wholly uninformed upon foreign affairs, for

292 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

he had never visited the Continent or studied diplomatic
interests, Addington's mind was not attuned to the ready
comprehension of international politics. " Home-keeping
youth have ever homely wits," and, whilst he had a fair
knowledge of finance and a conciliatory Parhamentary
manner, he was conspicuously lacking in that elevation
of mind and loftiness of character which so distinguished
the younger Pitt.

" As London is to Paddington
So is Pitt to Addington,"

ran a couplet which was composed at the time of his
being called to the head of the Administration.

When the war with France broke out again in 1803 the
Prime Minister's opponents said that his gaze was directed
exclusively to the Channel and to that, to him, unknown
French coast, in abject terror at the thought of the
threatened invasion of England's shores by Napoleon.
No sooner did Pitt weary of the seclusion of Walmer
Castle and evince a desire to resume his former
position than Addington's power dissolved into thin
air. He subsided for a time into private life, soon,
however, to reappear in a subordinate position. It
was then that his great opponent Canning said of him :
" Addington is like the chicken-pox or the measles.
Ministers are bound to have him at least once in their
lives." During his tenure of the Chair the House voted
the buildings formerly occupied by the Auditor of the
Exchequer as an official residence for the Speaker.
Addington seems to have taken up his abode in the
Palace in 1795. The crypt of St. Stephen's Chapel, which
had been used in the time of Lord Halifax as a coal-

SKETCH OF THE INTERIOR OF ST. STEPHEN'S WITH PORTRAITS OF

ADDINGTON, SPEAKER ABBOT, AND JOHN LEY (CLERK OF THE HOUSE)

Frotn a print by Js. Gillray

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 293

cellar, was converted into a state dining-room, and, as " the
doctor " was of a convivial nature, and wont to describe
himself as the " last survivor of the port-wine faction,"
he entertained there frequently. An account of one of
these banquets will be found at a later page.^

His daughter-in-law, the second Lady Sidmouth,
who only died in 1894 at the great age of ninety-
nine, lived much in her youth with her father-in-
law, and with Mr. Hatsell, the Clerk of the House.
She retained in her old age a vivid recollection
of Pitt and Fox, and well remembered hearing Wilber-
force speak on the abolition of the Slave Trade. But
probably her most interesting reminiscence was in
connection with Nelson : she distinctly recollected his
coming to dine at the White Lodge in Richmond Park^ in
1805, and explaining the plan of his operations which
ended with the glorious victory of Trafalgar. The Admiral
traced the probable course of his fleet on the dinner
table, dipping his finger in a glass of wine to illustrate
his meaning. This table is still preserved as an heirloom
at Up Ottery Manor, the family place, in Devon-
shire.

It has been well said that genius has no ancestry.
Yet mediocrity can often successfully lay claim to a long
pedigree. Old Dr. Addington, prior to his retirement to
Reading, had practised the healing art first in Bedford
Row, in which unfashionable street the future Speaker
and Prime Minister was bom in 1757, and afterwards in

* In 1798 the House voted :£2S42 los. 6d. for the expense of fitting
up the houses occupied by the Speaker and the Serjeant-at-Arms.
{Commons Journals, 24 April, 1798.)

' Of which her father-in-law, the ex-Speaker, was Deputy Ranger.

294 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Clifford Street, Burlington Gardens. On his son's being
raised to the Peerage he astonished his friends by proving
his descent from a Devonshire family seated at Up Ottery
since the seventeenth century. The new peer adopted
as his motto the words " Libertas sub rege pio," which
" Bobus " Smith impudently translated into " Our
pious king has got liberty under."

Of Speaker Addington there is a likeness by Phillips
in the official residence at Westminster. The formation
of the collection there was due to his initiative ; it
fortunately escaped destruction in the great fire of
1834, and since his time it has been considerably aug-
mented both by purchase and by the munificence of
private donors. The portrait of the next Speaker, Sir
John Mitford, afterwards Lord Redesdale, was thrown
out of the window in the hurry and confusion of the
fire, but not till it had been charred and singed by the
flames, and it bears the marks of this rough usage to
the present day.

On the death of Lord Clare, Mitford was made Lord
Chancellor of Ireland, with a salary of £10,000 and a
retiring pension of £4000, and a peer of the United King-
dom. He was the last Speaker to be transferred to the
Judicial Bench on vacating the Chair. According to Sir
Egerton Brydges, he was " a sallow man, with a round
face and blunt features, of a middle height, thickly and
heavily built, and had a heavy, drawling, tedious manner
of speech." His election to the Chair was opposed by
Sheridan, though he did not press his objection to a divi-
sion. Mitford's attention had been directed to the office
of Speaker by Hatsell at the time of Addington's election,
but, as he naively told his successor, what he really had

SIR JOHN MITFORD
180I
From a painting in the Speaker s House

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 295

in view was the more lucrative Mastership of the Rolls.
When Mitford was chosen he conferred with Abbot,
telling him that he did not think the position was
so arduous as some chose to represent it, and that he
was of opinion that it only required diligence, civiUty,
and firmness. Abbot was also informed by Addington
that though Mitford had accepted the chair, it might
not be for long, and that he wished him to qualify him-
self as far as possible to succeed him on the next vacancy.^
With the appreciative eye of a new member Abbot
recorded in his diary his impressions of a state dinner
given by his friend "the doctor" in February, 1796.
Nothing seems to have escaped his attention with the
exception of the hour at which the banquet began.

" Dined at the Speaker's. We were twenty in number.
Lord Bridport, Sir George Beaumont, Sir A. Edmonstone,
Sir W. Scott Lascelles, Colonel Beaumont, Mr. Adams,
Sir H. G. Calthorpe, Bankes, Burton, Wilberforce,
Powys, Parker, Coke, Metcalfe, E. Bouverie, Bramston,
and Mr. Gipps and the chaplain.

" We dined in a vaulted room under the House of
Commons, looking towards the river, — an ancient crypt
of St. Stephen's Chapel.

" We were served on plate bearing the King's arms.
Three gentlemen out of livery and four men in full
liveries and bags. The whole party full-dressed,
and the Speaker himself so, except that he wore no
sword.

" The style of the dinner was soups at top and bottom,

' Lord Colchester's diary alludes to his meeting Mitford to discuss
the Speakership at " the Cofiee House." This must have been Howard's
Coffee House which immediately adjoined the upper end of West-
minster Hall. It was not burnt in the fire, but removed on the erection
of the ne w Houses of Parliament.

296 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

changed for fish, and afterwards changed for roast
saddle of mutton and roast loin of veal.

" The middle of the table was filled with a painted
plateau ornamented with French white figures and vases
of flowers. Along each side were five dishes, the middle
centres being a ham and boiled chicken.

" The second course had a pig at top, a capon at
bottom, and the two centre middles were turkey and a
larded guinea-fowl. The other dishes, puddings, pies,
puffs, blancmanges, etc. The wine at the corners in
ice pails during the dinner. Burgundy, champagne, ^ hock,
and hermitage. The dessert was served by drawing the
napkins and leaving the cloth on. Ices at top and bottom ;
the rest of the dessert oranges, apples, ginger wafers,
etc. Sweet wine was served with it.

" After the cloth was drawn a plate of thin biscuits
was placed at each end of the table and the wine sent
round, viz. claret, port, Madeira, and sherry. Only one
toast given — ' The King.' ^

" The room was lighted by patent lamps on the
chimney and upon the side tables. The dinner-table had a
double branch at top and at bottom, and on each side
of the middle of the table. Coffee and tea were served
on waiters at eight o'clock. The company gradually
went out of the room, and the whole broke up at
nine."

On II November, 1800, in consequence of some repairs
which were in progress in St. Stephen's Chapel, the
Commons, after the lapse of centuries, met once more
in the Painted Chamber.* The Speaker acquainted the
House on the opening day of the session that he had
received a letter from the Lord Steward, in which he was

^ An early notice of its use in England.

' A custom still observed on these occasions.

^ Sometimes called St. Edward's Chamber.

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 297

commanded to inform the House that, as the chamber
in which they usually assembled was not in a fit state
to receive them, His Majesty had given orders that
the Painted Chamber should be fitted up for their
accommodation during the ensuing session.

In adapting this venerable apartment — for it was
probably of even earlier date than the Great Hall —
to its temporary purpose the interesting discovery was
made that its walls, like those of the neighbouring
Chapel, were entirely covered under the tapestry hang-
ings with historical paintings of considerable artistic
merit. The subjects represented were the Wars of the
Maccabees and scenes from the fife of Edward the Con-
fessor, with explanatory inscriptions in Norman-French.
These paintings were probably executed to the order of
Henry HI, and, though careful drawings were made of
them at the time of their discovery, the authorities who
should have taken steps to preserve them promptly
covered them with a coat of whitewash ! The very
existence of these mural decorations had been forgotten,
and they would probably have escaped notice, until their
final destruction by fire in 1834, had it not been for the
accidental use, for the last time in its long history, by
the Commons of the room in which, by tradition, the
Confessor is said to have breathed his last. Once more
its doors were flung open to receive the body of the
younger Pitt, who lay in state there before his interment
in the Abbey.'-

1 Lord Colchester notes the meeting of the House in the Painted
Chamber in his diary for 1800, and The Times, in its Parliamentary-
report, 12 November, 1800, also alludes to the unwonted place of
assembly.

298 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

The procession of Tory Speakers was continued by
Charles Abbot, who was created Lord Colchester on his
retirement, with a pension of £4000 a year and ;f30oo to
his successor in the title. From his earhest entry into
Parhament in 1795 he enjoyed the confidence of
Addington, who told him to make the Chair the goal
of his ambition. GUlray is responsible for a "Sketch
of the Interior of St. Stephen's as it now stands,"
with portraits of Addington, Abbot, and John Ley in
the clerk's seat. It was Speaker Abbot who gave
his casting vote against Pitt^ when Whitbread brought
forward a motion for the impeachment of Lord Melville
on account of peculation in the administration of the
Navy. Ministers made no attempt to screen Lord
Melville, if he were guilty, from public censure ; but
they contended that, upon a subject of such magnitude,
affecting as it did, not only the character of Parhament,
but of every individual member of the House, the fullest
investigation should precede a final decision.

Pitt proposed the appointment of a Select Committee
to inquire into the charges brought with irresistible force
against Lord Melville, but on the numbers being found
to be equal, 216 to 216, the Speaker, pale with emotion
and after ten minutes of terrible suspense, during which
the dropping of a pin might have been heard in the
crowded House, gave his vote against the Government.
When the decision of the Chair was made known Pitt
burst into tears, and at past five in the morning hurried
from the House. The next day Lord Melville resigned.

Speaker Abbot was the inventor of the Census ; he
introduced many improvements in the form and printing

1 8 April, 1805.

TUK KIOllT II(»N: < IIVKM.S V 1> II OT , 1> ( .1. V H. Ti S .

.J/..,, . /...v/^ j/A-'. /-:.->:.' . ~',, „/..'.

..„,„. ±yu,f/,.

CHARLES AHBOT

1802-2, 1806, 1807, 1812

Frojn a firitlt

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 299

of the official records, and he left an interesting Parlia-
mentary diary. In it is a valuable note on the hours of
meeting of the House, which had steadily been growing
later, in unison with the dinner-hour of London society.

" Mr. Pitt asked me at parting what would be the
proper time for beginning public business every day. I
said I thought half-past four, if he could come. He said
by all means, it was just as easy for him to come at that
hour as at any other. He actually came at five." *

Some mention has already been made of the early
hour at which the House was accustomed to meet in
Ehzabethan times. During the Commonwealth and in
the reign of Charles II it was usual for the House to stand
adjourned at its rising until the following morning at
9 a.m. This continued to be the practice until 1770,
when the nominal hour of meeting was altered to 10 a.m.
This, with an occasional variation to 11 a.m., continued
tiU the year 1810 ; but it will be seen that there was a
considerable difference between the nominal and the
actual time for commencing public business.

From 1811 to 1835 no hour is mentioned in the Votes
for resumption on the following day, but from the latter
year the time at which the Speaker would take the Chair
is usually notified as three or half -past. On 18 July,
1835, it was appointed to meet at a quarter to four, at
which hour it remained until 1888, when three o'clock was
reverted to. The present time of meeting is a quarter
of an hour earlier. At the close of the session of 1808
Lord Colchester wrote : —

j" The most laborious session for hours of sitting ever

1 Diary of Lord Colchester. Vol. I, p. 543.

300 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

known within living memory of the oldest members or
officers of the House. There were iii sitting days,
amounting to 829 hours, averaging 7 J hours a day. Since
Easter to the close of the session rarely less than 10 or
II hours every day."

What would he have thought of 1887, when the House
sat on 160 days, and for 277 hours after midnight !
On 24 May, 1803, the Speaker wrote in his diary : —

" Settled with the Serjeant-at-Arms and Mr. Ley that
the gallery door should be opened, every day if required,
at twelve ; and the Serjeant would let the House Keeper
understand that the ' news writers ' might be let in their
usual places (the back row of the gallery), as being under-
stood to have the order of particular members like any
other strangers."

This Speaker persuaded the Government to spend
£70,000 in improving his official residence between 1802
and 1808, and the alterations and additions were carried
out by Wyatt, the fashionable architect of the day, but
one of the greatest Vandals his profession has ever known
when engaged on the restoration of ancient buildings.
Worse than " Blue Dick," who " rattled down proud
Becket's glassy bones " at Canterbury from mistaken
religious conviction, Wyatt, at Salisbury, in addition
to other enormities, carted into the town ditch the
mediaeval glass which had escaped the Reformation and
the Commonwealth.

" The King talked to me at length about the forms
of the House of Commons, and the conversion of the
Speaker's house in Palace Yard. He looked remarkably
well ; rather grown larger within the last twelvemonth,
and very cheerful. The King having asked me very

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 301

particularly about the Speaker's house, and its' being
finished, I wrote to the Duke of Portland to desire he
would ask the King for his portrait, to be placed as the
only picture in the principal of those apartments which
the members of the House of Commons are accustomed
to visit in the course of the session." ^

The picture was given, and it was painted by Sir Thomas
Lawrence, but it is nowhere to be found at Westminster
now. The large expenditure on the official residence
was much commented upon at the time, and Tierney,
who voiced the opinion of the economists, threatened to
bring the matter before the House ; but the Speaker
referred him to the architect, and the storm blew over.
Wyatt probably destroyed far more than he preserved, as
is painfully evident from the additional plates in Smith's
Antiquities of Westminster, in which Plates 24 and 26,
27 and 28, show extensive demolitions in progress on the
east side of the old House of Lords and the vicinity of
the Princes' Chamber ; but a curious oak door, painted
and gilt with arabesque ornaments, which was found
plastered up in the crypt of St. Stephen's Chapel, escaped
wanton destruction, only to perish in the fire of 1834. ^

On the debate on the Address, at the opening of the
session of 1810, the Speaker showed that he was no
respecter of persons in his official capacity. "We had
a grand fuss in telling the House. The Princess of
Wales, who had been present the whole time, would
stay it out to know the numbers, and so remained in
her place in the gallery. The Speaker very significantly

' Diary, 20 January, 1808.

' This door is figured in the body of Smith's Antiquities of Westmin-
ster, which, with the additional plates, is the most valuable pictorial
representation of the Palace, as it existed a century ago.

302 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

called several times for strangers to withdraw ; which she
defied, and sat on. At last the little fellow became irri-
tated, started from his chair, and, looking up plump in
the faces of her and her female friend, halloaed out most
fiercely, ' If there are any strangers in the House they
must withdraw.' They being the only two, they struck
and withdrew." ^

After the triumphant return of the Tory party
from the polls in 1812 Abbot was unanimously re-
elected to the Chair ; but a speech which he delivered
at the Bar of the House of Lords in the course of the
following year brought upon him a motion of censure by
Lord Morpeth, on account of his having introduced into
it the subject of Roman Catholic aggression. After
mention of the supplies granted, the financial measures
adopted, and anticipations of future prosperity, the
Speaker went on to say, in a passage which imme-
diately aroused the hostility of the Opposition : —

" But, sir, these are not the only subjects to which our
attention has been called. Other monstrous charges have
been proposed for our consideration. Adhering, however,
to those laws by which the Throne, the Parliament, and
the Government of this country are made fundamentally
Protestant, we have not consented to allow that those
who acknowledge a foreign jurisdiction should be autho-
rised to administer the powers and jurisdiction of this
realm ; willing as we are, nevertheless, and willing as I
trust we ever shall be, to allow the largest scope to re-
ligious toleration."

After a heated debate. Lord Morpeth's motion was
defeated by 274 to 106.

* Creevey Papers, Vol. I, p. 123.

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 303

" I remarked," says the Speaker in his diary, " to Lord
Castlereagh, Vansittart, and Bathurst that the House had
repeatedly refused to instruct the Speaker what he should
say ; that they left it to him to collect the sense of the
House from its proceedings ; and that as to pleasing
everybody I had long ago given up that attempt."

The earliest speech made by any Speaker which is re-
corded in the Journals of the House of Lords is one of
Sir Thomas Englefield in 1509-10. At first the entries
only state the general substance of the Speaker's remarks,
but in the reign of Elizabeth some are given by Sir
Symonds D'Ewes at greater length. There is a speech
of Speaker Lenthall, in 1641, given in some detail, and
several more in the reign of Charles II. In 1689 two such
speeches are entered in the Journals, but none during
the reigns of William III or Anne. There are four by
Sir Spencer Compton in the reign of George I, and one
in the Commons Journals. From 1721 there is no pro-
rogation speech entered at length in either Journal,
except one by Speaker Onslow in 1745 reviewing the
whole state of public affairs both in and out of Parliament.

Abbot died in Spring Gardens on 8 May, 1829, and
was buried without a monument, by the side of his
mother, in Westminster Abbey, the first Speaker to be so
honoured since Trussell, Puckering, and Richardson, and
also the last in the Abbey's roll of fame. His portrait, by
Sir Thomas Lawrence, is one of the ornaments of the
Speaker's collection.

The name is now reached of the only man who has
ever been Speaker seven times, though his actual tenure
of office was exceeded in length by both Arthur Onslow
and Shaw - Lefevre. This was Charles Manners-Sutton,

304 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

a son of the Archbishop of Canterbury who crowned
George IV. But for his open connection with the
Tory party outside the House he would undoubtedly
have been re-elected an eighth time in 1835. Such
an exceptional Parliamentary career deserves somewhat
detailed examination. Manners-Sutton was originally
intended for the Law. He entered Parhament for the
first time in November, 1806, shortly after the death
of Fox, and when the Ministry of " All the Talents "
was hastening to its close to be replaced by the
Duke of Portland as the nominal head of the Tory
party.

At the time of his entering the House young
Manners-Sutton was living in Stone Buildings, Lincoln's
Inn, and though he never had very much practice
at the Bar, his commanding voice and presence soon
attracted the attention of his fellow-members, and
especially of Castlereagh, George Canning, and Spencer
Perceval. As became the son of an archbishop, his
maiden speech was made on the Clergy Residence Bill,
introduced by himself.^ A little later on he was found
supporting the retention of flogging in the army. At
the early age of twenty-seven he had been made Judge
Advocate-General, and was speaking as the mouthpiece
of the Government. In 1812 he made a forcible speech
in opposition to Lord Morpeth's motion for inquiry into
the state of Ireland, veiling the demand for Catholic
Emancipation. It was a long debate, and Grattan did
not rise to address the House until four in the morning,

^ " There was no point," he said, " in which so much improvement
had taken place in the last t\((enty years as in the arrangements for
the examination of candidates for Holy Orders."

H. W. PickirssUl, R.A.

Satmul Cousins, satlfit.

HENRY CHARLES MANNERS-SUTTON

1817, 1819, 1820, 1826, 1830, 183I, 1833

Frovi a prin t

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 305

nor did it adjourn until half -past five, after defeating
Lord Morpeth's motion by a majority of ninety-four.

Five years later Manners-Sutton's reputation was so
well established, that on the resignation of Speaker Abbot,
in June, 1817, little surprise was expressed when he was
put forward by the Ministry of the day to fill the vacant
Chair. The Opposition proposed C. W. Williams Wynn, the
member for Merionethshire, who was heavily handicapped
by a high falsetto voice, and in the Creevey Papers there
is a complimentary reference to the successful candidate
in the contest.

" We all like our new Speaker most extremely ; he
is gentlemanlike and obliging. The would-be Speaker ^
{alias Squeaker) has, as I suppose you have heard,
moved down to my old anti-Peace of Amiens bench.
I rejoice sincerely that I did not vote for said Squeaker,
but some of those who did are, I hear, very much
ashamed of themselves for it." ^

Mr. Wynn's brother. Sir Watkin, was also a member
of the House, and from the peculiarity of their voices
the two were commonly known as " Bubble and Squeak."
At the election referred to Manners-Sutton had been
chosen by a majority of one hundred votes, and some
spiteful wit said that if WiUiams Wynn had minded his
P's and Q's he might have been Speaker instead of
Squeaker ! Once in the Chair, not even the most bitter
Radical found cause to complain of the Speaker's par-
tiality. He " rode the House with a snaffle rein, and not
with a curb," as one of his political opponents remarked.
Some colour is lent to his understanding of the changing

^ Wynn.

'' Lord Folkestone to Creevey, 23 February 1818.

3o6 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

relations between the House and the Chair by the fact
that when he intervened in the debates in Committee
on the CathoUc ReUef Bill of 1825, he prefaced his re-
marks with an apology for joining in the discussions.
In 1827, in Canning's Administration, he could have been
Home Secretary for the asking, but he preferred to
remain where he was.

Tom Moore's Diary for May, 1829, reveals a glimpse of
Manners-Sutton's private life in the old official residence
on the banks of the Thames. Daniel O'Connell, the
" Liberator," had made a dramatic appearance at the
Bar of the House, to claim the seat for Clare denied to
him as a Roman Catholic, a circumstance which con-
vinced the Duke of Wellington that Catholic Emancipa-
tion could not be much longer delayed.

" Went to the House of Commons early, having begged
Mr. Speaker yesterday to put me on the list for under the
gallery. An immense crowd in the lobby, Irish agitators,
etc. ; got impatient and went round to Mr. Speaker,
who sent the train-bearer to accompany me to the lobby,
and after some little difficulty I got in. The House
enormously full. O'Connell's speech good and judicious.
Sent for by Mrs. Manners-Sutton at seven o'clock to
have some dinner ; none but herself and daughters,
Mr. Lockwood, and Mr. Sutton. Amused to see her in all
her state, the same hearty, lively Irishwoman still.
Walked with her in the garden ; the moonhght rising
on the river, the boats gliding along it, the towers of
Lambeth rising on the opposite bank, the Hghts of
Westminster Bridge gleaming on the left ; and then,
when we turned round to the House, that beautiful,
Gothic structure, illuminated from within, and at that
moment containing within it the council of the nation —
all was most picturesque and striking."

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 307

The Speaker's second wife, a Miss Ellen Power, from
the county of Waterford, was only a recent bride at the
time of Moore's visit. His first wife was Miss Denison,
of the Nottinghamshire family which gave another
Speaker to the House in after years.

The worst fault that could be laid to Manners-
Sutton's charge was that he was never able wholly to
dissociate himself from old party ties and obligations.
Lord Grey has left it on record that as early as 1831
the opponents of Reform met at a party at the Speaker's
house to discuss the plan of campaign, and " looked with
confidence to its affording > them the means of striking
an effectual blow at the Administration " whenever
the question should come before the House.

On Lord Grey's resignation in May, 1832, whilst the
Duke of Welhngton was endeavouring to form an
administration, a short-lived intrigue was got up to
offer the post of Prime Minister to Manners-Sutton.
The idea seems to have originated with Lord Lynd-
hurst, aided and abetted by Vesey Fitzgerald and Ar-
buthnot. Peel, if we may believe Greville, also favoured
the scheme, and, animated by a singular mixture of
ambition and caution, he desired to make Manners-Sutton
a second Addington, whilst he was to be another Pitt.
But at a meeting held at Apsley House, at which Peel
was not present, Manners-Sutton made a bad impression.
He " talked infernal nonsense " for three hours, and
Lyndhurst and the Duke were convinced of the im-
possibility of forming a Government under such leader-
ship. The idea, so hastily conceived, was as promptly
abandoned. As all the world knows, the Duke of Welling-
ton declined to take office, and Lord Grey returned.

3o8 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Nettled perhaps at the turn of events, Manners-Sutton
intimated to the House his wish to retire. ^ A vote of
thanks was accorded to him, and his pension of £4000 a
year settled.

Merely to state that Speaker Manners-Sutton saw the
Reform Bill of 1832 carried through all its stages would
be to give a very inadequate idea of the strain imposed
upon his physical powers and those of the responsible
officers of the House. From 1830 the length of the
sittings of the Commons went up with a bound. In
that year the hours after midnight totalled 126 ; in 1831
they rose to 156; and in 1832, the crucial year, they
amounted to no less than 223, a figure never exceeded
or approached until 1881, when, at the beginning of the
serious agitation for Home Rule in Ireland, they reached
the unprecedented total of 238, a figure only since ex-
ceeded in the memorable session of 1887, when Speaker
Peel was in the Chair. When, at last, in June, 1832,
exactly five hundred years after the generally accepted
date of the separation of the two Houses,^ Manners-
Sutton went up to the House of Lords to hear the Royal
Assent given to Bills agreed upon by both Houses, it was
to the provisions of a measure more far-reaching in its
after effects upon English political life than any em-
bodied in a statute of the realm since the origin of Parlia-
ments.

When Reform was carried the Whig leaders played
into the Speaker's hands. Nervous at the prospect
of meeting the first Parliament to be elected under the
new system, they implored Manners-Sutton to serve yet

1 30 July, 1832.
' 1332-

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 309

another term of office. Lord Althorp wrote him what
Greville calls " a very flummery letter," and he accepted
the offer.^ On 29 January, 1833, he was voted to
the Chair by 210 votes over Edward John Littleton, ^
who was put forward as a candidate by the Radicals.
In the course of the year the King conferred upon him
the Order of the Bath, an honour not enjoyed by any of
his predecessors since Speaker Compton.'

Manners-Sutton was rather short-sighted, and when
the new Parliament assembled, like the strong party
man that he wds, he affected not to be able to distinguish
the new Whig members' faces, nor to remember their
names. When he had to call on Mr. Bulteel to speak
he made a great pretence of looking at the name through
his glass before he cried out, " Mister Bull Tail," at which
the House laughed loud and long. One of the first of
the new members returned in the Tory interest was the
young representative of the Duke of Newcastle's pocket
borough of Newark — William Ewart Gladstone.

" The first time," he wrote to a correspondent many
years later, " that business required me to go to the arm
of the Chair to say something to the Speaker, Manners-
Sutton — the first of seven whose subject I have been —
who was something of a Keate, I remember the revival
in me bodily of the frame of mind in which the school-
boy stands before his master."

Mr. Gladstone had been at Eton under Dr. Keate, and

' Greville Memoirs, ii January, 1833.

2 Afterwards Lord Hatherton.

' " At Court yesterday, the Speaker was made a Knight of the
Bath, to his great delight. It is a reward for his conduct during the
session, in which he has done Government good and handsome service."
(Greville Memoirs, 5 September, 1833.)

310 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

he retained a lively recollection of the methods of persua-
sion favoured by that well-known advocate of the birch.
He took his seat in January, 1833, in the old House of
Commons, which was soon afterwards to be destroyed by
fire. On his first entry into Parliament the future Prime
Minister took rooms in Jermyn Street, lodging over the
shop of a corn-chandler named Crampern, a few doors
west of York Street, St. James's Square. The corn-
chandler in question was a relation of some of his con-
stituents at Newark. Removing soon after to the
Albany, Mr. Gladstone retained a lifelong partiaUty for
St. James's, and during the session of 1890 he lived at
No. 10, St. James's Square, the former home of Chatham.
Lord Derby, the " Rupert of Debate," lived in the same
house from 1837 to 1854.^

Lord John Russell admitted in after years that he had
supported the candidature of Manners-Sutton in 1833
because he felt exceedingly solicitous and somewhat diffi-
dent concerning the reformed House of Commons . For the
purpose of securing the advantage of his long experience
he was willing to depart from the general rule that the
Speaker should be the representative of the majority.
During Manners-Sutton's last term of office Sir Thomas
Erskine May, the greatest authority on Parliamentary
Procedure that the House has ever known, first became
officially connected with the Commons. Placed at first
in the library, he imdertook, whilst a mere youth, the
enormous labour of indexing the whole series of Journals

^ The London County Council has recently placed a memorial tablet
on the front of the house to commemorate its association with the
names of three Prime Ministers. Mr. Gladstone personally informed
the present writer of the circumstances attending his early connec-
tion with the neighbourhood.

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 311

from the year 1547 to the reign of Queen Anne. As an
illustration of the changed habits of the House within his
personal recollection, Sir Thomas Erskine May told the
present writer that he remembered the Speaker leaving
the Chair, some time in the 'thirties, followed by the
great majority of members, and proceeding in haste to
the riverside in order to watch the race for Doggett's
Coat and Badge as it passed by Westminster. There
was then a pleasant garden, fringed with tall trees on the
river bank, attached to the Speaker's house.

The most memorable incident of Manners-Sutton's
last Speakership was the destruction of the old Houses
of Parliament by fire on 16 October, 1834. The Speaker
was with his family at Brighton at the time, recuperating
his energies after the fatigues of the session. Recalled
by an express, he arrived in town the next morning to
find the fiames still raging and his own house a smoking
heap of ruins. Having witnessed the destruction of the
whole Palace, with the exception of Westminster Hall, the
Star Chamber, and a few unimportant exceptions, it was
suggested to him that it was his duty to write to the
King, informing him of the actual state of affairs, so far
as it was in his power to form a judgment ; the more so
as, by the gracious permission of the Crown, he was
living in a portion of a royal palace. He waited upon
the King at St. James's to discuss the expedients neces-
sary to secure another place of meeting for the Parliament.
William IV commanded him to survey Buckingham
House and its gardens, with a view to the erection of a
temporary building, and to take Blore, the royal archi-
tect, with him. It is necessary to mention these facts
because his interviews with the King at this period were

312 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

later on made the foundation of a groundless charge
against his conduct in the Chair.

During the great fight to save Westminster Hall from
the flames the Speaker's house was stripped of its
contents, and even the furniture, china and mirrors,
were thrown out of the windows. The official residence of
Mr. Ley, the Clerk of the House, fared even worse, every-
thing in it being destroyed, even to his wig and gown.
It was one of the many misfortunes of that calamitous
night that the tide was very low throughout the earlier
hours of the conflagration, so that the floating fire-
engines on the Thames were unable to render any ser-
vice during the time when by their help the spread of
the flames might have been checked. A strong south-
west wind blew the fire into the heart of the ancient
buildings, and added to the fears of the bystanders that
the Great Hall would be destroyed. So great was the
glare in the heavens that the King and Queen saw it at
Windsor, twenty miles away. Thus perished in a single
night the historic chamber replete with memories of
Raleigh, Hampden, Coke, and Cromwell ; the arena in
which Chatham delivered his immortal eloquence ; where
Pulteney and Walpole, Pitt and Fox, Canning and
Brougham, in turn confronted one another ; where
Burke threw down the dagger, and Castlereagh walked
proudly to his seat with the Treaty of Paris in his hand.

" By the Clerk's table in that ancient chapel the brow
of the boldest warrior had grown pale as he stood up to
receive the thanks of the House and a grateful nation.
There Blake and Marlborough, and that hero of a hun-
dred fights, the Duke of Wellington, drank in the pealing
applause which foreshadowed Westminster Abbey, and

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 313

there the noblest sons of genius. Bacon, Newton, Addison,
and Gibbon sat ' mute but not inglorious.' Its historic
walls rang with the shout of triumph when the slave
trade went down in its iniquity ; there Grattan poured
forth his matchless eloquence, and Meredith and Romilly
pleaded, against capital punishments, that criminals still
were men." ^

After the fire it became necessary further to prorogue
Parliament, and if ever a prorogation took place under
difficulties it was this one, owing to the difficulty of find-
ing any habitable room in the precincts of the Palace in
which to perform the ceremony. An eye-witness of the
scene wrote : —

" The two Mr. Leys (the Clerk of the House and the
second Clerk Assistant) called on Saturday. They de-
sired Mr. Rickman to attend the Prorogation because
they have lost their wigs, and Mr. William Ley says :
' We shall follow you to the Bar in plain clothes, but
where the Bar is to be we know not.' "

When the Houses met again in 1835 it was in tem-
porary chambers hastily improvised for the occasion.
The House of Lords was installed in a room on the site
of the Painted Chamber, and the Commons in an apart-
ment to the south of Westminster Hall improvised out
of the ruins of the House of Lords. Gladstone made
his maiden speech in the old chapel of St. Stephen's, but
Disraeli's " The time will come when you shall hear me "
was uttered in the temporary building in use until 1852.

After Lord Melbourne's summary dismissal by the
King, 2 Sir Robert Peel undertook to form an administra-

'■ Townsend's Memoirs of the House of Commons, 1844, Vol. II,
p. 465. " In November, 1834.

314 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

tion, and, though unsuccessful in obtaining a majority
at the polls, he pluckily determined to face ParUament,
and allowed it to be known that it was his intention
once more to propose Manners-Sutton for the Chair.
Grave charges were circulated against the late Speaker
in the Press and on the platform, some of them un-
doubtedly founded upon fact, whilst others were devoid
of any solid foundation. For weeks before the date fixed
for the opening of the session the newspapers were filled
with arguments for and against Manners-Sutton's claim
to the renewed confidence of the House.

Great excitement prevailed as to the issue of the
coming contest for the Chair, but Manners-Sutton
waited patiently and submissively under imputations
affecting his honesty and integrity until such time as he
could refute them in his place. The gravamen of the
accusations of his enemies was that, being Speaker, he
had busied himself in the subversion of Lord Melbourne's
Government, that he had assisted, with others,, in the
formation of the new Cabinet, and that he had advised
the dissolution of the late Parliament for party pur-
poses.

Charles GreviUe, who, though he never entered Parlia-
ment, was perhaps better informed than any man of his
time as to the secret springs of poHtics, has left a vivid
picture of the intense interest excited by the promulga-
tion of these charges against the late Speaker. He
made a book on the event, and having at first
favoured the chances of Manners-Sutton, he eventually
leant to the side of his opponent and made £55 by back-
ing his opinion.

On 19 February, 1835, the opening day of the session,

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 315

Manners-Sutton replied to his accusers in the fullest
House ever known. The first charge, he was able to
show, grew out of the fact (alluded to on a previous
page) that he had been commanded by the King to
attend him during the autumn, and he read a letter
which he had addressed to His Majesty proving that it had
reference solely to the burning of the Houses of Parliament.
To the second and graver charge he admitted that he
had been in communication with the Duke of Wellington
during Peel's absence abroad, and that, on the latter's
return, he had paid him a visit at the Prime Minister's
own request. The only other occasion on which he
visited Peel was when he waited on him for the purpose
of obtaining the sanction and signature of the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, in order to make good the payment of
the Clerks of the House.

" He had never advised, had never suggested, never
was in any way consulted, and he never knew of the
appointment of any one individual member of the
Government until after it had taken place. He admitted,
however, that he did attend the meeting of the Privy
Council after William IV had dismissed Lord Melbourne.
So little did he know of the last charge, that of having
counselled a dissolution, that he did not attend the
meeting of the Privy Council from which the proclama-
tion for dissolution emanated.

" He was not at it, he was not summoned to it, he was
never consulted with regard to it, he never had any-
thing to do with the dissolution, and so little did he
know of the steps that had been taken, that he did not
even know it had been resolved upon, until he read it
in the Gazette."

Lord John Russell, in spite of these emphatic dis-

3i6 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

claimers, insinuated that for Manners-Sutton to have
attended any meeting of the Privy Council at such a
juncture was conduct unbecoming the Speaker of the
House of Commons. Versed as Lord John was in
the dead lore of the Constitution, he quoted from
speeches made by Sir Harbottle Grimston and Mr.
Speaker Williams in the seventeenth century, with a
view to showing that if Manners-Sutton was elected,
and the majority of the House gave up its right
for the sake of a compliment, they might say fare-
well to the choosing of a Speaker for all time ; but, as
Peel was quick to remark, Lord John must have selected
his precedent when he thought that the charge of having
counselled a dissolution could be proved, for the only
part of his speech which extorted the faintest cheer
from the House was that in which it was insinuated that,
if he should be re-elected, the Speaker would do as he
had done before.

Although Manners-Sutton had completely vindicated
himself, the combination of Whigs, Radicals, and the
Irish members under Daniel O'ConneU carried the elec-
tion of Abercromby, in the fuUest House ever known,
by the narrow majority of ten votes. It cannot be said
that the Whigs triumphed out of their turn, for they had
not had a Speaker of their own political complexion since
Arthur Onslow's distinguished rule. GrenviUe, though
he came of a Whig stock, was a supporter of Pitt when
called to the Chair in 1789, and to all intents and
purposes a member of the Tory fold.

" The great battle is over," wrote Greville on 20 Feb-
ruary, " and the Government defeated by 316 to 306.
Such a division never was known before in the House of

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 317

Commons, and the accuracy of the calculations is really
surprising. Mulgrave told me three days ago that they had
317 people, which with the Teller makes the exact number.
" Holmes went over the other list and made it 307,
also correct. In the House so justly had they reckoned,
that when the numbers first counted (306) were told to
Duncannon in the lobby, he said : ' Then we shall win
by 10.' Burdett and Cobbett went away, which with
Tellers makes a total of 626 members in the House. All
the Irish members voted but four, all the Scotch but
three, and all the Enghsh but 25. The Irish and Scotch,
in fact, made the majority."

So disappeared Manners-Sutton from the Commons.
He spoke but seldom in the House of Lords, though he
lived for ten years after his ungenerous dismissal from
the Chamber he had ruled so wisely and so well.

The only Speaker who ever came from north of the
Tweed was James Abercromby, third son of General Sir
Ralph Abercromby. Nicknamed by Brougham " Young
Cole," in contradistinction to Tierney, " Old Cole," he had
sat in the House for over a quarter of a century without
attracting much attention or making many enemies.
Creevey, indeed, calls him, in 1809, " as artificial as the
devil," and a few years later " factious and violent," but
the censure seems to have been undeserved. His career
in the Chair was not marked by any incidents calling
for the display of those higher qualities by which the
ofiice of Speaker acquires importance in emergencies.
If he did not succeed in entirely repressing the tendency
to disorder in the House which had grown up under the
somewhat lax rule of Manners-Sutton in his later years,
his impartiality was never called in question. His chief
claim to remembrance rests upon his unremitting efforts

3i8 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

to reform the conduct of the private business of the
House.

Before Abercromby's time the passage of a Private
Bill through the Commons was attended with much
jobbing and confusion, and he succeeded in placing some
salutary restrictions upon the expenses attending the
promotion of many useful measures of routine. On
the occasion of his re-election, on 7 November, 1837, he
was proposed by his successor in the Chair — Mr. Charles
Shaw-Lefevre. Abercromby was treated with marked
rudeness by WiUiam IV, who took every opportunity
of showing his resentment at the treatment of Manners-
Sutton in 1835, and his general distrust of the Whigs.

" Tavistock told me a day or two ago that His Majesty's
ministers are intolerably disgusted at his behaviour to
them and his studied incivility to everybody connected
with them. The other day the Speaker was treated by
him with shocking rudeness at the drawing-room.
He not only took no notice of him, but studiously over-
looked him while he was standing opposite, and called
up Manners-Sutton and somebody else to mark the
difference by extreme graciousness to the latter. Sey-
mour, who was with him as Serjeant-at-Arms, said he
had never seen a Speaker so used in the five-and-twenty
years he had been there, and that it was most painful.
The Speaker asked him if he had ever seen a man in
his situation so received at Court.

" Since he has been Speaker the King has never taken
the slightest notice of him. It is monstrous, equally
undignified and foolish." ^

Speaker Abercromby, on his retirement in 1839,
was created Lord Dunfermline, with a pension of £4000.

* The Greville Memoirs, 15 July, 1835.

Joliii J^^fk^on. A'. -/.

JAMES ABERCROMBY

1835. 1S37
From a print

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 319

There is a portrait of him in the collection at West-
minster. He wrote a memoir of his father. Sir Ralph
Abercromby, published, after Lord Dunfermline's death,
in 1861.

The first Lord Monteagle, Chancellor of the Exchequer
in the Melbourne Administration,^ had set his heart on
the Speaker's Chair, and when Abercromby informed
Lord Melbourne of his wish to resign, the then Prime
Minister virtually promised Spring-Rice the reversion
of the place, but finding that he would not be accept-
able to the Radicals, Mr. Shaw-Lefevre was preferred
in order to maintain the unity of the party. With the
appointment of the latter, in 1839, the evolution of
the non-partisan Speaker was all but complete. Bom
in London in February, 1794, the eldest son of a
Hampshire squire, Shaw-Lefevre was predestined to
become one of the most conspicuous successes in the
Chair whom the House of Commons has ever known.
His father, a man of tall and imposing figure, though
of somewhat pompous manners, entered Parliament in
1796, and elicited from Canning the somewhat malicious
remark that " there are only two great men in the world.
Shah Abbas and Shaw-Lefevre." After being educated
at Winchester and at Trinity College, Cambridge, the
son was destined for the Bar by his father.

In 1819 he was admitted to Lincoln's Inn, but though
by no means idle, his heart was in the healthy pursuits
of a country gentleman rather than in the mysteries
of the law. So keen a sportsman and so accomplished
a shot did he become that his father once regretfully
observed, " As for Charles, he is only fit to be a game-

' Thomas Spring-Rice.

320 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

keeper. ' ' After his father's death the young squire acquired
a definite position in the county as a magistrate, a member
of quarter sessions, and an officer of yeomanry. But
he was perhaps even better known as the best shot in all
that sporting county. In 1830, through the influence
of a relative. Lord Radnor, he was put forward as the
Whig candidate for the pocket borough of Downton, a seat
which he soon exchanged^ for his own county of Hants.
He attracted the favourable notice of Lord Althorp,
who asked him to move the Address at the opening of
the session of 1834. Like his father before him, Shaw-
Lefevre applied himself to the study of the rules and
practice of the House, and to those useful but modest
labours on Committees, which do so much to train the
mind of the young member.

By 1837 his position was so far established that he was
selected to propose Abercromby for re-election to the
Chair. Two years later Abercromby suddenly retired, and
Lord Eversley used, in after years, to relate how, stand-
ing behind the chair surrounded by a group of county
members, one of the number said to him, " Now, Lefeyre,
we mean to have you as our Speaker." The friendly jest
was found to express the general sentiment of the country
gentlemen in the ministerial ranks. Ministers who had
hitherto favoured the claims of Spring-Rice were forced
to defer to the unmistakable desire of the bulk of their
supporters. Nature had marked out Shaw-Lefevre as
the fittest representative of an assembly of English
gentlemen. His manly bearing, his handsome features
and frank and open countenance commanded the ready
confidence of men of his own class.

' i.e. in 1831.

yoJut Jackson, R.A.

]l'm. U'ard, A.K.A., sculpt.

CHARLES SHAW LEFEVKE

1839, 184I, 1847, 1852

Front a print

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 321

On 27 May he was formally proposed for the Chair,
though on this occasion his election was not allowed to
pass unchallenged. Goulburn, the rival candidate, had
had longer experience of the House, had held office
under the Crown, and he was, moreover, proposed by
the greatest living authority on Parliamentary lore,^ who
had himself been spoken of as not unworthy to fill the post.
In form and feature Goulburn presented an infehcitous
contrast to his young rival, but, as usually happens in
these contests, the ultimate verdict depended upon the
relative strength of parties, and Shaw-Lefevre secured
a majority of eighteen votes.

From the first his conduct in the Chair won the approval
of all parties. He could call unruly members to order with
a smile which disarmed anger. He knew how to rule them
without giving offence to their amour propre. But
when he was compelled to exercise a sterner authority
his manner could be both resolute and unbending. In
his intercourse with men of all shades of opinion
he displayed the genial humour of his healthy nature.
When twenty members sprang to their feet at once,
someone asked him how he contrived to single out his
man. " Well," he rephed, " I have not been shooting
rabbits all my life for nothing, and I have learnt
to mark the right one." His firm rule was greatly
needed in the stormy times of O'Connell's agitation for
the repeal of the Union and during the great debates on
the Com Laws. Re-elected unanimously in 1841,^ 1847,

1 Mr. Williams Wynn.

2 " The Tories were beginning to quarrel about the Speakership,
some wanting to oust Lefevre, but the more sensible and moderate,
with Peel and the leaders, desiring to keep him. The latter carried

322 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

and 1852, he did not finally vacate the Chair he adorned
until March, 1857.

The Commons met, experimentally, in the present
House on Thursday, 30 May, 1850 — whilst it was still
in an unfinished state — in order to test the acoustic
properties of the building. It might have been so utilised
even sooner, but as no provision had been made for
artificial warmth, and the season was an unusually cold
one, it was deemed prudent to wait for a fine day.
Mr. Speaker, accompanied by Sir Robert Peel, so soon
to be snatched away from public life and usefulness,
took the Chair at twelve o'clock, accompanied by
upwards of 200 members. Hume, Cobden, and Bright
were amongst those present, and below the Bar Hallam the
historian and the architect Barry were provided with seats.
The fittings of the House were still incomplete ; there
was no stained glass in the windows, no heraldic decora-
tion on the panels, and the benches were nothing but
common deal and green baize knocked together with
rough-and-ready haste. The primary idea of the archi-
tect had been not to produce a great hall, in which 656
gentlemen could lounge at their ease, but rather a com-
pact house of business, in which 200 or 300 working
members could enjoy reasonable facilities for transacting
the public affairs.

Mr. Wilson Patten was the first member to raise his
voice in the new chamber, and Mr. Sullivan, an Irishman,

their point without much difficulty. Peel wrote to four or five and
twenty of his principal supporters and asked their opinions. All,
except Lowther, concurred in not disturbing Lefevre, and he said
that he would not oppose the opinions of the majority. So Peel wrote
to Lefevre and gave him notice that he would not be displaced."
(Greville Memoirs, lo August, 1841.)

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-GOBURG 323

the first to present a petition. This was from the mayor
and corporation of Kilkenny, " praying to be relieved
from the odious tax of ministers' money." Mr. Glad-
stone also spoke, and amongst those present on this
historic occasion in the annals of Parliament may have
been the veteran Earl of Wemyss, now in his ninety-
second year, for he was then, as Lord Elcho, a member of
the Lower House. Sir Robert Peel took a seat in the
galleries, as well as on both sides of the floor, being
anxious to ascertain the tone of voice which members
who desired to be audible without being noisy should in
future adopt. The experiment was not altogether satis-
factory, as every one who could, members and strangers
alike, entered into loud and earnest conversation with
his neighbour. Many groups talked all at once ; in vain,
therefore, did the orators of the assembly, who affected
to debate the questions under consideration, strain their
lungs to raise a shout which might be heard above, not
the murmurs, but the roar of general conversation. One
member, addressing the Speaker from the gallery, said
that he did not know whether the Speaker could hear
him, but this he knew — that he could not himself hear
what was passing on the floor of the House. At three
o'clock the Speaker proceeded to the old House of Lords,
which had been used by the Commons as a temporary
home since the fire, and finished the business of the day
there. This was assuredly the only time in its history
when the House has occupied two separate chambers on
one and the same day.

" Shaw-Lefevre was the best Speaker I ever knew,"
said Lord John Russell ; " when there was not a pre-
cedent, he made one," adding, so as to prevent any

324 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

further discussion, " according to the well-known prac-
tice of the House," a formula which pleased everyone
and permitted of no further discussion. This remarkable
man maintained his vigour at an age when most men
have retired from all outdoor pursuits. He bought a new
pair of guns after he had passed his ninetieth birthday.
He refused a pension of £2000 a year for two lives on
the ground that he could not bear the thought of being
a burden to posterity ; but he consented to accept £4000
for his own life, and enjoyed it for over thirty years.
Lord Eversley's portrait, by Sir Martin Shee, is at the
Speaker's House. Up to 1839 every Speaker on taking
office had been provided with an ample service of plate,
but, on the motion of Hume, the most persistent
economist the House has ever known, it was henceforth
attached to the of&ce and no longer made personal to
the holder.

It is within the knowledge of the writer that Lord
Palmerston consulted Delane and asked him informally
to adjudicate upon the credentials of the various candi-
dates for the Chair, and they were not few, when, in 1857,
Mr. Shaw-Lefevre retired. The qualifications which
the editor of The Times held to be essential were :
(i) imperturbable good temper, tact, patience, and
urbanity ; (2) a previous legal training, if possible ;
(3) absence of bitter partisanship in his previous career ;
{4) the possession of innate gentlemanly feelings which
involuntarily command respect and deference ; (5) per-
sonal dignity in voice and manner. To these indis-
pensable requirements Delane might have added the
importance of a sense of humour in the holder of the
office, for many a delicate situation has been saved.

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 325

especially in recent times, by the Speaker's possessing
this precious gift of nature.

It would be invidious to mention the names of other
candidates on whose merits Delane was asked to pro-
nounce. But he made no secret of his opinion that the
fittest man to succeed Mr. Shaw-Lefevre was Mr. Evelyn
Denison, who had sat in the House for more than thirty
years, and whose experience of its procedure dated
from before the passing of the great Reform Bill.
In after years Speaker Denison occasionally wrote
in The Times for Delane, and one of his contribu-
tions to the paper was an article comparing the
French legislative assembly with the English House
of Commons.

On 7 April Lord Palmerston wrote as follows : —

" My dear Denison,

" We wish to be allowed to propose you for the
Speakership of the House of Commons. Will you agree ? "

On the 30th of the same month he was unanimously
chosen. The retiring Speaker, when asked if there was any
one whom he could call to his assistance in a difficulty, said,
" No one ; you must learn to rely entirely upon yourself."
" I spent the first few years of my Speakership like
the captain of a steamer on the Thames," Denison wrote
in his interesting Journal,^ " standing on the paddle-box,
ever on the look out for shocks and collisions. The House
is always kind and indulgent, but it expects its Speakers
to be right. If he should be found often tripping, his

* First privately printed in 1900, and since re-issued for general
circulation.

326 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

authority would soon be at an end." Disraeli, in con-
gratulating Denison on his re-election in 1859, spoke of
him as combining in his person the purity of an English
judge and the spirit of an English gentleman.

He had a great admiration for Palmerston, and when
he attended in state the opening of the International
Exhibition of 1862 he bore witness to the great popu-
larity which the veteran minister enjoyed with the
people. On arriving at South Kensington, taking Lord
Charles Russell, the Serjeant-at-Arms, and the mace and
his train-bearer with him in his coach, the Speaker had
to walk first in the procession ; but seeing the Prime
Minister, he asked him to accompany him, when Palmer-
ston replied, " No, the Speaker of the House should
walk alone ; I will follow." And on Denison saying,
" I should think it a great honour if we might pro-
ceed together," they entered the building side by
side.

The moment Lord Palmerston came in sight shouts of
welcome were raised : " Palmerston for ever ! " and so
on throughout the whole building. One voice cried, " I
wish you may be Minister for the next twenty years," at
which Lord Taunton, who was standing by, drily re-
marked, " Well, he would only then be a little more than
a hundred ! " Some men, it has been frequently proved,
reach the maturity of their intellect at twenty-one, and
some, Uke Lord Palmerston, the typical statesman of the
Victorian era, at seventy-one.

Denison was in the Chair at the time of Lord Derby's
and DisraeU's famous " leap in the dark " — the Reform
Bill of 1867, the era from which pessimists date the de-
clension of the usefulness of the Lower House, during the

*fe

-i

Jo^ipli :^/afa , ,<cll.

JOHN EVELYN T>ENISON

1S57, l8S9, 1866, 1868

F. L. Laves, icitlpt^

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 327

period of the fiercest strife between Gladstone and his
great rival. He was Speaker when the former became
the first Minister of the Crown, though he did not live
to see Disraeli head a triumphant majority at the polls.
Age and ill-health compelled him to resign in 1872,
too late, indeed, for his own welfare, for the long-deferred
rest did not restore his overtaxed strength, and he died
early in the following year. He possessed in an eminent
degree the qualities of tact, discrimination, and justice
so essential to the successful performance of his duties,
and when his epitaph came to be written in the columns
of The Times, Delane did no more than justice to a
friend of many years' standing in causing it to be said
of him : —

" As the House of Commons is the home where the
English nature exhibits itself with the most absolute
reality. Speaker Denison was the clear, unsullied mirror
of that simple nobleness which we think Englishmen
may claim as the ideal of our national character. Hence
it was that he so exactly appreciated the feeling and
disposition of the assembly over which he was called
upon to preside, the sources to which he could look for
aid, and the exact limits and sphere of his authority.
He knew also that English gentlemen possessed, as he
did, an unusual aptitude to conform to the spirit of
traditionary law. He knew that hence he could rely for
support on all who sat around him." ^

• It was Delane's practice periodically to revise the obituary notices
of public men which he kept ready standing in type, " necrologies
awaiting their victims," as he called them. He took them home with
him and made additions and alterations within his personal knowledge,
during the brief intervals of leisure which he permitted himself at
Ascot Heath. In this way the admirably lucid biography of Disraeli,
though not required until 1881, eighteen months after his own death,
was mainly his own work.

328 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

In view of recent occurrences affecting the relations
of the two Houses, it may not be inappropriate to remark
that when the House of Lords rejected the Bill for the
repeal of the paper duty in May, i860, Speaker Denison
denounced in energetic language a practice by which
he considered that the Upper House indirectly infringed
on the special function of the Commons — the grant of
public money — as one calculated to break down the
broad line of distinction between the duties and powers
of the two Chambers.

It often becomes the duty of the Speaker to decide, on
the spur of the moment, what is and what is not a Par-
liamentary expression. Mr. Denison was appealed to in
1864 by Mr. Layard, then Under Secretary for Foreign
Affairs, the House being in a very excited state at the
time, to know whether it was competent for another
member 1 to say that he had made " calumnious charges "
against the Opposition. The Speaker said that he
saw no ground for his intervention, whereon Mr. Glad-
stone looked reproachfully at the Chair and urged
Lord Palmerston to get up. The Prime Minister then
rose and said that, in his opinion, the imputation
of motives was hardly in order, and that the ex-
pression used impUed motives. A long discussion
ensued, in which Mr. Disraeli, amongst others, took part,
but before the incident closed the Speaker was reminded
by Mr. Otway that Mr. Layard, of all people, should re-
member something about the use of the word " calum-
nious " in the House, for he had been accused of making
false and calumnious charges in the year 1845, and by

"• Mr. Gathorne Hardy, afterwards Earl of Cranbrook.

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 329

no other than the noble lord who had just spoken. And
on Hansard being referred to, it appeared that though
Lord Palmerston, at Mr. Gladstone's request, was pro-
testing in 1864 against the use of the phrase, he had
applied the very same words to charges made by the
same Mr. Layard nearly twenty years before. Lord
Eversley, on his attention being called to the expression,
gave it as his opinion that " calumnious " was not a
word to which exception could be taken. Since that
date at least one Speaker has had constantly by his side
for ready reference a list of admissible ParUamentary ex-
pletives. From time to time new adjectives and nouns
have to be adjudicated upon ; but it is within the dis-
cretion of the Chair to determine how far they must be
taken with the context and the circumstances of the
moment, since it is quite possible for a word to be used
in a manner calculated to give offence which, on another
occasion, would pass without objection from any quarter
of the House.

It has sometimes been said that nearly every Parlia-
mentary contingency which can possibly arise has had
its antecedent parallel, and is accordingly governed by a
precedent, so that a Speaker cannot go far astray in a
decision if he be thoroughly acquainted with the forms and
procedure of the House and the ruhngs of his predecessors.
But this is no longer strictly accurate. Formerly it
was customary to give the Speaker notice of questions
on points of order, but of late years the occasions have
been numerous when the most weighty decisions have been
required to be taken by the Chair on its being suddenly
confronted with an absolutely unprecedented situation.
In the case of the last three occupants of the Chair

330 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

these decisions have required, in addition to exceptional
tact, firmness, and courage, the prompt exercise of that
peculiar authority which the confidence and respect
of the House at large can alone confer. It is no
exaggeration to say that the difficulties which Speakers
Shaw-Lefevre and Denison, both of them admittedly
strong and able men, had to contend with have in-
creased tenfold since their day of power, owing to
a multiplicity of causes which have fundamentally
changed the temper and spirit of the House of Commons.
Within the last twenty years the control and initiative
in legislation have gradually been passing from the House
to the executive Government — in other words, to the
Cabinet, or a committee of that body which usually
dominates the Cabinet considered as a whole.

Changes in the composition of the House, rendered
inevitable by the " leap in the dark " of 1867, accen-
tuated by Mr. Gladstone's Franchise Act of 1884 ; the
claims of labour to separate representation and organi-
sation successfully asserted in recent years ; the cate-
gorical demand by a majority of the representatives of
■Ireland for separation from the parent assembly, a de-
mand annually restated, in spite of the abortive offers of
settlement in 1886 and 1893 ; the formation of small
subsidiary parties acting independently of the official
whips ; the heavy strain of practically continuous ses-
sions ; the altered rules of procedure all tending to en-
hance the power of the Government of the day at the
expense of the independent member ; and, lastly, the
application of the closure at the discretion of the Chair —
all these have increased the ever-growing responsibilities
of the Speaker.

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 331

When Speaker Denison presided over the House the
practice of addressing questions to ministers was in its
infancy, whereas at the present day the printed inter-
rogatories to the Government on every conceivable topic
of pubUc and private interest run into thousands in the
course of a single session, to say nothing of those, often
the most difficult to deal with, which are sprung upon
the attention of the Chair without notice. Mr. Denison
was the last Speaker to exercise his right of speak-
ing and voting in Committee. He had no liking for
the financial methods of Mr. Lowe, and on 9 June,
1870, on a Budget proposal of the then Chancellor of
the Exchequer, he formed one of a majority of four
which inflicted a defeat on the Government. By a
singular coincidence Mr. Speaker Abbot, who was
strongly opposed to the removal of Catholic disabilities,
carried an amendment in Committee in 1813 by the same
narrow majority. The amendment was to omit the vital
words " to sit and vote in either House of Parliament "
from Grattan's Bill qualifying Roman Cathohcs for
election as members of Parliament.

The Speakers of the House of Commons have not, on
the whole, been conspicuous for literary ability. The
notorious Dudley, as has been mentioned on an earlier
page, wrote the Tree of Commonwealth during his im-
prisonment in the Tower. With this exception, a few
volumes of law reports, of which the most notable example
is that of Sir Edward Coke, and the writings of the great
Sir Thomas More, whose Utopia will never die, are the only
contributions to periodical literature emanating from the
pen of a Speaker. Bulstrode Whitelocke was a pains-
taking and accurate historian, and Harley was a successful

332 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

pamphleteer before he became a minister of the Crown.
Sir Thomas Hanmer was a conscientious Shakespearean
critic, and his predecessor, Speaker Bromley, wrote an
amusing volume of travels. But both in fiction and
poetry the Chair is otherwise unrepresented.

Speaker Denison, however, deserves to be remembered
for his painstaking share in the field of BibUcal criticism,
known to posterity as the Speaker's Commentary. So
impressed was he with the necessity that existed for an
explanation of the Bible in accordance with the spirit
of the age in which he lived, and the scientific knowledge
accumulated during the nineteenth century, that he in-
duced Archbishop Thomson of York and over forty
other scholars and Bibhcal students to engage in the
production of what is still recognised as a valuable book
of reference. The Archbishop wrote the historical in-
troduction to the whole work, which Denison, unfortu-
nately, did not live to see completed.

On his retirement from the Chair in 1872, though he
accepted a Peerage^ Mr. Denison refused to accept the
customary pension of £4000. " Though without any pre-
tensions to wealth," he wrote to Mr. Gladstone, " I have
a private fortune which will suffice, and for the few years
of Ufe which remain to me I should be happier in feeling
that I am not a burden to my fellow-countrymen."
There is a portrait of Lord Ossington, by Sir Francis
Grant, in the Speaker's House. The official residence at
Westminster was first occupied by him, and his coat of
arms is sculptured over the entrance doorway in Speaker's
Court.

' An honour conferred on every Speaker since Lord Colchester. The
title which he selected was that of Viscount Ossington.

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 333

Having now reached a period in the history of the
Speaker's office within the memory of many still hving, it
will be unnecessary to recapitulate facts which are within
the knowledge of all who have studied the history of
ParUament and parties during the last half-century*
In treating of Mr. Speaker Denison's successors it
would be unbecoming in one who, like the present writer,
entered the service of the House of Commons when Mr.
Speaker Brand still sat in the Chair, to consider in detail
the political aspect of questions which await the im-
partial verdict of a later age — questions, moreover, which
are apt to assume such a totally different complexion
when viewed from the Government or from the Oppo-
sition benches.

When the inflammable and ephemeral matter which
feeds the fires of debate has utterly burnt out, and when
the sound and fury with which every step of political
progress is wont to be discussed has been extinguished
by the merciful hand of time, those who dwell on the
fertile soU formed by those volcanic upheavals will be
in a better position to appraise the ability and boldness,
the success or failure, of rival English statesmen, and to
recognise at their true value causes which agitated the
length and breadth of the Kingdom whilst they were in
the making.

Mr. Brand was three times unanimously called to the
Chair, and will be long remembered for his coup d'etat
of February, 1881, when, after a sitting of nearly thirty
hours, he declared the state of business to be so urgent as
to justify him in summarily closing the debate. The story
is told at length by Lord Morley in his Life of Gladstone.
During this and the following session urgency resolu-

334 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

tions were agreed to by the House, by which its powers
could, in respect of a particular Bill, be vested in the
Speaker, who accordingly laid rules upon the table pre-
scribing the manner in which the Bill should be dealt
with. At the same time obstruction was checked by
the power given to the Speaker to put the question,
"That the question be now put." If this question
was agreed to in a House of not less than 200
members, the question was put forthwith without
further debate.

Speaker Brand was reputed to have the best French
cook in London, Cost by name. The title was dis-
puted by Beguinot, successively chef to Lord Granville
and his brother, Mr. F. Leveson-Gower, and by Mr.
Russell Sturgis's cordon bleu. The first of them said
" nous sommes trois," and opinions still vary as to
their respective merits. Mr. Brand was a man of slight
stature, with the fresh pink of a winter apple in his
cheeks, of remarkable dignity, and sound judgment, and,
though DisraeU was sceptical at the time of his appoint-
ment as to the expediency of promoting a former whip,
his retirement, in 1884, was received with real regret by
the majority of the House. Mr. Brand was once asked
if in his long experience of Parliamentary life he had
ever known or heard of money passing for the vote of a
member. He said : " No, never. The nearest approach
to it I have ever known was the finding of a suit of
clothes for an M.P. who stated that without them he
would be unable to attend the House at a critical
division."^

Of his successor, Mr. Arthur Wellesley Peel, the worthy

, ^ Recollections of Sir Algernon West.

HENRY BOUVERIE WILLIAM IIRAND

1872, 1874, 1880

From an engraving in the possession of the Serjeant-at-Arnts after F. Sargent

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 335

inheritor of an illustrious Parliamentary name, it will be
unnecessary to say more at present than that he main-
tained to the full the high traditions of the Chair during
a period of unexampled difficulty. Such was his command
of the House that the mere rustle of his robes, as he rose
to rebuke a breach of order, was sufficient to awe the
most unruly member into prompt submission to his
ruling. 1

Mr. Speaker Brand's tenure of office will always be re-
garded as a landmark in the history of Parliamentary
institutions, if only for the great change adopted by the
House in entrusting the Chair with the power of closure
by a bare majority, a necessary change which, more than
any other, has tended to aggrandise the power of the
Government of the day, though with acorresponding decline
in the usefulness and efficiency of the private member.^

In 1887, under Mr. Speaker Peel, the Chair was relieved
of the initial responsibility for the closure. Power was
then conferred upon any member to move that the ques-
tion be now put, the Chair being directed to put such
question forthwith, unless the rights of the minority
seemed to him to be infringed or the rules of the House
abused. One hundred members must now vote in the
majority to make the motion effective. When the
motion for closure has been carried, and the question on

' Mr. Gladstone had offered the post, in the first instance, to the
late Lord Goschen, who felt himself obliged to decline the honour on
account of defective eyesight.

2 The principle of closure of debate, first adopted in 1882, was
never actually put in practice until February, 1885, when Mr. Speaker
Peel was in the Chair. In March, i888, the Chair was invested with
increased powers for maintaining order and checking irrelevancy in
debate, while a fixed hour for the adjournment of the House, subject
to certain exceptions, was also agreed to.

336 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

which it has been moved has been decided, any question
already proposed from the Chair may be put forthwith
without a further closure motion.

Another innovation designed to facilitate the despatch
of business has been the passing of Orders regulating
the procedure on certain stages of Bills. These have
differed from one another in their scope and severity,
but their general object has been to fix the time at which
certain stages or parts of a stage should be brought to
a conclusion, and to provide a special form of procedure
for the summary disposal of that part of the stage which
has not been concluded at the prescribed time. As a
rule, the " guillotine," as it has come to be called, has
taken the form of directing the Chair to put at a pre-
scribed hour the question then under discussion, and to
put any questions necessary to dispose of the allotted
portion or stage of the Bill without debate, and when
amendments are admissible, to put the question only on
amendments moved by the Government. Since 1887
this procedure has been adopted occasionally in order
to dispose of the necessary supply before the close of
the financial year.

Mr. Speaker Peel ^ during his whole term of office kept
a diary, which it is to be hoped will one day be given
to the world, far exceeding, as it does, in interest similar
journals kept by Speaker Denison and Speaker Abbot.
From his entry into Parliament, in 1865, Mr. Peel
familiarised himself with the features and idiosyncrasies
of the members over whom he was one day to be called
upon to preside. On one occasion, he told the present
writer, he was asked by Mr. Gladstone if he could

1 Now Viscount Peel of Sandy, Beds.

Loudon Stfreoscopic Co.

ARTHUR WELLESLEY I'EEI,
1884, 1886 (2), 1892

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 337

tell him the name of a gentleman who had walked
into the House and seated himself on the front Opposi-
tion bench. For once he was at fault, and, as neither
the Speaker, '^ on being applied to, nor the doorkeepers
could solve the mystery, a messenger was sent to
the intruder to ask his name. It transpired that
he had mistaken the House of Commons for the
House of Lords (to which assembly he was an in-
frequent visitor), and had imagined that he was
sitting amongst his peers. Mr. Gladstone, whose
eagle eye had at once spotted an unfamiUar face, re-
marked to Mr. Peel that he should have thought the
colour of the benches might have suggested to him
that he had taken the wrong turning from the Central
HaU. An elaboration of this anecdote, for which, how-
ever, we do not vouch, was to the effect that, after
listening for some time to the debate, the intruder
asked his neighbour, in perfect good faith, whether the
noble lord who was addressing the House was Lord
Salisbury !

Mr. Peel was in the seat of power all through the
period of the dynamite outrages which disgraced London
and baffled the police in 1884. Once word was brought
to him that a desperado, disguised as a woman, had
obtained admission to the ladies' gallery immediately
above his head, no doubt with the intention of hurling
a bomb into the crowded chamber. But fortunately the
necessary courage was lacking, and no outrage took
place, though it was not without a feeling of relief that
the Speaker put the question " That this House do now

^ Then Mr. Denison.

338 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

adjourn " at the conclusion of an anxious sitting.
A propos of the reign of terror, the present writer has
excellent reasons for remembering the dastardly outrage
in Westminster Hall on 24 January, 1885, when a bomb
was placed on the staircase leading to the crypt by a
miscreant who deliberately chose a Saturday for his
fiendish purpose, when the Houses of Parliament are
usually thronged with visitors. The writer walked
through the Hall a few minutes before the per-
petration of the outrage, returning later on to find
every pane of glass blown out of the great stained
window by the terrific force of the explosion, and the
Hall itself smoking from end to end with the dust of ages
which had been shaken from its rafters.

Of Mr. Speaker Gully it would be unbecoming to speak
at any length, owing to his recent untimely decease.
Recommended to the attention of the Government in
the first instance by the late Lord Herschell, his election
to the Chair on April 10, 1895, was the closest contest
of the kind ever known, with the exceptions of Harley
in December, 1710, and Abefcromby in 1835. Whereas
Abercromby was successful by ten votes, Mr. Gully
received only eleven more than Sir Matthew White-
Ridley in 1895. By his winning maimer and unfailing
courtesy he gained the respect and affection of every
quarter of the House during the ten years in which he
filled the Chair. In August, 1895, and December, 1900,
his re-election was unanimous, nor was he again put to the
trouble of a contest at the latter appeal to the country.

There can be no indiscretion in mentioning in these
pages that, on the occasion of Mr. Gully's promotion,

Russell & Sons

WILLIAM COURT GULLY
1895 (2), 1900

HOUSES OF HANOVER AND SAXE-COBURG 339

the late Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman would have
liked to succeed Mr. Peel ; but it may not be generally
known that, though he was fortified by the opinion of
Mr. Gladstone to the effect that ample precedent existed
for his projected transference from the ministerial bench,
the then ruling powers in the Cabinet thought otherwise,
with the result that he stood aside, to attain, in after
years, an even more strenuous position in the State.
With the advent of Mr. James William Lowther to
the Chair of the House of Commons in June, 1905,
exactly six hundred years after a member of his family
sat as Knight of the Shire for Westmorland,^ this record
perforce ceases, to be taken up hereafter, it may be, by
some more skilful hand.

Politicians and parties may come and go, changes
may, and must, occur in the aims and aspirations of the
democracy of England, which will affect the relations of
the House of Commons towards the parent assembly; but
the Speaker's office, unfettered by the exigencies of party,
and administered in the lofty and impartial spirit which
has characterised the later years of its existence, will
endure as long as the Constitution itself.

Tradition binds the Commons together with amazing
strength, and so long as the peculiar and essential func-
tions of the Chair, in ruling by general consent rather
than by compulsion, in upholding freedom of speech
without ever allowing it to degenerate into licence, are
adhered to by the successors of the great Englishmen
whose names have been recorded in these inade-
quate pages, it is safe to predict that the proud heritage
of seven centuries of hberty and progress will be handed

1 XXXIII Edward I, 1305.

340 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

on unimpaired to many future generations of a free and
self-governing nation.

In bidding farewell to Westminster and to the " well-
ordered inheritance " of the Speaker's Chair, it only
remains to add those two words so familiar and so dear
to all of Eton's sons —

ESTO PERPETUA

Jijtsseii -i^ :to.

JAMES WILLIAM LOWTHER
1905, 1906, I9IO, 191I

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS
OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES
TO THE PRESENT DAY : :

342 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

XLII Henry III, ii
June, 1258, at Ox-
ford. The " Mad
Parliament "

Speaker or other
Presiding Officer

Peter de

Montfort

Authority

Register Book
of St. Alban,
Cottonian 1,1-
brary, British
Museum,
now illegible
through dam-
age by fire.
Hake w i 1 ,
1641, p. 106

Date of
Appointment

XX Edward II, and WilliamTrusseU Styled Procura-

27th Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster
7 January, 1326-7

tor of Parlia-
ment inHenry
of Knighton's
chronicle con-
taine d in
T wy sden's
Decern Scrip-
tores

VI Edward III, and Henry

loth Parliament Beaumont

summoned to meet

at Westminster, 16

March, 1331-2, " Le

lundi prechein apres

la Feste de Seint

Gregoir."

Browne - Willis,
and Rot.Parl.,
Vol. II, p. 64

VI Edward III, and
nth Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, 9
September, 1332,
" Le Lendemayn de
la Nativity N"
Dame "

Sir Geoffrey

Le Scrape

Rot. Pari.. Vol.
II, p. 6$

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 343

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

Said to have consented
" vice totius com-
munitatis " to the
banishment of Ay-
mer de Valence,
1259-60. (?) Died
1287. Owned the
manor house of II-
mington, Warwick-
shire, where traces of
thirteenth-century
work remain.

One of this name was
Knight of the Shire
for Leicester in
1314. Buried in
Westminster Abbey,
circa 1346

" Lesqueux Comtes
Barouns & autres
Grantz puis revin-
drent & repondir-
ent touz au Roi par
la bouche [de] Mons'
Henri de Beau-
mont "

Probably the same man
who was Chief Jus-
tice of the King's
Bench from 1324 to

1338, and Secretary
to Edward III in

1339. He was a
Trier of Petitions as
early as 1320. These
important officials
are first heard of in
1304. Rot. Pari.,
Vol. I, p. 1 59. Le
Scrope died in 1 340

344 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

speaker or other Date of

Parliament Presiding Officer Authority Appointment

XIV Edward III, and WilliamTrussell Rot. Pari., Vol.
26th Parliament again II, p. 118
summoned to meet

at Westminster, 29
March, 1340. " Au-
jour de meskerdy
prochein apres la
fast de la Translation
de Seint Thomas le
Martir "

XV Edward III, 1341

XVII Edward III, and WilliamTrussell Rot. Pari., Vol.
30th Parliament again II, p. 136

summoned to meet
at Westminster, 28
April, 1343. "A la
quinzeme de Pask "

XXI Edward III, 1347 William de Elsynge, Rot.

Thorpe Pari., Vol. II,
164

XXII Edward III, William de Elsynge and i?o/.

1348 Thorpe again Pari., Vol. II,

p. 200

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

345

Close of Office Constituency

Subsequent
Rank or Style

Remarks

Announced a naval
victory to the Com-
mons and undertook
to raise wools for the
King's aid. "Apres
grand trete & par-
lance eue entre les
Grantz & les dits
Chivalers & autre
les Communes "

" Les ditz Grantz &
autres de la Com-
mune qu ils se trais-
sent ensemble, &
s'avisent entre eux
c'est assaver les
grantz de p. eux &
les Chivalers des
Counteez & Burgeys
de p. eux "

" Et puis vindrent les
Chivalers de Coun-
teez et les Com-
munes & responder-
ent p' Mons' William
Trussell [to a com-
munication from the
Pope]. The Com-
mons met in the
Chambre Depeint or
Painted Chamber
and the Lords in the
Chambre Blanche

Chief Justice
1346

Baron of the
Exchequer,
1352

Elsynge considered that
the Chief Justice
habitually acted as
Speaker temp.%'EA-
ward III, though
the cause of sum-
mons was occa-
sionally delivered by
the Chancellor.
Thorpe was a Trier
of English and Irish
Petitions in 1346

346 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

XXV Edward III, and
36th Parliament
summoned to meet at
Westminster, 9 Feb
ruary, 1350-51

Speaker or other
Presiding Officer

William de

Shareshull

Authority

Rot. Pari., Vol.
II, p. 226

Date of
Appointment

XXV Edward III, and
37th Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, 1 3
January, 1351-52

William de

Shareshull
again

Rot. Pari., Vol.
II, p. 237

In 1354 William de Shareshull again declared the cause of summons, and
in 1355 he stated that the King was pleased to command the cause to be
delivered by Monsieur Walter de Manny, " overtement a totes gentz."

In 1362 the cause of summons was delivered by Monsieur Henry Green
in English.

' In 1363 Sir Henry Green, Chief Justice, told the Parliament in English (in
the Painted Chamber) that the King was ready to begin his Parliament,
but the cause of summons was subsequently delivered by the Bishop of Ely.

In 1372 the Chancellor, John Knyvet (in the Painted Chamber), and the
next day Sir Guy Brian (in the Chambre Blanche), "more particularly,"
declared the cause of summons.

L Edward III, 55th
Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 28
April, 1376

The Chancellor,
John Knyvet,
againdeclared
the cause of
summons

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

347

Close of Office Constituency

Subsequent
Rank or Style

Chief Justice
1350

Chief Justice
1361

Remarks

Pronounced the cause
of summons to Par-
liament and consid-
ered by Elsynge to
have acted as
Speaker. He was a
Trier of Petitions
from Flanders in
1340

The Commons now
meet in the Chapter
House of the Abbey.
The Lords in the
Chambre Blanche.
" Et q le remenant
des Communes se
trahissent el Chapitre
de Westminster." (A
committee of the
Commons)

Rot.Parl.y ol. II, p. 237

So early as 1347 Walter
de Manny had been
a Trier of Petitions

In 1 3 54 Green acted as
a Trier of Petitions
for England

Chancellor of
England
1372-77

Died 1 38 1. As early as
1362 Knyvet had
been a Trier of Peti-
tions for foreign
parts, whilst Brian
acted in a similar
capacity for England
in 1354

In this Parliament the
Commons were under
the leadership of Sir
Peter de la Mare,
though there is no
mention in the Rolls
of his having been
formally elected to
the chair.

348 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

LI Edward III, and
56th Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, 27
January, 1376-77;
sat till 2 March

Speaker

Authority

Date of
Appointment

Sir Thomas Rot. Pari., Vol. January, 1376-7

Hungerford II, p. 374

I Richard II, and ist
Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 13 Oc-
tober, 1377

Sir Peter de la Rot. Pari., Vol. October, 1377
Mare III, p. 5

II Richard II, and 2nd Sir James
Parliament sum- Pickering
moned to meet at
Gloucester, 20 Oc-
tober, 1378

Rot. Pari., Vol. 22 October, 1378
HI- p. 34

III Richard II, and Sir John Rot. Pari., Vol. January, 1379-

4th Parliament sum- Guildesborough III, p. 73 80

moned to meet at
Westminster, 16
January, 1379-80

Sir John Rot. Pari., Vol. November, 1380

Guildesborough III, p. 89
again

Sir Richard
Waldegrave

Rot. Pari., Vol.
Ill, p. 100

3 November,
1381

IV Richard II, and
5th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Northampton, s No-
vember, 1380

V Richard II, and
6th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 16 Sep-
tember, 1381, and
his prorogation,
3 November, 1381

VI Richard II, and Sir James Pick- Rot. Pari., Vol. 23 February,
9th Parliament sum- ering again III, p. 145 1382-83
moned to meet at

Westminster, 23 Feb-
ruary, 1382-83

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

349

Close of Office Constituency

2 Maxch, 1376-7 Wats

Subsequent
Rank or Style

28 Nov., 1377 Hereford

Remarks

Died 1398 and was
buried at Farleigh
Hungerford, in the
county of Somerset.
Described in the
Rolls as the " Chi-
valer qi avoit les
paroles pur les Com-
munes d'Engleterre
en cest Parlement "

16 Nov., 1378 Westmorland

See also 141 3

10 March, Kent

1400-01

Again Speaker in
1403-4, and died in
1410. Memorial
brass in Bobbing
Church, Kent

Possibly Savage was
again Speaker, but
the Rolls do not
mention him at this
date

25 Nov., 1402 Lincolnshire

Died circa 1404. He
owned lands at Hey-
ling, Lincolnshire

2 A

354 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

Speaker

V Henry IV, and sth Sir Arnold Sa-

vage again

Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Coventry, 3 Decem-
ber, 1403, and actu-
ally met there, and
at Westminster, after
prorogation, 14 Jan-
uary, 1403-04

VI Henry IV, and 6th Sir William
Parliament sum- Sturmy, or
moned to meet at Esturmy
Coventry, 6 October,
1404

Authority

Rot. Pari., Vol.
HI, P- 523

Date of
Appointment

IS Jan., 1403-4

Rot. Pari., Vol. 7 October, 1404
HI, p. 546

VII Henry IV, and 7th Sir John Tiptoft Rot. Pari., Vol. 2 March, 1405-6
Parliament sum- III, p. 568

moned to meet at
Coventry, 15 Febru-
ary 1405-06 (after-
wards at Gloucester),
and, after proroga-
tion, met at West-
minster, I March,
1405-06

IX Henry IV, and Thomas Rot. Pari., Vol. 25 October,i407

Sth Parliament sum- Chaucer III, p. 609

moned to meet at
Gloucester, 20 Oc-
tober, 1407

XI Henry IV, and Thomas Rot. Pari., Vol. 28 Jan., 1409-10

9th Parliament sum- Chaucer III, p. 623

moned to meet at again
Westminster, 27 Jan-
uary, 1409-10

XIII Henry IV, and Thomas Rot. Pari., VoL S Nov., 2411

loth Parliament Chaucer III, p. 648

summoned to meet again
at Westminster,
3 November, 141 1

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

355

Close of Office

C. lo April,
1403-4

Constituency
Kent

Subsequent
Rank or Style

Remarks
Died 1410

14 November,
1404

Devon

" Parliamentum indoc-
torum " or Lajrmen's
Parliament

22 December, Huntingdon- Baron Tiptoft
1406 shire 1426

The first Speaker to be
raised to the Peerage.
Died 1443

3 December, Oxfordshire

1407

9 May, 1 4 10 Oxfordshire

Believed to be son of
the poet. Died 1434.
Buried at Ewelme,
Oxon. The Commons
were directed to as-
semble in the Fratry
of the Abbey at
eight o'clock

19 December, Oxfordshire
141 1

The King, in replying
to the Speaker's ex-
cuse on presentation
for the royal accept-
ance, said : " Qar il
ne vorroit aucune-
ment avoir nulle
manieredeNovellerie
en cest Parlement"

356 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

XIV Henry IV, and
nth Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, 3
February, 1412-13

Speaker

Speaker un-
known

Authority

Date of
Appointment

I Henry V, and ist William Stour- Rot. Pari., Vol. 18 May, 1413
Parliament sum- ton. " Gisoit IV, pp. 4, 5
moned to meet at cy malades en

son lyt qu'il

ne purroit

pluis outre

entendre d'oc-

cupier le dit

oflBce de Par-
lour"

Westminster, 14 May
1413

Ditto

John Dorewood Rot. Pari., Vol. 3 June, 141 3
again IV, p. 5

II Henry V, and 2nd Sir Walter Hun- Rot. Pari., Vol. i May, 1414
Parliament sum- gerford IV, p. 16

moned to meet at
Leicester, 30 April,
1414

II Henry V, and 3rd Thomas Rot. Pari., Vol. 19 Nov., 1414

Parliament sum- Chaucer IV, p. 35

moned to meet at again
Westminster, 19 No-
vember, 1414

III Henry V, and
4th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 21 Oct.,
141S, and, by pro-
rogation, on 4 Nov.

Richard Red-
man, or Red-
mayne

Rot. Pari., Vol.
IV, p. 63

5 Nov., 1415

III Henry V, and
5th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 16 Mar.
1415-16

Sir Walter

Beauchamp

Rot. Pari., Vol.
IV, p. 71

18 Mar., 1415-16

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 357

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

3 June, 1413 Dorset (?) Died 141 7. Ancestor

of Baron Stourton

9 June, 1413 Essex

29 May, 1414 Wats Baron Hunger- Son of Sir Thomas

ford, 1425-26 Hungerford (Speaker
in 1377), died 1449,
and was buried in
Salisbury Cathedral

Date of dissolu- Oxfordshire
tion not as-
certained

Sat less than a Yorkshire Died 1426

fortnight

May, 141 6 Wiltshire Styled " Prolocutor "

358 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

Speaker

Authority

Date of
Appointment

IV Henry V, a.hd 6th Roger Flower
Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 19 Oc-
tober 1416

V Henry V, and 7th Roger Flower
Parliament sum- again
moned to meet at
Westminster, 16 No-
vember, 1417

VII Henry V, and Roger Flower
8th Parliament sum- again
moned to meet at
Westminster, 16 Oc-
tober, 1419

VIII Henry V, and Roger Hunt
9th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 2 Dec,

1420

Rot. Pari., Vol. October, 14 16
IV, p. 95

Rot. Pari., Vol. November, 14 17
IV, p. 107

Rot. Pari., Vol. October, 1419
IV, p. 117

Rot. Pari., Vol. 4 Dec, 1420
IV, p. 123

IX Henry V, and Thomas

loth Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, 2
May, 1 42 1

Rot. Pari., Vol. May, 1421

again

Chaucer IV, p. 1 30

IX Henry V. and Richard Rot. Pari., Vol.

nth Parliament Baynard IV, p. 151

summoned to meet
at Westminster,
I December, 142 1

3 Decemberi42i

I Henry VI, and ist Roger Flower
Parliament sum- again
moned to meet at
Westminster, 9 Nov.,
1422

Rot. Pari., Vol. 11 Nov., 1422
IV, p. 170

II Henry VI, and Sir John Russell Rot. Pari., Vol. 21 Oct., 1423

2nd Parliament sum
moned to meet at
Westminster, 20 Oc-
tober, 1423

IV, p. 198

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

i8 November, Rutland Died 1428

1416

17 December, Rutland
1417

November, 1419 Rutland

359

Date of close Bedfordshire
of this Parlia-
ment unascer-
tained

Date of close Oxfordshire
of Parliament
unascertained

Date of close Essex
of Parliament
unascertained

Omitted by Hakewil at
this date. An'eminent
lawyer and a Baron
of the Exchequer.
Memorial brass dated
1473 at Gt. Linford,
Bucks, may represent
him or his son

First to be five times
Speaker. Died 1434
and was buried at
Ewelme, Oxfordshire,
where his monument
and brciss remain

(Not mentioned in Dic-
tionary of National
Biography)

18 December, Rutland
1422

28 February, Herefordshire
1423-24

36o SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

Speaker

III Henry VI, and Sir Thomas
3rd Parliament Walton, or
summoned to meet Wauton

at Westminster,
30 April, 1425

IV Henry VI, and Sir Richard
4th Parliament sum- Vernon
moned to meet at
Leicester, 18 Febru-
ary, 1425-26

Authority

Date of
Appointment

Rot. Pari., Vol. 2 May, 1425
IV, p. 262

Rot. Pari., Vol. 28 Feb., 1425-26
IV, p. 296

VI Henry VI, and Sir John Tyrrell Rot. Pari., \o\, 15 October, 1427
5 th Parliament sum- IV, p. 317

moned to meet at
Westminster, 13 Oc-
tober, 1427

VIII Henry VI, and William Aling- Rot. Pari, Vol. 23 Sept., 1429
6th Parliament sum- ton IV, p. 336

moned to meet at
Westminster, 22 Sep-
tember, 1429

IX Henry VI, and
7th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 12 Jan-
uary, 1430-31

Sir John Tyrrell
again

Rot. Pari., Vol.
IV, p. 368

13 Jan., 1430-31

X Henry VI, and
8th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 1 2 May,
1432

Sir John Russell
again

Rot. Pari., Vol.
IV, p. 389

14 May, 1432

XI Henry VI, and
9th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 8 July,
1433

Roger Hunt
again

Rot. Pari., Vol.
IV, p. 420

10 July, 1433

XIV Henry VI, and John Bowes
10th Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, 10
October, 1435

Rot. Pari., Vol.
IV, p. 482

12 October, 1 43 5

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKEBLS

361

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style

14 July, 1425 Bedfordshire

Remarks

Died 1437. Owned
lands at Great
Staughton, Hunts

I June, 1426 Derbyshire

Died 1451. Ancestor
of Lord Vernon

25 March, 1428 Herts

Died 1437

23 Feb., 1429-30 Cambridgeshire

20 March,
1430-31

Essex

17 July, 1432 Herefordshire

21 December, Huntingdon-
1433 shire

23 December, Nottingham-
r43S shire

(Not mentioned in Dic-
tionary of Nationa
Biography)

362 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

Speaker

Authority

Date of
Appointment

XV Henry VI, and Sir John Tyrrell Rot. Pari., Vol. 23 Jan., 1436-37
nth Parliament again IV, p. 496

summoned to meet
at Westminster, 21
January, 1436-37

Ditto

William Burley, Rot. Pari., Vol. i9Mar.,i436-37
or Boerley IV, p. 502

XVIII Hemry VI, and 'W^liam Rot. Pari., Vol. 13 Nov., 1439

1 2th Parliament Tresham V, p. 4

summoned to meet
at Westminster, 12
November, 1439

XX Henry VI, and William Rot. Pari., Vol. 26 Jan., 1441-42

13th Parliament Tresham V, p. 36

summoned to meet again
at Westminster, 25
January, 1441-42

summoned to meet
at Westminster, 25
February, 1444-45

XXIII Henry VI, and William Burley Rot. Pari., Vol. 26 Feb., 1444-45
14th Parliament again V, p. 67 ; and

Appendix to
Return of
Name s of
Members of
Parliament,
p. xxiii, where
he is styled
"Prolocutor"

XXV Henry VI, and WilUam Rot. Pari., Vol. 1 1 Feb., 1446-47

15 th Parliament Tresham V, p. 129

summoned to meet again
at Bury St. Ed-
munds, 10 February,
1446-47

XXVII Henry VI, and
16th Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, 12
February, 1448-49

Sir John Say Rot. Pari., Vol. 13 Feb., 1448-49
V, p. 141

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

363

Close of Office
March

Constititency
Essex

Subsequent
Rank or Style

Remarks

2 J March, 1437 Salop

1440

Northants

Murdered atThorpIand,
Northants, 1450.
Owned lands at
Sywell, Northants.
Leland, in his Itiner-
ary, gives a circum-
stantial account of
his death

2 J May, 1442 Northants

9 April, 1445 Salop

3 March,
1446-47

Northants

16 July, 1449 Cambridgeshire

Died 1478. Buried in
Broxboume Church,
Herts, where his me-
morial brass remains

364 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

Authority

Date of
Appointment

XXVIII Henry VI, Sir John Rot. Pari., Vol. 8 Nov., 1449

and 17th Parliament Popham V, p. 171

summoned to meet
at Westminster, 6
November, 1449

Ditto

William

Tresham
again

Rot. Pari,, Vol. 8 Nov., 1449
V, p. 172

XXIX Henry VI, and Sir William
i8tli Parliament Oldhall

summoned to meet
at Westminster, 6
November, 1450

Rot. Pari., Vol. 7 Nov., 1450
V, p. 210

XXXI Henry VI, and Thomas Thorpe Rot. Pari., Vol. 8 Mar., 1452-53
19th Parliament V, p. 227

summoned to meet
at Reading, 6 Har.,
1452-53

XXXII Henry VI, and Sir Thomas Rot. Pari, \ol, 16 Feb., 1453-54

19th Parliament Charlton V, p. 240

— continued

XXXHI Henry VI, Sir John

and 20th Parliament
simimoned to meet
at Westminster, 9
July, 1455

Wenlock

Rot. Pari., Vol.
V, p. 280 ;
and Appendix
to Return of
N a mes of
Members of
Parliament,
p. xxiii, where
he is styled
"Prolocutor"

10 July, 1455

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

365

Close of Office Constituency

Excused on Hants

ground of ill-
health

Subsequent
Rank or Style

Remarks
Died c. 1463

Spring, 1450 Northants

This Parliament, after
being prorogued over
Christinas, reassem-
bled 22 January, and
was sitting on 17
March. In April it
met again at Leices-
ter

May, 1451

Herefordshire

Died 1460. Buried in
St. Michael, Pater-
noster Royal, Lon-
don

16 February,
1453-54

Essex

Beheaded at Haringay
Park, Middlesex, 1461

AprU, 1454

Middlesex

In place of Thorpe im-
prisoned. (Not men-
tioned in D.N.B.)

January,
1455-56

Bedfordshire

Lord Wenlock
146 1

Killed at the battle of
Tewkesbury, 1471

366 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

Speaker

XXXVIII Henry VI, Sir Thomas

and 2 1 St Parliament
summoned to meet
at Coventry, 20 No-
vember, 1459

Tresham

Authority

Rot. Pari.. Vol.
V, p. 345 ;
and Appendix
to Return of
Names of
Members of
Parliament, p.
xxiv, where
he is styled
"Prolocutor"

Daie of
Appointment

21 Nov., 1459

XXXIX Henry VI, John Green
and 22nd Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, 7
October, 1460

Rot. Pari., Vol. 8 October, 1460
V, p. 373

I Edward IV, and Sir James
1st Parliament sum- Strangeways

moned to meet at
Westminster, 4 No-
vember, 1 46 1

Rot. Pari., Vol. 5 Nov., 1461
V. p. 462 ;
and Appendix
to Names of
Members of
Parliament, p.
xxiv, where
he is styled
" Prolocutor"

III Edward IV, and Sir John Say
2nd Parliament sum- again
moned to meet at
Westminster, 29 Ap-
ril, 1463

Rot. Part., Vol.
V, p. 497 :
and Appendix
to Names of
Members of
Parliament, p.
XXV, where
he is styled
" Prolocutor"

30 April, 1463

VII Edward IV, and Sir John Say
3rd Parliament sum- again
moned to meet at
Westminster, 3 June,
1467

Rot. Pari., Vol. $ June, 1467
V, p. 572

IX Edward IV, and No Speaker
4th Parliament sum- chosen
moned to meet at
York, 22 Sept., 1469

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

367

Close of Office

20 December,
1459

Constituency
Northants

Subsequent
Rank or Style

Remarks

Beheaded at Tewkes-
bury, 147 1

Only sat about Essex
ten days

(Not mentioned in D.
N.B.)

6 May, 1461-62 Yorkshire

146S

Herts

Introduced a new pre-
cedent. Besides mak-
ing the customary
" excuse " on elec-
tion he offered a
formal address to
Crown on the politi-
cal situation. Buried
in St. Mary Ovary's,
Southwark

May, 1468

Herts

368 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

X Edwaxd IV, and
5th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 26 No-
vember, 1470

Speaker

; Authority

Date of
Appointment

XII Edward IV, and
6th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 6 Oct.,
1472

William Aling- Rot. Pari., Vol. 7 October, 1472
ton VI, p. 4

XVII Edward IV, and
7th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 16 Jan-
uary, 1477-78

William Aling-
ton again

Rot. Pari., Vol.
VI, p. 168

17 Jan., i47;-78

XXII Edward IV, and
8th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 20 Jan-
uary, 1482-83

John Wood,
Wode

Rot. Pari, Vol.
VI, p. 197 ;
and Appendix
to Return of
N a me s of
Members of
Parliament, p.
XXV, where
he is styled
" Prolocutor"

21 Jan., 1482-83

I Richard III, and William

1st Parliament sum- Catesby

moned to meet at
Westminster, 23 Jan-
uary, 1483-84

Rot. Pari., Vol. 24 Jan., 1483-84
VI, p. 238 ;
and Appendix
to Return of
Names of
Members of
Parliament, p.
XXV, where
he is styled
" Prolocutor"

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

Close of Office Constituency

Subsequent
Rank or Style

14 March, 1474- Cambridgeshire
75

369

Remarks

No particulars known.
Henry VI again tem-
porarily dominant,
and records, if any
were kept, probably
destroyed by order
of Edward IV

Date of close
of Parliament
unascertained
but it sat
about five
weeks

Cambridgeshire

Believed to have been
buried in Bottisham
Church, Cambridge-
shire, in an altar
tomb from which
the brass has dis-
appeared

February,
1482-83

Sussex (prob-
ably)

There is some doubt as
to whether he repre-
sented Surrey or Sus-
sex, but the latter
appears to be more
probable

20 February,
1483-84

Northants

Beheaded 1485, after
the Battle of Bos-
worth. Memorial
brass in the church
at Ashby St. Ledgers,
Northants

2 B

370 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

Henry VII, and
I St Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 7 Nov.,
1485

Speaker

Sir Thomas

Lovell

Authority

Rot. Pari., Vol.
VI, p. 268 ;
and Appendix
to Return of
Names of
Members of
Parliament, p.
xxvi, where
he is styled
"Prolocutor"

Date of

8 Nov., 148s

III Henry VII, and
2nd Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 9 Nov.,
1487

Sir John

Mordaunt

Rot. Pari., Vol.
VI, p. 386;
and Appendix
to Return of
Names of
Members of
Parliament, p.
xxvi, where
he is styled
"Prolocutor"

10 Nov., 1487

IV Henry VII, and
3rd Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 13 Jan-
uary, 1488-89

Sir Thomas

Fitzwilliam

Rot. Pari., Vol.
VI, p. 410 ;
and Appendix
to Return of
Names of
Members of
Parliament, p.
xxvi, where
he is styled
" Prolocutor"

14 Jan., 1488-89

VII Henry VII, and
4th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 17 Oc-
tober, 149 1

Sir Richard

Empson

Rot. Pari., Vol.
VI, p. 440 ;
and Appendix
to Return of
Names of
Members of
Parliament, p.
xxvi, where
he is styled
"Prolocutor"

18 October,i49i

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

Close of Office Constituency

March, i486 Northants

Subsequent
Rank or Style

371

Remarks

The last of the martial
Speakers. Died 1524,
Bronze medaUion
portrait by Torre-
giano now placed in
Henry VII's Chapel,
Westminster Abbey

Date of close Bedfordshire
of Parliament
unascertained

Chancellor of Died 1506. Monu-
the Duchy of mental effigy at
Lancaster Tuivey, Beds.

Feb. 27, 1490 Yorkshire

(Not mentioned in
D.N.B.) Died 1495

March, 1491-92 Northants

Chancellor of Beheaded with Dudley
the Duchy of 1510
Lancaster

372 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Date of

Parliament

Speaker

Authority

Appointment

XI Henry VII, and

Sir Robert

Rot. Pari., Vol.

15 October, 1495

Sth Parliament sum-

Drury

VI, p. 458;

moned to meet at

(Choice of

Westminster, 14 Oc-

Speaker de-

tober, 1495

clared by a
Committee
without nam-
ing the person
elected)

XII Henry VII, on 24

Sir Reginald

Appendix to Re-

October, 1496, a

Bray (Pre-

turn of Names

great Council, rather

sident or

of Members of

than a Parliament,

Chairman)

Parliament, p.

met at Westminster

xxvii

XII Henry VII, and

Sir Thomas

Rot. Pari.. Vol.

19 Jan., 1496-9;

6th Parliament sum-

Englefield

VI, p. 5 10;

moned to meet at

and Appendix

Westminster, 16 Jan-

to Return of

uary, 1496-97

Name s of
Members of
Parliament, p.
xxvii •

XIX Henry VII, and

Edmond

Rot. Pari., Vol.

26 Jan., 1503-04

7th Parliament sum-

Dudley

VI, p. 521:

moned to meet at

and Appendix

Westminster, 25

to Return of

January, 1503-04

Name s of
Members of
Parliament, p.
xxvii, where
he is styled
" Prolocutor"

I Henry VIII, and

Sir Thomas

Appendix to

23 Jan., 1509-10

ist Parliament sum-

Engleiield

official Return

moned to meet at

again

of Names of

Westminster, 21 Jan-

Members of

uary, 1509-10

Parliament, p.
xxviii, where
he is styled
" Prolocutor"

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 373

Subsequent

Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

Date of the close Suffolk Died 1536. Monu-

of this Pax- mental effigy in St.

liament unas Mary's Church, Bury

certained St. Edmund's

Bedfordshire or Chancellor of Died 1503, and was

Northants in the Duchy of buried in St.George's

Parliament of Lancaster Chapel, Windsor

495 Castle, but without

a monument

Date of close Berkshire (Not mentioned in

of this Par- D.AT.B.) Died 1514

liament unas-
certained

Date of close Staffordshire Advocate of absolute

of this Par- monarchy. Beheaded

liament unas- with Empson 1510

certained

23 February, Berkshire Died 1514

1509-10

374 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

Speaker

III Henry VIII, and Sir Robert
2nd Parliament sum- Sheffield

moned to meet at
Westminster, 4 Feb.;
1511-12

Authority

Appendix to
official Return
of Names of
Members of
Parliament, p.
xxviii, where
he is styled
"Prolocutor"

Date of
Appointment

S Feb., 1511-12

VI Henry VIII, and Sir Thomas
3rd Parliament sum- Nevill

moned to meet at
Westminster, 5 Feb.,
1514-15, but met
ultimately at Black-
friars

Appendix to 6 Feb., 1514-15
official Return
of Names of
Members of
Parliament, p.
xxviii, where
he is styled
"Prolocutor"

XIV Henry VIII, and Sir Thomas
4th Parliament sum- More

moned to meet at
Black Friars, 15 Ap-
ril, 1523

Appendix to 16 April, 1533

official Return

of Names of

Members of

Parliament, p.

xxviii, where

he is styled

" Prolocutor"

XXI Henry VIII, and Sir Thomas
5 th Parliament sum- Audley

moned to meet at
Westminster, 3 Nov.,
1529

Appendix to
Return of
Names of
Members of
Parliament, p.
xxix, where
he is styled
" Prolocutor"

5 Nov., 1529

Ditto

Sir Humphrey Gobbett's 9 Feb., 1533

Wingfield Parliamentary
History, Vol.
I, p. 524

XXVIII Henry VIII, Sir Richard

and 6th Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, 8
June, 1536

Rich

Cobbett's 9 June, 1536

Parliamentary
History, Vol.
I. p. 529

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

375

Close of Office
7 Dec, 1513

Constituency
Lincolnshire

Subseqtteni
Rank or Style

Remarks

Died 15 18. Bvuried in
the Church of the
Augustinian Friars,
London

22 Dec, 1515 Kent

Diecl 1 542. Memorial
brass in Mereworth
Church, Kent

13 August, 1523 Middlesex

Lord Chancellor Beheaded 1535

26 Jan., 1533 Essex

Lord Chancellor.
Lord Audley
1538

Died 1 544

4 April, 1536 Great Yar-
mouth

The first Speaker to
sit for a borough
constituency. Died
1545. This was the
longest Parliament
known to this date

18 July, 1536 Colchester

Lord Chancellor

1547-51-
Lord Rich

Died 1567

376 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

Speaker

Authority

Date of
Appointment

XXXI Henry VIII, Sir Nicholas
and 7th Parliament Hare

summoned to meet
at Westminster, 28
April, 1539

Cobbett's 28 April, 1539

Parliamentary
History, Vol.
I. P- 536

XXXIII Henry VIII, Sir Thomas
and 8th Parliament Moyle

summoned to meet
at Westminster, 16
January, 1541-42

Cobbett's 19 Jan., 1541-42

Parliamentary
History, Vol.
I. P- SSO

Sir John Baker

XXXVII Henry VIII,
and 9th Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, 23
November, 1545

I Edward VI, and Sir John Baker
1st Parliament met again
in St. Stephen's
Chapel, Westminster,
4 November, 1547

November, 1545

Acts of the
Privy Coun-
cil (edited
by Sir J. R.
Dasent), Vol.
II, p. 24

Commons Jour- 4 Nov., 1547
nals. Vol. I,
p. I

VII Edward VI, and Sir James Dyer Commons Jour- 2 Mar., 1553-53
2nd Parliament sum- nals. Vol. I,

moned to meet at p. 24

Westminster, 1 Mar.,
1552-53

I Mary, and istParlia- Sir John Pollard Cobbett's 5 October, 1553

ment summoned to Parliamentary

meet at Westminster, History, Vol.

5 October, 1553 I, p, 607

I Mary, and 2nd Par- Sir Robert Cobbett's 2 April, 1554

liament summoned Brooke Parliamentary

to meet at West- History, Vol.

minster, 2 April, I, p. 613

1554

I and II Philip and Sir Clement
Mary, and ist Par- Heigham

liament summoned
to meet at Westmin-
ster, 12 Nov., 1554

Cobbett's 12 Nov., 1554

Parliamentary
History, Vol.
I, p. 617

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 377

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

34 July, 1540 Norfolk Master of the Died 1557

Rolls IS S3

28 March, IS44 Kent Died 1560

31 Jan.,iS46-47 Huntingdon- Chancellor of Died 1558
shire the Exchequer

IS April, 1552 Huntingdon- Died 1558

shire

31 March Cambridgeshire Chief Justice of Died 1S82

the Common
Pleas

S December Oxfordshire Died ISS7

S May London Chief Justice of Died 15S8. The first

the Common Speaker to represent

Pleas the City of London.

Monument in Cla-

verley Church, near

Wolverhampton

16 Jan.,i5S4-SS West Looe Chief Baron of Died 1570. Memorial

the Exchequer brass in Barrow
Church, Suffolk

378 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

II and III Philip and
Mary, and 2nd Par-
liament summoned
to meet at West-
minster, 21 October,
iSSS

Speaker

Sir John Pollard
again

Authority

Commons Jour-
nals, Vol. I,
p. 42

Date of
Appointment

21 Oct., ISS5

IV and V Philip and Sir William Commons Jour- 20 Jan., 1557-58

Mary, and 3rd Par- Cordell nals. Vol. I,

liament summoned p. 47

to meet at Westmin-
ster, 20 January,
ISS7-S8

I Elizabeth, and ist Sir Thomas Commons Jour- 25 Jan.,[i558-S9

Parliament sum- Gargrave nals, Vol. I,

moned to meet at p. S3

Westminster, 25 Jan-
uary, 1558-59

V Elizabeth, and 2nd Thomas

Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 1 1 Jan-
uary, 1562-63

Williams

Symonds
D'Ewes,
Journals,
P- 79

12 Jan., 1562-63

VIII Elizabeth, and Richard Onslow S5anonds
2nd Parliament. D'Ewes,

Second session began Journals,

30 September, 1566 p. 121

I October, 1566

XIII Elizabeth, and Sir Christopher Sjrmonds
3rd Parliament sum- Wray D'Ewes,

moned to meet at Journals,'

Westminster,2 April, p. 156 ,

1571

2 April, 1571

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

379

Close of Office Constituency

9 December,

ISS5

Exeter or Chip-
penham. The
latter is the
moreprobable
as the official
return gives
the name as
Johannes PoU
lard " Armi-
ger," whereas
the member
for Exeter is
called ' Miles,'
and the Spea-
ker was not a
knight in I sss

Sttbseqtient
Rank or Style

Remarks

Died 1557

17 November,
1SS8

Suffolk

Master of the Died 1581
Rolls

8 May, 1559 Yorkshire

Vice-President Died 1579
of the Council
of the North

10 April, 1563 Exeter

Died 1566. Buried in
Harford Church, Co.
Devon

2 Jan., 1566-67 Steyning

Died 1571

29 May, 1571 Ludgershall Chief Justice of Died 1592

the Queen's
Bench

38o SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Date of

Parliament

Speaker

Authority

Appointment

XIV Elizabeth, and

Sir Robert Bell

Symonds

8 May, 1572

4th;Parliament sum-

D'Ewes,

moned to meet at

Journals,

Westminster, 8 May,

p. 205

1 572;

Commons Jour-

nals, Vol. I,
p. 94, which
gives the date
of his election
as 10 May

Ditto — continued. 4th

Sir John

Commons Jour-

18 Jan., 1580-81

and last session te-

Popham

nals, Vol. I,

gan 16 January,

p. 117

1580-81

XXVII Elizabeth, and

Sir John

Symonds

23 Nov., 1584

Sth Parliament sum-

Puckermg

D'Ewes,

moned to meet at

Journals,

Westminster, 23 No-

P- 333

vember, 1584

XXVIII Elizabeth, and

Sir John

Symonds

29 Oct., 1586

6th Parliament sum-

Puckering

D'Ewes,

moned to meet at

again

Journals,

Westminster, 29 Oct.

p. 392

1586

XXXI Elizabeth, and

Thomas Snagge

Symonds

4 Feb., 1588-89

7th Parliament sum-

D'Ewes,

moned to meet at

Journals,

Westminster, 4 Feb.,

p. 428

1588-89

XXXV Elizabeth, and
Sth Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 19 Feb-
ruary, 1592-93

Sir Edward

Coke

Symonds
D'Ewes,
Journals,
p. 469

19 Feb., 1592-93

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

381

Close of Office Constituency

Subsequent
Rank or Style

Remarks

1576

Lyme Regis

Chief Baron of Died 1577
the Exchequer

19 April, 1583,
but the House
did not sit
after i8 Mar.,
1580-81

Bristol

Chief Justice of
the King's
Bench

Died 1607

14 Sept., 1586 Carmarthen

Lord Keeper of
the Great Seal
1592

Died 1 596

23 March,
1586-87

Gatton

29 March, 1589 Bedford

Died 1593. (The Dic-
tionary of National
Biography says he
was chosen on 12
November, 1588, but
there was no Parlia-
ment in session at
that date)

10 April, 1593 Norfolk

Chief Justice of Died 1634
the Common
Pleas 1606,
Chief Justice
of the King's
Benchi6i3-i6

382 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

XXXIX Elizabeth,and
9th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 24 Oct.
1 597

Speaker

Sir Christopher
Yelverton

Authority

Symonds
D'Ewes,
Journals,
p. 550

Date of
Appointment

24 Oct., 1597

XLIII Elizabeth, and Sir John Croke
loth Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, 27
October, 1601

I James I, and ist Par-
liament summoned
to meet at West-
minster, 19 March,
1603-04

Sir Edward

Phelips

Symonds
D'Ewes,
Journals,
p. 621

Commons Jour-
nals, Vol. I,
p. 141

27 October, 1601

19 Mar., 1603-4

XII James I, and Sir Randolph Commons Jour- 5 April, 1614
2nd Parliament sum- Crewe nals. Vol. I,

moned to meet at p. 455

Westminster, S April,
1614

XVIII James I, and
3rd Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 16 Jan.
1620-21

Sir Thomas
Richardson

Commons Jour- 30 Jan., 1620-21
nals, Vol. I,
p. 507

XXI James I, and
4th Paxliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 12
February, 1623-24.
King's speech de-
livered 19 February

Sir Thomas Commons Jour- 19 Feb., 1623-24

Crewe nals. Vol. I,
p. 670

I Charles I, and ist
Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 1 7May ,
1625. (Adjourned to
Oxford)

Sir Thomas

Crewe
again

There is no men-
tion in the
Journals of
his re-election
to the Chair.

Cobbett's
Parliamentary
History, Vol.

n, p. 3

18 June, 1625

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style

383

Remarks

9 Feb., 1597-98 Northants Justice of the Died 1612

Queen's
Bench

19 December, London
1601

Judge and Re- Died 1620
corder of Lon-
don

9 Feb., 1610-11 Somerset

Master of the Died 1614
Rolls 161 1

7 June, 1614 ? Brackley

Chief Justice of Died 1646
the King's
Bench

8 Feb., 1621-22 St. Albans

Chief Justice of Died 1635
the Common
Pleas 1626

27 March, 1625, Aylesbury
but the House
did not sit
after 29 May,
1624

Died 1634

12 August, 1625 Gatton

384 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

I Chaxles I, and 2nd
Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 6 Feb.,
1625-26

Speaker

Authority

Date of
Appointment

Sir Heneage Commons Jour- 6 Feb., 1625-26

Finch nals, Vol. I,
p. 816

III Charles I, and 3rd Sir John Finch
Parliament summon-
ed to meet at West-
minster, 17 March,
1627-28

Commons Jour- 17 Mar., 1627-28
nals, Vol.11,
p. 872

XVI Charles I, 4th Sir John Commons Jour- 13 April, 1640

or "Short" Parlia- Glanville nals. Vol. II,

ment summoned to p. 3

meet at Westminster
13 April, 1640

XVI Charles I, Sth William
or " Long " Parlia- Lenthall

ment summoned to
meet at Westminster
3 November, 1640.
Dispersed by Crom-
well, 20 April, 1653

Commons Jour- 3 Nov., 1640
nals. Vol. II,
p. 20

1 647 — continued

Henry Pelham

" Long " Parliament William Len-
and " Rump " Par- thall again
liament

Commons Jour- 30 July, 1647
nals. Vol. V,
p. 259

Commons Jour- 6 August, 1647 ;

nals. Vol. V, returned to

p. 268 the Chair

" Barebones " or Little Rev. Francis Commons Jour- 5 July, 1653

Parliament met 4 Rous nals. Vol. VII,

July, 1653. (Len- p. 281

thall not a member
of it)

First Parliament of William Len-
Oliver, Protector, as- thall again
sembled 3 September
1654

Second Parliament of Sir Thomas
Oliver, Protector, as- Widdrington
sembled 17 Septem-
ber, 1656

Commons Jour- 4 Sept., 1654
nals. Vol. VII,
P- 365

Commons Jour-
nals, Vol. vir,
P- 423

17 Sept., 1656

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

Subseqteent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

IS June, 1626 London Died 163 1

10 March, Canterbury Lord Keeper of Died 1660

1628-29 the Great Seal

1639-40
Baron Finch of
Fordwich

385

5 May, 1640

Bristol

Died 1 66 1

Held office till Woodstock
26 July, 1647,
when he aban-
doned the post
to join the
Army

Master of the Died 1662
Rolls, and a
Commissioner
of the Great
Seal

5 August, 1647 Grantham

(Not mentioned by
Manning or D.N.B.)

20 April, 1653 Woodstock

12 December, 7 Devonshire Sat in Crom- Died 1659
1653 well's House

of Lords

22 Jan., 1654-55 Oxfordshire

4 Feb., 1657-58 Northumber- Chief Baron of Died 1664. Buried in

land the Exche- St. Giles's - in - the -
quer 1658-60 Fields

2 C

386 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

Second Parliament of
Oliver, Protector —
continued

Speaker

Bulstrode

Whitelocke

Authority

Commons Jour-
nals, Ydl.VII.
p. 483

Date of
Appointment

27 Jan., 1656-57
appointed pro
tern. during
the absence of
Widdrington
from indispo-
sition

Parliament of Richard
Cromwell, Protector,
assembled 37 Jan.,
1658-59

Chaloner Chute Commons Jour- 27 Jan., 1658-59
nals.Yol. VII.
P- 594

Ditto

Sir Lislebone Commons Jour-
Long nais. Vol. VII,
p. 612

9 Mar., 1658-59

Ditto

Thomas Commons Jour-

Bampfylde nals. Vol. VII,
p. 613

16 Mar., 1658-59
and formally
chosen, 1 5 Ap-
ril, 1659, after
the death of
Chute

" Rump," or that por-
tion of the Long
Parliament which
had continued sitting
till ejected by Crom-
well, recalled

William Len-
thall again

Commons Jour-
nals.Yo\.Yn.
P- 797

7 May, 1659

The Rump restored a
second time

William Len-
thall again

William Say

Whole surviving body William Len-
of the Long Parlia- thall again
ment recalled after
Monk's arrival in
London

Cobbett's
Parliamentary
History, Vol.
Ill, p. 1571

Commons Jour-
nals, Vol.VII,
p. 811

26 Dec, 1659

13 Jan., 1659-60
(during Lent-
hall's absence
from indispo-
sition)

21 Jan., 1659-60

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style

387

Remarks

Buckingham- Commissioner Died 1675
shire of the Great
Seal 1648 and
1659

9 March,
1658-59

Middlesex

Died 1659

14 March, Wells

1658-59

Died 1659

22 April, 1659 Exeter

(Not mentioned in
D.N.B.) Died Oc-
tober 8, 1693, and
was buried in St.
Stephen's Church,
Exeter

Octoberi3,i6S9, Oxfordshire
when the

Rump was
expelled by
Lambert

13 Jan., 1659-60 Oxfordshire

21 January,
1659-60

Camelford

Died 1665 ?

1 6 March,
1659-60

Oxfordshire

388 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

XII Charles II, and
ist or Convention
Parliament summon-
ed to meet at West-
minster, 25 April,
1660

Speaker

Sir Harbottle

Grimston

Authority

Commons Jour-
nals.WolYIlI.
p. I

Date of
Appointment

25 April, 1660

XIII Charles II, and Sir Edward Commons Jour- 8 May, 1661

2nd or "Pensionary" Tumour »afc, Vol. VIII,

Parliament sum- p. 245

moned to meet at
Westminster, 8 May,
1661

Ditto

Sir Job Commons Jour- 4 Feb., 1672-73

Charlton nals, Vol. IX,
p. 24s

Ditto

Sir Edward Commons Jour- 18 Feb., 1672-73

Seymour nals. Vol. IX,
p. 253

Ditto

Sir Robert

Sawyer

Commons Jour- 11 April, 1678
nals. Vol. IX,
P-463

Ditto

Sir Edward

Seymour
again

XXXI Charles II, and Sir Edward
3rd Parliament sum- Sejrmour

moned to meet at again
Westminster, 6 Mar.,
1678-79

Commons Jour- 6 May, 1678
nals, Vol. IX,
p. 476

Cobbett's Pari. 6 Mar.. 1678-79
Hist., Vol. IV

Ditto

Sir William

Gregory

Cobbett's Pari. 15 Mar., 1678-79
Hist., Vol. IV

XXXI Charles II, and
4th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 17 Oc-
tober, 1679. Met for
business 21 October,
1680

Sir William

Williams

Commons Jour-
nals, Vol. IX,
p. 636

21 Oct., 1680

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

Stibseqttent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style

389

Remarks

29 December, Colchester
1660

Master of the Died 1685
Rolls

23 May, 1671 Hertford

Chief Baron of Died 1676
the Exche-
quer

IS February, Ludlow

1672-73

Justice of the Died 1697
Common
Pleas

II April, 1678 Totnes

A Lord of the Died 1708
Treasury

6 May, 1678 Wycombe

Attorney- Died 1692

General 1681-87

24 Jan., 1678-79 Totnes

IS March, 1678- Devonshire
79, when his
re-election to
the Chair was
refused by the
King

12 July, 1679 Weobley

Baron of the Died i6$6
Exchequer

18 Jan., 1680-81 Chester

Solicitor- Died 1700

General 1687

390 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

Speaker

Authority

Date of
Appointment

XXXIII Charles 11, Sir William Commons Jour- 21 Mar., 1680-8 1

and 5th Parliament Williams nals. Vol. IX,

summoned to meet again p. 705

at Oxford, 21 Mar.,
I 680-8 I

I James II, and ist Sir John Trevor Commons Jour- 19 May, 1685
Parliament sum- nals, Vol. IX,

moned to meet at P- 713

Westminster, 19 May,
168s

Convention Parliament Henry Powle
summoned to meet
at Westminster, 22
January, 1688-89

Commons Jour- 22 Jan., 1688-89
nals. Vol. X,
P- 9

II William and Mary,
and I St Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, 20
March, 1689-90

Ditto

Sir John Trevor Commons Jour-
again nals. Vol. X,

P- 347

Paul Foley

VII William and Mary, Paul Foley
and 2nd Parliament again
summoned to meet
at Westminster, 22
November, 1695

Commons Jour-
nals, Vol. XI,
p. 272

Commons Jour-
nals, Vol. XI,
P- 334

20 Mar., 1689-90

14 Mar., 1694-95

22 Nov., 1695

X William III, and Sir Thomas

3rd Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 24 Au-
gust, 1698, and met
for despatch of busi-
ness 6 December

Littleton

Commons Jour- 6 Dec, 1698
nals. Vol. XII,
P- 347

XII William III, and Robert Harley
4th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 6 Feb.,
1700-01

Commons Jour- 10 Feb., 1700-1
nals,\olXIU
P-325

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 391

Remarks

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style

28 March, 1681 Chester

2 July, 1687 Denbigh Master of the Expelled the House

Borough Rolls for taking bribes,

16 March, 1694-95.
Died 1717

6 February,
1688-89

Windsor (Whig) Master of the Died 1692
Rolls

14 March,
1694-95

Yarmouth, Isle
of Wight

(Whig)

II October, 1695 Hereford (Tory)

Died 1699

7 July, 1698 Hereford (Tory)

19 Dec, 1700 Woodstock Treasurer of the Died 1710. He re-

(Whig) Navy quested to be excused

£om executing the
office on the ground
that he suffered from
the stone

II Nov., 1 70 1 New Radnor Chancellor of Died 1724
(Tory) the Exche-

quer, Earl of
Oxford 1711

392 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

XIII William III, and
Sth Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 30 De-
cember, 1 70 1

Speaker

Robert Harley
again

Authority

Commons Jour-
nals.\ol.Xlll
p. 645

Date of
Appointment

30 Dec, 1701

I Anne, and ist Par-
liament summoned
to meet at West-
minster, 20 August,
1702, and met for
despatch of business
20 October

Robert Harley
again

Cobbett's
Parliamentary
History, Vol.
VI, p. 46.

20 Oct., 1702

IV Anne, and 2nd Par-
liament summoned
to meet at West-
minster, 14 June,
1705, and met for
despatch of business
2 5 October. Declared
First Parliament of
Great Britain, 29
April, 1707

John Smith

Commons Jour-
nals. Vol. XV.
pp. s and 393

25 Oct., 1705

VI Anne, and ist
Parliament of Great
Britain met at West-
minster, 23 October,
1707

Ditto

Commons Jour-
nals, Vol. XV,
P- 393

23 Oct.,'1707;

VII Anne, and 3rd
Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 8 July,
1708, and met for
despatch of business
16 November

Sir Richard

Onslow

Commons Jour-
Mafo.Vol. XVI,
p. 4

16 Nov., 1708

IX Anne, and 4th
Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 2 5 Nov.
1710

William
Bromley

Commons Jour-
nals,Yol.X\l.
p. 401

25 Nov., 1710

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 393

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

2 July, 1702 New Radnor Elected by a majority

(Tory) of four votes over Sir

Thomas Littleton

S April, 1 70s New Radnor
(Tory)

13 April, 1708 Andover (Whig) Chancellor of Died 1723

the Exchequer
1708-10

Andover (Whig)

21 Sept., 1710" Surrey (Whig) Chancellor of Died 1717

the Exchequer

1714-15-
Baron Onslow

8 August, 1713 Oxford Univer- Secretary of Died 1732
sity (Tory) State 1713-14

394 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

Speaker

Authority

Date of
Appointment

XII Anne, and sth Sir Thomas Commons Jour- i6Feb., 1713-14

Parliament sum- Hanmer naU, Vol.

moned to meet at XVII, p. 472

Westminster, 12 No-
vember, 171 3 ; and
met for despatch
of business 16 Feb.,
1713-14. Queen's
speech delivered 2
March

I George I, and ist Sir Spencer Commons Jour- i7Mar.,i7i4-i5

Parliament sum- Compton nals. Vol.

moned and met for XVIII, p. 16

business at West-
minster, 17 March,
1714-15

VIII George I, and Sir Spencer

2nd Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 1 oMay,
1722 ; met for busi-
ness 9 October

Compton

agam

Commons Jour- 9 Oct., 1722
nalsyoX. XX,
p. 8

I George II, and ist Arthur Onslow
ParUament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 28 No-
vember, 1727 ; met
for despatch of bu-
siness 23 January,
1727-28

Commons Jour- 23 Jan., 1727-28
«a/s,Vol.XXI
p. 20

VIII George II, and Arthur Onslow
2nd Parliament sum- again
moned to meet at
Westminster, 13
June, 1734 ; met
for despatch of busi-
ness 14 January,
I 734-35

Commons Jour-
nals, Vol.
XXII, p. 324

14 Jan., I734-3S

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 395

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

IS Jan., 1 7 14- IS Suffolk (Tory) Died 1746.

10 Max., 1721-22 Sussex (Whig) First Lord of Died 1743.

the Treasury
1 742, and Earl
of Wilmington

S August, 1727 Sussex (Whig)

17 April, 1734 Surrey (Whig) Died 1768, having been

Speaker for the re-
cord number of years

27 April, 1741 Surrey (Whig)

396 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

Speaker

XV George II, and Arthur Onslow
3rd Parlmment sum- again
moned to meet at
Westminster, 2 5 J une,
1741 ; met for des-
patch of business
I Dec, 1741

Authority

Commons Jour-
nals, Vol.
XXIV, p. 8

Date of

Appointment

I Dec, 1 741

XXI George II, and Arthur Onslow
4th Parliament sum- again
moned to meet at
Westminster, 13 Au-
gust, 1747 ; met for
despatch of business
10 Nov., 1747

Commons Jour-
nals, Vol.
XXV, p. 416

10 Nov., 1747

XXVII George 11, and Arthur Onslow Commons
5th Parliament sum- again Journals,

moned to meet at Vol. XXVII,

Westminster, and p. 7

met for despatch of
business 31 May,
1754

31 May, I7S4

I George III, and ist Sir John Cust Commons
Parliament sum- Journals,

moned to meet at Vol. XXIX,

Westminster, 19 May, p. 8

1 76 1. King's speech
delivered 3 Novem-
ber

3 Nov., 1761

VIII George III, and Sir John Cust

2nd Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 10 May,
1768

agam

Commons
Journals,
Vol. XXXII,
p. 6

10 May, 1768

Ditto

Sir Fletcher

Norton

Commons
Journals,
Vol. XXXII.
p. 613

22 Jan., 1770

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 397

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

18 June, 1747 Surrey (Whig)

8 April, 1754 Surrey (Whig)

20 March, 1761 Surrey (Whig)

II March, 1768 Grantham Died 1770.

(Tory)

17 Tsn., 1770 Grantham Died five days after his

' •" '' (Tory) resignation.

30 Sept., 1774 Guildford (Tory) Baron Grantley Died 1789.

1782

398 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

XV George III, and
3rd Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 29 Novem-
ber, 1774

Speaker

Sir Fletcher

Norton
again

Authority

Commons
Journals,
Vol. XXXV,
P-5

Date of
Appointment

29 Nov., 1774

XXI George III, and
4th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 31 October,
1780

Charles Wolfran
Cornwall

Commons
Journals,
Vol.

XXXVIII,
p. 6

31 Oct., 1780

XXIV George III, and
Sth Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 18 May,
1784

Charles Wolfran
Cornwall
again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. XL, p.

18 May, 1784

Ditto

William Wynd-
ham Grenville

Commons
Journals,
Vol. XLIV,
P- 4S

S Jan., 1789

Ditto

Henry Commons

Addington Journals,

Vol. XLIV,
P-434

8 June, 1789

XXX George III, and
6th Parliament sum-
moned to meet' at
Westminster, 10 Au-
gust, 1790 ; met for
despatch of business
25 November, 1790

Henry

Addington
again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. XLVI,
p. 6

25 Nov., 1790

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 399

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

I Sept., 1780 Guildford(Tory) Baron Grantley

1782

25 March, 1784 Winchelsea Died 1789

(Tory)

2 January, 1789 Rye (Tory)

7 June, 1789 Buckingham- Prime Minister Died 1834

shire. Of a "All the Tal-
Whig family ents." Baron
but a sup- Grenville
porter of Pitt 1790

II June, 1790 Truro (Tory) Prime Minister. Died 1844

Viscount Sid-
mouth 1 80s

20 May, 1796 Devizes (Tory)

400 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

XXXVI George III,
and 7th Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, 12
July, 1796 ; and met
for despatch of busi-
ness 27 September

(XLI George III, by ditto
proclamation of 5
November, 1800.
Members then sitting
were declared mem-
bers of the First Par-
liament of the United
Kingdom, to meet
22 January, 1801.
King's speech de-
livered 2 February,
1801)

Speaher

Henry

Addington
again

Authority

Commons
Journals,
Vol. LII, p. 8

Commons
Journals,

Vol. LVI, p. 6

Date of

Appointment

27 Sept., 1796

22 Jan., 1801

7th Parliament — con- Sir John Mitford Commons
tinned Journals,

Vol. LVI,
P- 33

11 Feb., 1 801

Ditto

Charles Abbot

Commons

Journals, Vol.
LVII. p. 93

10 Feb., 1802

XLII George III, and
8th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 31 Au-
gust, 1802 ; and met
for despatch of busi-
ness 16 November.
King's speech de-
livered 23 November

Charles Abbot
again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. LVIII,
p. 8

1 6 Nov., 1802

XLVII George III, and
9th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 15 Decem-
ber, 1806. King's
speech delivered 19
December

Charles Abbot
again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. LXII.
p. 4

IS Dec, 1806

Close of Office
i6 Feb., 1801

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 401

Subseqi*ent
Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

Devizes (Tory)

9 February, 1 802 Northumber-
land (Tory)

Baron Redes-
dale 1802.
Lord Chancellor
of Ireland 1802

Died 1830

29 June, 1802 Woodstock Baron Colches- Died 1829. Buried in

(Tory) ter 18 17 Westminster Abbey.

The last Speaker to
be so honoured
29 April, 1807 Woodstock

(Tory)

29 April, 1807 Oxford Univer-
sity (Tory)

2 D

402 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

XLVII George III, and
loth Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 22 June,
1807. King's speech
delivered 26 June

Speaker

Charles Abbot
again

Authority

Commons
Journals,
Vol. LXII,
p. 560

Date of
Appointment

22 June, 1807

LIII George III, and
I ith Parliament

summoned to meet
at Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 24 Novem-
ber, 1812. Prince
Regent's speech de-
livered 30 Nov.

Charles Abbot
again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. LXVIII,
p. 4

24 Nov., 1S12

Ditto

Charles
Manners-
Sutton

Commons
Journals,
Vol. LXXII,
p. 307

2 June, 1817

LVIII George III, and
12th Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, 4
August, 1818 ; met
for despatch of busi-
ness 14 January,
1 8 19. King's speech
delivered 21 Jan.

Charles
Manners-
Sutton again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. LXXIV,
p. 8

14 Jan., 1 8 19

I George IV, and ist
Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 2 1 April,
1820. King's speech
delivered 27 April

Charles
Manners-
Sutton again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. LXXV,
p. 108

21 April, 1820

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 403

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

29 Sept., 1812 Oxford Univer-
sity (Tory)

2 June, 1 8 17 Oxford Univer-

sity (Tory)

10 June, 1818 Scarborough Viscount Died 1845

(Tory) Canterbury
183s

29 Feb., 1820 Scarborough

(Tory)

2 June, 1826 Scarborough

(Tory)

404 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

VII George IV, and
2nd Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster,25 July,
1826 ; met for des-
patch of business 14
November. King's
speech delivered 21
November

Speaker

Charles
Manners-
Sutton again

Authority

Commons
Journals,
Vol. LXXXII
p. 8

Date of

Appointment

14 Nov., 1826

I William IV, and ist Charles
Parliament sum- Manners-
moned to meet at Sutton again
Westminster, 14
September, 1830;
met for despatch of
business 26 October.
King's speech de-
livered 2 November

Commons

Journals,
Vol. LXXXVI,
p. 6

26 Oct., 1830

William IV, and 2nd
Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 14 June,
1831. King's speech
delivered 21 June

Charles
Manners-
Button again

Commons
Journals,
V0I.LXXXVI,

p. 522

14 June, 1831

III William IV, and
3rd Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 29 January,
1833. King's speech
delivered 5 February

V WiUiam IV, and
4th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 19 Febru-
ary, 1835. King's
speech delivered 24
February

Charles
Manners-
Sutton again

James

Abercromby

Commons

Journals,
V0I.LXXXVIII

P- 5

Commons
Journals,
Vol. XC, p.

29 Jan., 1833

19 Feb., 1835!

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 405

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

24 July, 1830 Scarborough

(Tory)

23 April, 1 83 1 Scarborough

(Tory)

3 Dec, 1832 Scarborough

(Tory)

29 Dec, 1834 Cambridge Uni-
versity (Tory)

17 July, 1837 Edinburgh Baron Dunferm- The only Speaker to

(Whig) line 1839 come from north of

the Tweed. Died
1858

4o6 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

Victoria, and ist
Parliament summon-
ed to meet at West-
minster, II Septem-
ber, 1837; and met
for despatch of busi-
ness 15 November.
Queen's speech de-
livered 20 November

Speaker

James

Abercromby
again

Authority

Commons
Journals,
Vol. XCIII,
P-7

Date of
Appointment

IS Nov., 1837

Ditto,

Charles Shaw-
Lefevre

Commons
Journals,
Vol. XCIV,
p. 274

27 May, 1839

V Victoria, and '2nd Charles Shaw- Commons

Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 19 August,
.1841. Queen's speech
.delivered 24 August

Lefevre again

Journals,
Vol. XCVI,
p. 46s

19 August, 1841

XI Victoria, and 3rd
Parliament summon-
ed to meet at West-
minster, 21 Septem-
ber, 1847; and met
for despatch of busi-
ness 18 November.
Queen's speech de-
livered 23 November

Charles Shaw-
Lefevre again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CIII, p. 7

18 Nov., 1847

XVI Victoria, and 4th
Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 20
August, 1852. Met
for despatch of busi-
ness 4 November.
Queen's speech de-
livered 1 1 November

Charles Shaw-
Lefevre again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CVIII,
P-7

4 Nov,, 1852

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 407

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

15 May, 1839 Edinburgh

(Whig)

23 June, 1841 North Hamp- Viscount Evers- Died 1888
shire (Liberal) ley 1857

23 July, 1847 North Hamp-
shire (Liberal)

I July, 1852 North Hamp-

shire (Liberal)

31 March, 1857 North Hamp-
shire (Liberal)

4o8 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

XX Victoria, and sth
Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 30 April,
1857. Queen's speech
delivered 7 May

Speaker

John Evelyn
Denison

Authority

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CXII,
p. 119

Date of
Appointment

30 April, 1857

XXII Victoria, and
6th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 31 May,
1859. Queen's speech
delivered 7 June

John Evelyn
Denison again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CXIV,
p. 191

31 May, 1859

XXIX Victoria, and
7th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, 15
August, 1865 ; and
met for despatch of
business i February,
1866. Queen's speech
delivered 6 February

John Evelyn
Denison again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CXXI,
P-9

I Feb., 1866

XXXII Victoria, and
8th Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 10 Decem-
ber, 1868. Queen's
speech delivered 16
February, 1869

John Evelyn
Denison again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CXXIV,
P-S

10 Dec, 1868

Ditto

Henry Bouverie Commons
William Brand Journals,

Vol. CXXVII,
P- 23

9 Feb.. 1872

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 409

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

23 April, 1859 North Notts ViscountOssing- Died 1873. His election

(Liberal) ton 1872 to the Chair was

unanimous on each
occasion

6 July, 1 86s North Notts

(Liberal)

II Nov., 1868 North Notts
(Liberal)

7 Feb., 1872 North Notts

(Liberal)

26 Jan., 1874 Cambridgeshire Viscount Hamp- Died 1892. His election
(Liberal) den 1884 to the Chair was

unanimous on each

410 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

XXXVIII Victoria,
and 9th Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business ; March,
1874. Queen's speech
delivered 19 March

Speaker

Henry Bouverie
William Brand
again

Authority

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CXXIX,
P-S

Date of
Appointment

S Mar., 1874

XLIII Victoria, and
loth Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 29 April,
1880. Queen's speech
delivered 20 May

Henry Bouverie
William Brand
again

Commons
Journals,
V0I.CXXXV,
P-S

29 April, 1880

Ditto

Arthur Welles-
ley Peel

Commons

Journals,
Vol. CXXXIX,

P- 74

26 Feb., 1884

XLIX Victoria, and
nth Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 12 January,
1886. Queen's speech
(delivered in person
by Her Majesty) 21
January

Arthur Welles-
ley Peel again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CXLI,
P-S

12 Jan., 1886

L Victoria, and 12th
Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 5 August,
1886. Queen's speech
delivered 19 August

Arthur Welles-
ley Peel again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CXLI,
P- 315

S August, 1886

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS

411

Close of Office ■• Constituency

24 March, 1880 Cambridgeshire
(Liberal)

Subseqiient
Rank or Style

Remarks

25 Feb., 1884

Cambridgeshire
(Liberal)

18 Nov., 1885

Warwick and
Leamington
(Liberal)

Viscount Peel,
1895

His election to the
Chair was unanimous
on each occasion

26 June

Warwick and
Leamington
(Liberal)

28 June, 1892

Warwick and
Leamington
(Liberal)

412 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

LVI Victoria, and 13th
Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 4 August,
1892. Queen's speech
delivered 8 August

Speaker

Arthur Welles-
ley Peel again

Authority

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CXLVII,
p. 412

Date of
Appointment

4 August, 1892

Ditto

William Court
Gully

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CL,
p. 149

10 April, 1895

LIX Victoria, and 14th
Parliament svmi-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 12 August,
1895. Queen's speech
delivered 15 August

WilUam Court
Gully again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CL,
P- 340

12 August, 1895

LXIV Victoria, and
ISth Parliament
summoned to meet
at Westminster, i
November, 1900 ;
and met for despatch
of business 3 Decem-
ber. Queen's speech
delivered 6 Dec.

William Court
Gully again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CLV,
p. 406

3 Dec, 1900

And I Edward VII,
and I St Parliament
summoned to hear
the King's speech
14 February, 1901

Ditto — continued

James William
Lowther

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CLX,
p. 249

8 June, 190S

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 413

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

9 AprU, 189s Warwick and

Leamington
(Liberal)

8 July, 1895 Carlisle(Liberal) Viscount Selby, Died 1909.

190s

25 Sept., 1900 Carlisle(Liberal)

7 June, 190S Carlisle(Liberal)

8 Jan., 1906 Cumberland

(Penrith Div.)
(Conservative)

414 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliament

VI Edward VII, and
2nd Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 13 Feb.,
1906. King's speech
delivered 19 Feb.

Speaker

James William
Lowther again

Authority

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CLXI,
P-S

Date of
Appointment

13 Feb., 1906

X Edward VII, and
3rd Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business, 15 Feb.,
1 9 10. King's speech
delivered 21 Feb.

James William
Lowther again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CLXV,
P-S

IS Feb., 1910

And I George V, 7 May,
1910

George V, and ist
Parliament sum-
moned to meet at
Westminster, and
met for despatch of
business 31 January,
1911. King'sspeech
delivered 6 Feb.

James William
Lowther again

Commons
Journals,
Vol. CLXVI,
P- 5

31 Jan., 1911

It will be noticed that the dates of several elections to the Chair and the
sequence of names do not, in all cases, correspond with the list of Speakers
inscribed on the panels of the Library of the House of Commons. They,
unfortunately, contain many inaccuracies, and it has been the Author's
endeavour to correct them as far as possible in these pages.

CATALOGUE OF SPEAKERS 415

Subsequent
Close of Office Constituency Rank or Style Remarks

10 Jan., 1910 Cumberland

(Penrith Div.)
(Conservative)

28 Nov., 1910 Cumberland

(Penrith Div.)
(Conservative)

Cumberland
(Penrith Div.)
(Conservative

APPENDICES

3 E

APPENDIX I

THE following curious account of Sir Thomas
LoveU's election to the Chair in 1485 shows
that at the commencement of the Tudor era
the Speaker was" recommended for the Royal
approval by a committee of Knights of the Shire,
aided, apparently, by a small number of borough
members, acting in concert with the Lord Chancellor
and the Recorder of London. It is taken from a report
made to the corporation of Colchester, by Thomas
Christmas and John Vertue, burgesses for Colchester, of
the first Parhament of Henry VII (printed in Benham's
Red Paper Book of Colchester [1902], pp. 61-2) : —

" The vij'*' day of November, be ix of the clokke, so
for to precede unto a leccion for [to] chose a Speker. So
the leccion gave hir voyse unto Thomas Lovell, a gentle-
man . . . Lincolhes Inne. That doon, it pleased the
Knyghts that were there present for to ryse f [rom] ther
sets and so for to goo to that place where as the Speker
stode and [brought him and] set hym in his sete. That
done, there he thanked all the maisters of the plase. Then
[it pleased] the Recorder of London for to shew the cus-
tume of the place. This was his seyeng : ' Maister Speker,
and all my maisters, there hath ben an ordir in this place
in tymes passed [that] ye shuld commaimde a certayn
[? number] of Knyghts and other gentilmen, such as it

419

420 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

pleaseth you ... to the number of xxiiij, and they to
goo togedir unto my Lord Chaunceler, and there to show
unto his lordship that they have doon the K5aigs com-
maundement in the chosyn of our Speker, desyring his
lordship if that he wold shew it unto the Kyng's grace.
And . . . whan it plesith the King to commaunde us
when, we shall present hym afore his high grace. Yt
pleased the Kyng that we shuld present hym upon the
ix day of Novembre. That same day, at x of the cloke,
sembled Maister Speker and all the Knyghts, sitteners,^
and burgeyses in the parlement house, and so departed
into the parlement chamber before the Kyngs grace and
all his lords spirituall and tempo rail and all his Juggs,^
and so presented our Speker before the Kyngs grace and
all his lords spirituall and temporall.' "

The Lord Chancellor referred to was John Russell,
Bishop of Lincoln, and the Recorder of London was
Thomas Fitzwilliam, who was himself Speaker in 1488-89.
Speaker Lovell was a contemporary of Abbot Islip,
the last of the great monastic builders to stamp his
individuality on the fabric of the Abbey. As Treasurer
of the Royal Household Lovell probably assisted at the
laying of the foundation stone of Henry the Seventh's
Chapel, in which, after the lapse of four centuries, his
noble medallion portrait by Torregiano has, with singular
appropriateness, recently been placed. (See illustration
in this volume.)

' Citizens. ^ Judges.

APPENDIX II

Sir Thomas More's Speech on presentation for the Royal
Approval, 1523. Translated from the original Latin.

ON Saturday the i8th day of April, the 4th
day of Parhament, the Commons from their
House, appearing before our Lord the
King in full Parliament, presented to our
Lord the King Thomas More, knight, as their Speaker ;
whom our aforesaid Lord the King was graciously pleased
to accept.

" Whereupon Thomas, after making his excuse before
our Lord the King, inasmuch as his excuse could not be
admitted on the part of our Lord the King, made his
most humble supplication, that, with the like liberty of
speech, he might publish and declare all and singular
things to be by him published and declared in the Parlia-
ment aforesaid, in the name of the said Commons ; but
that if he declared any things enjoinglfi on him by his
Fellows otherwise than they themselves were agreed
upon, either by adding or diminishing, he might be
enabled to correct and amend the things so declared
by his Fellows aforesaid ; and that his Protestation to
this effect might be entered on the Roll of the Parliament
aforesaid.
" To whom, by the King's command, answer was made

421

422 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

by the most Reverend Legate, the Lord Chancellor, that
Thomas should employ and enjoy the like liberty of
speech as other Speakers, in the times of the noble
ancestors of our Lord the King of England, were wont to
use and enjoy in Parliaments of this kind."

INDEX

Abbey of Westminster, v. West-
minster Abbey

Abijot, Charles (afterwards Lord
Colchester), Speaker in 1802, 1806,
1807, and 1812, xxviii, xxx, xxxi,
XXXV, 264, 295, 298, 299, 300, 301,
302. 303, 331. 400. 402

Abbots of Abingdon, 14

Abbots of Furness, 13

Abbots of Westminster, 12, 20, 37,

46. 47, 59. 161

William of Colchester, 46, 47,

48
Thomas Henley, 37 ; John Islip,

420
Simon Langham, 42, 43, 44,

4S. 47
Nicholas Litlington, 44, 45,

47
Thomas Millyng, 95
Richard Ware, 42
Abbot's School, Westminster, King

Edward V educated at, 95
Abercorn, Earl of, 206
Abercroraby, James (Lord Dunferm-
line), Speaker in 1835 and 1837,
xxx, xxxi, 269, 316, 317, 318, 319,
320, 404, 406
Abingdon, Abbots of, 14
Abingdon Street, xxxix
Addington, Dr. , the Speaker's father,

293
Addington, Henry (Lord Sidmouth),

Speaker in 1789, 1790, 1796, and

1801, xxviii, xxx, xxxi, 289, 291,

292, 293, 294, 398, 400
" Addled Parliament," 170
Adjournment, fixed hour for, adopted

by the House of Commons in 1888,

335
Agincourt, Battle of, a Speaker fights

at, 75

Album of water-colour drawings of

Speakers in the National Portrait

Gallery, xxiv, xxvii, xxviii
Alexander IV, Pope, 34
Alington, William, Speaker in 1429,

xxiii, xxxvi, 79, 360
Alington, William, the younger.

Speaker in 1472 and 1477-78,

xxxvi, 91, 368
"All the Talents," Ministry of, 288
Almon, printer of Parliamentary

debates, 264
Althorp, Lord, 308
Amiens, 7, 291

Anne, Queen of England, 234, 244,245
Argyll Buildings, London residence

of Speaker Cust, 276
Argyll, Duke of, 257
Armstrong, Sir Thomas, 226
Arundel, Thomas, Archbishop of

Canterbury, 62
Ashby St. Ledger's, Northants, church

of, XXV ; burial place of Speaker

Catesby, 369
Askew, Mr., 197
"Assenters as well as Petitioners,"

Commons so described in the Rolls

of 1414, 75
Audley, Sir Thomas (afterwards

Lord Audley), Speaker in 1529,

xxviii, xxx ; painting by Holbein,

xxxiii ; 124, 125, 374
Audley End, Essex, said to be the

largest private house in England,

124
Austin Friars, burial place of Speaker

Sheffield, 117
Aye Bourne, 10
Ayles, Rev. Dr. H. H. B., xl
Aymer de Valence, Bishop Elect of

Winchester, 34, 343
Ayremine, William de. Clerk in

Chancery, records the doings of

both Houses, temp. Edward H, 32

425

426

INDEX

Bacon, Sir Francis, 152, 165, 171

"Bad Parliament" of 1376-77, 52

Baginton, Warwicksliire, seat of
Speaker Bromley, 244

Bailly, Inner, of the Palace of West-
minster, 19

— Outer, of the Palace of West-
minster, 19

Baker, Mr. William, of Norwich,
xxvii

Baker, Sir John, Speaker in 1545 and
IS47. xxvii, 128, 129, 130, 131, 376

Ball, John, hanged in 1381, 80

Bampfylde, Thomas, Speaker in
1659, xxxvi, 213, 386

Banqueting House, Whitehall, 170

Bankside, Southwark, 21

Barbers Hall, xxviii

"Barebones" Parliament, 200

" Bares " or Bars, a game prohibited
within the precincts of the Palace
of Westminster, temp. Edward III,

Barnard, Lord, xxix, xl

Barner, Battle of, 86

Barones Minores, severance of, from
the House of Lords, 22

Barrow, Suffolk, burial place of
Speaker Heigham, xxxiv, 377

Barry, Sir Charles, architect of the
new Houses of Parliament, 9, 59,
in, 322

Baynard, Richard, Speaker in 1 421,
xxiii, xxxvii, 76, 358

Beale, Robert, 153

Beauchamp, Earl, xxxix

Beauchamp, Richard, Earl of War-
wick, 78

Beauchamp, Sir Walter, Speaker in
1415-16, and the first lawyer to be
called to the Chair by the Commons
themselves, xxxiv, xxxvi, 76, 78,
3S6

Beaudesert, 36

Beaufort, Margaret, bronze effigy of,
in Westminster Abbey, xxii

Beaumont, Henry de, xxiii, xxxvii,
33. 40. 343

Becket's shrine in Canterbury Cathe-
dral, 126

Bedford, Duke of, 288

Bedford Row, birthplace of Speaker
Addington, 293

Bell, Mr. J., xxviii

Bellasis family, memorial of the, in
St. Giles's in the Fields, xxviii

Bell, Sir Robert, Speaker in 1572,
xxviii, XXX, 139, 380

Bell Tower of the Palace of West-
minster, 18

Belvoir, reproduction of picture of
Dudley and Empson at, xxvi

Benevolences, 92, 96, 170

Benson, Edward White, Archbishop
of Canterbury, xxxi, xxxii

Berkeley of Stratton, Lord, 246

Besant, Sir Walter, 19, 45

Besselsleigh, Berks, property of the
Lenthall family, 184, 195

Bibury Club Races', 206

"Big Ben" of Westminster, the
largest chiming clock in the world,
103

Bills, early use of the word in the
Parliamentary sense, S3) 75

Bills of Supply, a frequent cause of
disagreement between Lords and
Commons, 152, 177

Birch Hall, Colchester, xxxv

Birdcage Walk, II

"Black," or Reformation, Parlia-
ment, 124

Black Prince, Edward the, 39, 51

Blackfriars, 49, 119, 120, 123, 137

— Parliaments held at, 49, 119, 120
Blood, Col., 283

"Bloodless Rencontre, The," 289
Blount, Sir Thomas, 161

— Sir Michael, 162

— Le, Nicholas, 161

Bobbing, Kent, burial place of Speaker
Savage, xxv, 353

Bodleian Library, Oxford, xxxv

Boerley w. Burley, 362

Boleyn, Anne, 11

Bolingbroke, Viscount, Henry Saint-
John, 247

Bourchier, Thomas, Archbishop of
Canterbury, 85

Bowes, John, Speaker in 1435, xxiii,
xxxvii, 360

Boyer's Political State of Great
Britain, 248, 265

Bradford, Lord, 257

Brand, Henry Bouverie William,
(Viscount Hampden), Speaker in
1872, 1874 and 1880, XXX, xxxi,
333-S. 408, 410

INDEX

427

Brassington, Robert, a craftsman em-
ployed on Westminster Hall, temp.
Richard II, 59

Bray, Edmund, xxvi

Bray, John, xxvi

Bray, Judge Edward, xxvi

Bray, Lord, xxvi

Bray, Mr. Justice, xxvi

Bray, Sir Edward, xxvi

Bray, Sir Reginald, President or
Chairman of a great Council in
1496 : portrait of, xxvi ; 108, 109,
372

Braybrooke, Lord, xxxiii

Brembre, Sir Nicholas, Lord Mayor
of London, 88

Bribery, 115, 116, 227

Brideoak, Ralph, Bishop of Chiches-
ter, 207, 209

Bridewell, Palace of, 118, 119

Bristol, surrender of, to Henry of
Lancaster, 57

British Museum, Map of Westmin-
ster in 1740, xxxviii; Speaker
Arthur Onslow, one of the founders
of, 273

" Broad-bottomed Administration,"

253
Broadside of List of Members, xxxv
Bromley, William, Speaker in 1710,

XXX, xxxi, xxxv ; 239, 243, 244,

245, 246, 248, 332, 392
Brooke, Sir Robert, Speaker in 1554 ;

and the first to represent the City of

London, xxiii, xxvii, xxxiv, 125,

134, 376
Brown, Sir Adam, 227
Browne, Sir George, 83
Broxbourne Church, Hertfordshire,

burial place of Speaker Sir John

Say, XXV, 81
Bruen, Mr., of Greek Street, xxx
" Bubble and Squeak," nicknames

of the two brothers Wynn,

3°S

Buckingham, Dukes of, 171, 178,
180, 181, 182, l88

Buckingham Palace, Goring House
on site of, occupied by Speaker
Lenthall, 112, 190

Bulinga Fen, 10

"Bull Face, Double Fee, Sir," nick-
name applied to Speaker Norton,
278

Bulteel, Mr., 309

Burford Priory, Oxfordshire home of
Speaker Lenthall, 184, 204, 205,
206, 207

Burford, view of, xxxix

Burges, Dr., 189

Burgh, William, a craftsman em-
ployed on Westminster Hall, temp.
Richard II, 59

Burghley, Lord Treasurer, 146

Burgoyne, General, 283

Burke, Edmund, 265, 285

Burke's EstabUshment Bill, 279, 282

Burley or Boerley, William, Speaker
in 1436-37. and 1444-45, xxxvii,
362

Burlington, Lord, plans new Houses
of Parliament in 1733, 274, 275

Burnet, Gilbert, Bishop of Salisbury,

236. 237
Bury St. Edmunds, St. Mary's

Church in, burial place of Speaker

Drury, 373
Bussy, or Bushey, Sir John, Speaker

in 1393-94. 1396-97. and 1397,

xxxvi, xxxvii, 33, 56, 57, 350
the first Speaker mentioned by

Shakespeare, 57
"Butcher of England," The, John

Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, 70, 71,

83
Butterwick, Lmcolnshire, seat of
Speaker Sheffield, temp. Henry
VIII, 117

Cabinet Government — Ministerial re-
sponsibility to Parliament, origin
of the system, 260; increased
power of, in recent years, 330

Cade, Jack, 80, 83

Csesar, Sir Charles, 203

Cairns, Countess, xxxix

Cairns, Earl, xxxix

Call of the House in Tudor times, 120

Campbell-Bannerman, Sir Henry, 339

Campbell, Colin, Architect, 136, 256

Campeggio, Cardinal, 123

Campion, Edmund, 162

Cannon, or Channel Row, 10

Canning, George, 292

Canterbury Cathedral, 126, 300

Canterbury, Viscount, v. Manners-
Button, Charles

Cardinal Cap Alley, Bankside, 21

428

INDEX

Carteret, Lord, 253

Carey Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields,

237

Caricatures of Speakers, 284, 288

Cartwright, Thomas, 162

Casting Votes of Speakers, 160, 196,
223, 283

" Cat, the Rat and Lovell the Dog,"
96

Catesby, Robert, 96

Catesby, William, Speaker in 1483-
84, xxxvi, 96, 97, 368 ; memorial
brass of, xxv

Caxton, William, 48, ijo

Cecil, Sir Robert, 153, 169

Chair, Speaker Lenthall's, canopy of,
preserved at Radley, Berks, 195

Chamber of the Chauntor of St.
Stephen's Chapel, Palace of West-
minster, 17

Chamber of the Cross in the old
Palace of Westminster, 18

Charaberlayne's ^Mij'A'ffi Notitia, 219,
220

Chambers, John, Dean of St. Ste-
phen's Chapel, Westminster, 119

Chambre Blanche, or White Hall, in
the old Palace of Westminster, 42,

43
Chancery Lane, 103, 202
Chapel of St. Benedict, Westminster

Abbey, 44
Chapel of St. Erasmus, Westminster

Abbey, 95
Chapel of the Pyx, Westminster

Abbey, 58
Chapel of St. Michael, Westminster

Abbey, Wm. Trussell's tomb in, 40
Chapel of St. Stephen, in the old

Palace of Westminster, v. St.

Stephen, Chapel of ; Chapel,

Henry VII's, in Westminster

Abbey, 94, 105, 109, no, in
Chaplain of the House of Commons,

in the reign of Queen Anne, 245
Chapter House of the Abbey, 41, 45,

46, 47, 48, 49
Charles I, King of England, 7, 190,

I9i>
Charles II, King of England, 215,

226, 227, 228
Charlton, Sir Job, Speaker in 1672-

73, XXX, 222, 388
Charlton, Sir Thomas, Speaker, in

1453-54. xxiii, xxxvii, 81, 83, 364

Chaucer, Geoffrey, S3> 71

Chaucer, Thomas, Speaker in 1407,

1409-10, 141 1, 1414, and 1421,

71. 72, 354. 356, 358; memorial

brass of, xxv
Checkenden, Bucks, xxxiv
Cheney, v. Cheyne
Cheyne, Sir John, Speaker in 1399,

xxiii, xxxvii, 62, 352
Chope, Mr. R. P., xl
Christ Church College, Oxford, xxijc,

XXXV

Church and State, symbol of the
Union of, in Plantagenet times, 48

Church, spoliation of the, proposed by
the House of Commons in 1404,

Chute, Chaloner, Speaker in 1658-59,

xxix, 213, 386
Chute, Mr. Charles, of The Vyne,

Basingstoke, xxix
Cinque Ports, 25
City of London, Sir Robert Brooke

the first Speaker to represent it in

Parliament, 134
Clarence, Duke of, 92
Claverley, near Wolverhampton,

burial place of Speaker Brooke,

xxxiv, 134
Clement's Lane, 230
Clergy Residence Bill, introduced by

Speaker Manners-Sutton, 304
Clerk of the House of Commons, 33,

159, 168, 267, 315
Clerk Assistant of the House of

Commons, print disproving the

belief that John Rushworth was

the first, xxxviii
Clerk of the Parliaments, 33
Cleuderre, William, a craftsman em-
ployed on Westminister Hall, temp.

Richard II, 59
Clifford Street, Burlington Gardens,

294
Clive, Lord, 260
Clock for use of the House of

Commons, first mention of, 157
Clock Tower of the old Palace of

Westminister, 118
Cloister Court of St. Stephen's

Chapel, Palace of Westminister,

118, 119
Closure of Debate, institution of, 335
Cloth Fair, Smithfield, 126
Coalition Ministry of 1783, 284

INDEX

429

Cobbett's Parliamentary History,
^ 26s, 374, 376, 382, 386, 388, 392
Cockpit in Whitehall, igg, 265, 281
Coe, Rev. C. H., xl
Coke, Sir Edward, Speaker in

1592-93, xxviii, xxix, xxxi, 31,

147. 148. 149-158, 171, 172, 178,

179, 184, 331. 380
Colchester, Lord, v. Abbot, Charles
College Street, Great, Westminster,

viii, 10, 12
Coldham, xxviii
Commercial Treaty with France,

1713. 247
"Committee of Safety," 213
Committee of the whole House,

Speaker formerly votes in, 331
Commons, House of —
Plantagenet Period —

Dawn of the English Constitu-
tion, at Westminster, 4
Barones Minores, or lesser Ten-
ants in Chief, separate from
the House of Lords, 22
Simon de Montfort and the writ

of summons, 23
The Writ becomes a right, in-
stead of, as in the case of the
House of Lords, a privilege.

Transition of the principle of
representation from tenure to
selection, 23

Knights of the Shire, when first
summoned to Westminster,

24 .

Novelties and experiments intro-
duced into the Parliamentary
system in the thirteenth cen-
tury, 27

Burgesses, when first summoned
to Westminster, 28 ; seldom
attend in person, contenting
themselves with petitioning
the Crown, 23

End of the experimental stage
and permament establishment
of an assembly comprising
three estates of the realm, 28

Separation of the two Houses,
temp. Edward III, 30 ; not-
withstanding some uncertainty
as to Lords and Commons
having, at any time, deliber-
ated in the same Chamber, 31

Commons, House of —
Plantagenet Period —

Lords and Commons make separ-
ate grants in 1332 and 1339, 31

Earliest mouthpieces of the
Commons, the precursors of
the formally elected Speakers
mentioned in the Rolls of Par-
liament, 33

Important constitutional as-
sembly at Westminster in
February, 1304-05, 29

In 1322 the Commons obtain
from Edward II an acknow-
ledgment of the supremacy of
a representative assembly, vir-
tually amounting to a written
Constitution, 32

Maintenance of order within the
Palace of Westminster, temp.
Edward III, 31

Clerk of the House of Commons
appointed in 1338, 33

Peter de Montfort said to have
acted "vice totius communi-
talis" in the "Mad Parlia-
ment," held at Oxford, 1258,
a restricted assembly of Barons
and Prelates, 35

Differences between Lords and
Commons in 1339 lead to the
summoning of a new Parlia-
ment, 39

Commons assemble in the
Painted Chamber in the Easter
Parliament of 1343, 42; in
the Chapter House of the
Abbots of Westminster in
1351-52, during the rule of
Simon Langham, 43

A Parliamentary leader, holding
a position not dissimilar to
that of Speaker (William Trus-
sell), buried in Westminster
Abbey, temp. Edward III,
44

Commons assemble in the Re-
fectory of the Monks of West-
minster in 1397, 48

Sir Thomas Hungerford, the
first Speaker whose name is
entered on the Rolls, calls the
attention of the King to the
grievances of his subjects, both
male and female, 53

430

INDEX

Commons, House of —
Plantagenet Period —

Sir James Pickering, Speaker in
1378, asserts the right of free
speech, 54

Sir John Guildesborough,
Speaker in 1380, foreshadows
the modern procedure in
Committee of Supply in his
speech to the Throne, 56
Lancastrian Period —

Henry IV, driven by necessity
to depend upon constitutional
methods, endeavours to con-
ciliate Parliament, 63

No taxation without consent and
legislation to be based upon
mutual recognition of the rights
of both Houses, 63

Harmonious relations of Lords
and Commons at the beginning
of the reign. Both Houses
invited to dine at Westminster
by the King, 64

Reunion of the two Houses for
social purposes contrasted with
a recent proposal that the
Lords and Commons or a
committee drawn from both
Houses should meet as one
deliberative body in cases of
deadlock, 65

Income tax sought to be im-
posed in 1404 proves highly
unpopular, and is only granted
on the understanding that it
should not be considered a
precedent, 66

The Declaration of Gloucester
1407 lays down that no reports
of money grants shall be made
to the Crown until both
Houses have agreed on their
terms, such reports to be de-
livered only by the Speaker
of the House of Commons,

The Commons described in the
Rolls of 1414 as Assenters as
well as Petitioners, 75

Bills gradually supersede peti-
tions, and are to be engrossed
as statutes without alteration
by the Crown, 75

Commons, House of —
Lancastrian Period —

The county electorate limited to
freeholders of forty shillings
annual value in 1429-30, and
so continued for 400 years, 79

A constitutional opposition
headed by the Duke of York
receives the sympathy of the
City of London and many
provincial municipalities, 81

An ex-Speaker beheaded by a
London mob, 83
Yorkist Period —

The growth of borough repre-
sentation coincides with the
gradual relinquishment of the
custom of payment of mem-
bers, 87, 88

Speaker Strangeways reviews
the political situation in his
speech to the Throne, 1461, 89

The Commons thanked by the
King for their support, 90

Unpopularity of the method of
raising money by means of
income tax, 92

Unambitious nature of the legis-
lation attempted, and little or
no redress of grievances, 93

In the intervals of Parliamentary
government the King is de-
pendent for supplies on confis-
cations and benevolences, 91,
96

Statutes of the realm for the
first time printed in English,
temp. Richard III, 96

No measures of repression or
severity towards opponents in-
troduced to the House during
his reign, 96
Tudor Period —

Powers of the Commons re-
stricted, and those of the
Privy Council increased, 99

Court of Star Chamber set up,
loi

Sir Thomas Lovell, the last of
the Martial Speakers, called
to the Chair, 104

Unostentatious character of
legislation achieved by the
earlier Tudor Parliaments, 107

INDEX

431

Commons, House of —
Tudor Period—

Continuous Parliamentary gov-
ernment neither expected or
desired by the constituencies,
temp. Henry VIII, 113

Two ex-Speakers beheaded on
Tower Hill, 113

Bills prepared by the Privy
Council presented cut and
dried to the Commons, 114

Intimidation and bribery lead
to little or no free choice in
the election of members, 1 14,
IIS

Pressure put upon sheriffs and
mayors by Thomas Cromwell
to ensure return of candidates
favourable to the Court,
116

Spirit of independence almost
wholly dead in the House of
Commons at the Reformation,
117

A graduated tax upon income
and property is, however,
stoutly resisted in 1523, 121

The Commons reduced to such a
degree of subserviency that
even the imprisonment of their
Speaker passes without re-
monstrance, 128

A sessional allowance of ;£^ioo
made to the Speaker, 129

The long and intimate connection
between the Abbey and the
Commons comes to an end,
and the latter remove to the
disused Chapel of St. Stephen,
in the Palace of Westminster,

131 ...

Revival of independent spirit in

the Commons, temp. Edward

VI, 131
Precautions taken by Queen
. Mary I to ensure the return of

members favourable to the old

faith, 134
Early instance of a contest for

the Chair, in 1566, 137
Description of the House of

Commons in 1568, 138
Queen Elizabeth orders the Com-
mons to make no fresh laws,

141

Commons, House of —
Tudor Period —

Compliance of the Commons
with the advisers of the Crown
on the occasion of the trial and
execution of Mary Queen of
Scots, 141

Thomas Snagge, a lawyer, and
a future Speaker, advocates the
use of simpler language in the
framing of laws, 143

Sir Edward Coke becomes
Speaker, but shows little of
the independence and courage
marking the later years of his
career, 147 ; discourages the
making of new laws, 148 ;
ensures the postponement of
an inconvenient debate, 149 ;
prevents the House from com-
ing to an immediate decision
unpalatable to the Court, 150

Serious disagreement between the
two Houses in connection with
the granting of supplies, 1 5 1

Sir Francis Bacon upholds the
privileges of the Commons, 152

A conference held with the
Lords in 1593, at which the
Commons give way on tl;ie
question of the wording of the
preamble of Bills of Supply,

'SS

The Subsidy Bill only passed in
the Lower House through the
subtlety of Speaker Coke in
putting the question, 156

Right of the Speaker to speak
and vote in committee asserted
by Coke, 157

Extraordinary precautions taken
by the Privy Council in 1597
to ensure the return of
members favourable to the
Queen's Government, 159

Prayers adopted in the Commons,

IS9

Early hours of meeting of the
House, 159

Casting vote of Speaker, early
decision as to, 160

Suspicion of Spain in the public
mind leads to a permanent
Protestant majority in the
House of Commons, 162

432

INDEX

Commons, House of —
Tudor Period —

A growing spirit of self-reliance
manifests itself in theCommons
towards the close of Elizabeth's
reign, 163

The right of argument recog-
nised when responsible Minis-
ters of the Crown sit in the
House and take part in debate
on equal terms with the general
body of members, 163
Stuart Period —

The great struggle between the
Commons and the Crown —

Notwithstanding the advent of
a generation which valued pri-
vilege more than prerogative
Parliamentary progress is re-
tarded, temp. James I, 165

The important case of Privilege of
Sir Thomas Shirley carries the
amount of protection afforded
by the House to its members a
step further than in the instan-
ces of Haxey and Strode, 166

Rules made for the guidance of
the House and its Speaker, i68

Old or discredited system of
raising money by benevolences,
the sale of honours, and the
creation ofmonopolies, resorted
to by the King, 170

The Commons make formal
assertion of their liberties in
1 62 1, 171 ; whereon the King
tears the page out of the
Journal with his own hand, 1 72

The refusal of supplies in Charles
I's first Parliament leads to its
summary dismissal, 175

Increasing boldness of the
Commons instanced by the
impeachment of the Duke of
Buckingham, 175

Oliver Cromwell enters the House
at the age of 29, 176

A committee appointed by the
Commons to draw up the pre-
amble of the Bill of Supply, 177

A conference held between the
two Houses, 1628, and a
threatened deadlock averted
by the Lords passing the Bill
as it stood, 180

Commons, House of —
Stuart Period —

The Long Parliament assembles,
184

Lenthall chosen Speaker, 184;
owes his election to an acci-
dent, 184 ; the opinion of most
of his contemporaries unfa-
vourable, 185 ; derives great
assistance from Henry Elsynge,
the Clerk of the House, 186 ;
the latter resigns his post in
1648 rather than it should be
said that he even tacitly ap-
proved of the trial and con-
demnation of the King, 186

Quorum of the House fixed at
forty, 188
-^ — ^Long hours of sitting cause the
Speaker to think of resigning
office, 189

Attempted arrest of theFiveMem-
bers, 3 January, 1641-42, 190

A King of England enters the
House of Commons and takes
the Speaker's Chair, 190

Lenthall's memorable reply to
Charles I, 192

Incidents of the day described,

19Z, 193

Lenthall abandons his post on
the military party becoming
absolute masters of the situa-
tion, 19s ; but returns to the
Chair a few days later, 196

"Pride's Purge" effected with-
out articulate protest from the
Speaker, 196

Lenthall gives a casting vote on
a question connected with the
Isle of Wight Treaty with the
King, 197

The rift between the Army and
the Parliament broadens, 198

The nation not truly represented
at Westminster, 198

The uncontrolled rule of a single
Chamber proves distasteful to
many of Cromwell's sup-
porters, 198

Expulsion of the Long Parlia-
ment by Cromwell, 199

The Speaker pulled out of his
Chair and the mace removed,
199

INDEX

433

Commons, House of —
Stuart Period —

"Barebones" or Little Parlia-
ment, Lenthall not a member
of it, 200

This assembly, known as " The
Reign of the Saints," having
served its purpose, is cajoled
by its Speaker (Francis Rous)
into summary abdication,
200

Lenthall unanimously re-elected
in the first Parliament of
Oliver, Protector, but replaced
by Sir Thomas Widdrington
in his second, 200

Lenthall takes his seat in the
caricature of the House of
Lords set up by Cromwell in
January, 1658, 201

Lenthall consents to preside over
the restored " Rump " in May ,
1659, 201

The ' Rump ' violently dis-
persed by General Lambert,
202

The whole surviving body of the
Long Parliament having been
restored by the army, Lenthall
again takes the Chair, 202

Military and Parliamentary rule
having alike become distasteful
to the country, the way is
paved for the Restoration of
the Monarchy, 202

Proposal to exclude lawyers from
the House, Speaker Bulstrode
Whitelocke's sarcastic remarks
upon, 213

The "Pensionary Parliament"
of Charles II shows itself
extremely jealous of the
privileges of the Commons,

2l6

The House of Commons as seen
by French eyes in 1663, 220,
221

Formal contention of the House
of Commons in 1671 that the
Lords are unable to amend a
Money Bill, 221

The struggle between the two
Houses renewed over a Money
Bill for the disbandment of
troops, 222

3 F

Commons, House of—;
Stuart Period —

The Commons pass a resolu-
tion debarring the Lords from
amending, though not of re-
jecting or suspending, a Money
Bill, 222

A grave disturbance in com-
mittee of the whole House
quelled by the prompt action
of the Speaker, 224

The reorganisation of Danby's
supporters in the House of
Commons leads to a cleavage
of parties, out of which sprang
the Whigs and Tories of later
days, 225

The relations of the two Houses
become once more strained
(the precedent of Henry IV
again quoted), 225

Evolution of the non-partisan
Speaker foreshadowed, 227

The terms Whig and Tory first
generally applied, 227

The Commons seek to curtail
the prerogative of the Crown,
228

Parliament summoned to meet
at Oxford, 228

Speaker Trevor expelled the
House for taking bribes, 229

Importance of the Speaker's
office enters upon a new phase
after the Revolution of 1688,
231

Position of the Speaker, as first
Commoner of the Realm,
defined by the Legislature, 231

The Speakership of Paul Foley,
temp. William III, marks a
stage in the evolution of the
independence of the Chair, 233

Reaction, in 1695, from the
custom of promoting lawyers
to the Chair, 234

"Tacking," in 1699 and 1700,

23s

A quarrel between the two
Houses leads to a better under-
standing between William III
and the Tory party, 236

Speaker Littleton's antipathy to
the legal profession in Parlia-
ment, 237

434

INDEX

Commons, House of —
Stuart Period —

Speaker Harley, by birth and
education a Whig, develops,
by imperceptible stages, into
the leader of the Tory party,
238 ; said to have been the in-
ventor of the newspaper press
as an instrument of party war-
fare, 239

A Speaker confronted in the
House of Commons by no less
than three previous holders of
the office (1708), 242

Sir Thomas Hanmer, Speaker
in 1713-14, a popular leader
before his elevation to the
Chair, 246 ; makes the speech
of his life in 1713, 247-49

A Tariff Reform debate in the
reign of Queen Anne, 247

The Speakership assumes a per-
manent character, hitherto un-
known in its annals, temp.
George I, 251

Under Sir Robert Walpole the
House of Commons becomes
the real seat of power, with a
corresponding increase in the
dignity and importance of the
Chair, 252

Arthur Onslow, Speaker for the
record number of years, elected
to the Chair, 255 ; embraces
the orthodox Whig creed, 255 ;
the first Speaker to realise the
paramount importance of the
impartiality of the Chair, 258 ;
his conception of the duties
and responsibilities of his
office, contributes to the shap-
ing of the modern system of
Party Government, 259
Hanmerian and Saxe - Coburg

Period —

Rise of the system of Cabinet
Government coupled with min-
isterial responsibility to Par-
liament, 260

The Speaker brings to the notice
of the House the illicit report-
ing of its Debates, 260-66

Rise of the influence of the
newspaper press, 260-66

Commons, House of —
Hanoverian and Saxe - Coburg

Period —

Speaker Arthur Onslow's au-
thority defied by a culprit at
the bar in 1751, 269

The Speaker opposes, in com-
mittee of the whole House,
a measure promoted by the
Government, 270

His fearless advocacy of the
privileges of the Commons and
his opposition to late sittings
and late hours of meeting; 271

His farewell speech to the House,
quoted in extenso, 272

Proposals for building a new
House of Commons, 274

Speaker Cust sits in the Chair
for sixteen hours, 275

The Commons revert to the
practice of appointing a law
officer of the Crown to the
Chair, 276 ; the experiment
not altogether successful, 277-

Speaker Norton s extraordinary
speech to the Throne on pre-
seriting a Bill for the better
support of the Royal Houses
hold, 279

The Speaker makes a violent
attack on the Prime Minister
(Lord North), in the debate on
Burke'sEstablishmentBill, 279

Picturesque appearance of the
House in the middle of the
eighteenth century, as com-
pared with the present day, 280

Ladies excluded from the gallery
in consequence of a distur-
bance in 1778, 280

Speaker Cornwall gives a casting
vote against the Government
of the day, 283

William Wyndham Grenville,
(Pitt's cousin) raised to the
Chair at the early age of 29,
286

Speaker Addington, a genial
mediocrity, owes his election
to the Chair to the influence
of Pitt, 290 ; becomes Prime
Minister, 291 ; replaced by
Pitt, 292

INDEX

435

Commons, House of —
Hanoverian and Saxe ■ Coburg

Period —

The Speaker takes up his official
residence at Westminster, 292 ;
and gives his State dinners in
the crypt of St. Stephen's
Chapel, which had long been
used as a coal-cellar, 295

The procession of Tory Speakers
continued by Charles Abbot
(the inventor of the Census),
298 ; his conversation with
Pitt as to the most convenient
hour for beginning public busi-
ness, 299 ; induces the Govern-
ment to spend ;^70,ooo on his
official residence, 300 ; incurs
a motion of censure for hav-
ing introduced the subject of
Roman Catholic aggression
into his speech to the Throne,
320 ; his action exonerated by
the House by a substantial
majority, 302

Speaker Abbot, the last Speaker
to be buried in Westminster
Abbey, 303

Speaker Manners-Sutton fills the
Chair of the Commons on
seven separate occasions, 303 ;
is offered the post of Prime
Minister, 307 ; in the Chair at
the passing of the great Re-
form Bill, 308 ; is asked by
the Whigs to retain the
Speakership after the Reform
Bill had been carried, 308

Destruction of the old Houses of
Parliament by fire in 1834, 311

Manners-Sutton is superseded by
Abercrombyin 1835 by a com-
bination of minorities voting
with the Whigs, 316

Speaker Abercromby, the first
Whig to occupy the Chair
since Arthur Onslow, and the
only Speaker from north of
the Tweed, 317

Speaker Shaw-I-efevre, one of
the conspicuous successes of
the Chair, and the first non-
partisan Speaker of modern
times, 319; wins the approval
of all parties in the House, 321

Commons, House of —

Hanoverian and Saxe - Coburg

Period—

The Commons meet, experiment-
ally, in the present Chamber,
May 30, 1850, 322

Changing conditions of the
House of Commons, its causes
described, 330

Lord Palmerston consults Delane
as to the choice of a successor
to Speaker Shaw-Lefevre, 324

John Evelyn Denison, first chosen
in 1857, 325 ; the last Speaker
to exercise his right of voting
in Committee, 331, and the
first to occupy the new official
residence in the Palace of
Westminster, 332

Mr. Speaker Brand's coup ditat
of February, 1881, declaring
the state of public business to
be so urgent as to justify him
in closing the debate, 333

Urgency resolutions adopted by
the House and power given
to the Speaker to put the
question forthwith, 334

The principle of Closure of De-
bate adopted in 1882, and
further powers for maintaining
order and checking irrelevancy,
conferred on the Chair in
1888, 335

A fixed hour for the adjournment
of the House adopted in 1888,

33S

Orders regulating procedure on
certain stages of Bills intro-
duced by the Government,
generally known as " Guillo-
tine" Resolutions, 336

Since 1887 occasionally applied
in order to dispose of the
necessary supply before the
close of the financial year, 336

Dynamite explosions at West-
minster in 1884, 337

Control and initiative in legisla-
tion gradually passing from the
House to the executive Govern-
ment, with a corresponding
decline in the power and use-
fulness of the private member,
330

436

INDEX

Commons, House of —

Hanoverian and Saxe - Coburg
Period —

Altered rules of procedure in the
last two decades tend to en-
hance the power of the
Government, 330
The Speaker's office, unfettered
by the exigencies of party,
and administered in the im-
partial spirit characterising
the later years of its existence,
will endure as long as the
Constitution itself, 339
Compton, Sir Spencer, Earl of Wil-
mington, Speaker in 1714-15, and
1722, xxviii, XXX, xxxi, 252, 253,
254. 394
Compton Wynyates, Warwickshire,
burial place of Speaker Compton,
254
Conferences between Lords and

Commons, 152-55, 178, 225
Contests for the Chair, early instance

of, 137
Convention Parliament of 1660,

215 ; 1688-89, 231
Convocation House, Oxford, fitted up
for the House of Commons in
1680-81, 228
Conway, Mr. L. Hussell Conway,

xxxviii
Cordell, Sir William, Speaker in

1557-58, xxix, 135, 378
Cornwall, Charles Wolfran, Speaker
in 1780 and 1784, xxviii, xxx, 282,
283, 284, 285, 286, 398
Cornwall, Earl of, Richard, 24 >,
Corrupt Practices Act, 1883, 116
Cottonian Library, Westminster, 275
Council Chamber in old Palace of

Westminster, 17
County Franchise, qualification for,

in 1429-30. 79
Coup d'etat of February, 1 88 1, under

Speaker Brand, 333
Court and City Register, addresses
of Members of Parliament, pub-
lished in, 263
Court and Country Parties, rise of, in

English political history, 173
Court Kalendar, 263
Courts of Law, establishment of, in
the old Palace of Westminster, 21
Coventry, Lord Keeper, 181, 182

Coventry, Parliament at, in 1404.

69 ; in 1459. 83
Coverham Church, Yorks, xxxiv
Cranbrook, Kent, burial place of

Speaker Baker, 130
Creevey, Thomas, 290, 302, 305, 317
Crewe, Earl of, xxxv, xl
Crewe, Sir Randolph, Speaker in

1614, xxviii, xxx, xxxv, 169, 382
Crewe, Sir Thomas, Speaker in 1623-

24 and 1625, xxviii, xxx, xxxv,

169, 173. 382
Croke, Sir John, Speaker in 1601,

xxvii, 160, 161, 162, 382
Cromwell, Mary, v. Falconbergh,

Lady
Cromwell, Oliver, 176, 196, 198, 199,

200, 201, 212, 224, 256 ; House

of Lords set up by, in 1658, 200,

201
Cromwell, Richard, 20i
Cromwell, Thomas, 122, 125
Crosby Hall, 96
Crypt of St. Stephen's Chapel, 18;

(formerly used as a coal-cellar) as

the Speaker's State dining-room,

292, 293 ; attempted destruction

of, by dynamite, in 1884, 338
Cullum, Mr. George Gery Milner-

Gibson, xxix
Cust, Sir John, Speaker in 1761 and

1768, xxviii, xxx, 27s, 276, 396

Dahl, Michael, painter, xxxv
Danby, Lord, Thomas Osborne,

afterwards 1st Duke of Leeds, 223,

225
Dasent, Sir John Roche, Editor of

the Acts of the Privy Council

mentioned, 376
Dasent, Sir George Webbe, the

author's father, mentioned, x
Davis, Moll, 254

Dean's Yard, Westminster, viii, 20
Debrett, John, printer of Parliamen-
tary Debates, 264
Declaration of Gloucester in 1407,

72
D'Ewes, Sir Symonds, 34, 137, 156,

185, 264, 378, 380, 382
Defoe, Daniel, 247
De la Mare, Peter, v. Mare, De la
De La Hay Street, 10

INDEX

437

Delane, John, Editor of The
Times, 123, 324, 325, 327 ; on the
Speaker's office, 327

De L'Isle, Robert, 37

Denison, John Evelyn (Viscount
Ossington), Speaker in 1857, 1859,
1866 and 1868, XXX, xxxj, 160, 325,
326, 327, 328, 330, 331, 332

De Thorpe, William, xxxvii

Desmond's rebellion in Ireland, 145

Despencer, Le, Hugh, 37

Dickenson, Dr., of Merton College,
Oxford, 202, 209

Dictionary of National Biography,
important names added to, xxiii

Digges, Dudley, 175

Dignity of the Peerage, Report of
Lord Shaftesbury's Committee on,

23.

Dillon Sir Lucas, Chief Baron of
Ireland, temp. Elizabeth, 144

Dining-room in the House of Com-
mons, contains portrait of Speaker
William Williams by Kneller, xxx ;
collection of paintings being formed
there, xxx

Disagreements between Lords and
Commons, in 1399, 38 ; in 1407,
72; in 1592-93, ISI. 152. 153.
154; in 1628, 177 ; in 1671, 221 ;
in 1675, 225; in 1700, 236; in
1909, 38

Disorder having arisen in committee
of the whole House, Speaker re-
sumes the Chair, 224

Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beacons-
field, 313, 328, 332, 334

Division of Lords and Commons into
two bodies, temp. Edward III, 31

Divisions of the House of Commons,
officially recorded since 1836, 265

Doggett's Coat and Badge, Speaker
leaves the Chair to witness the race
for, 311

Dorewood, John, Speaker in 1399 and
1413, xxiii, xxxvii, 63, 352

Downing Street, Speaker Cust lives
in, 276

Dress in the House of Commons, 220,
280, 281

Drury, Sir Robert, Speaker in 1495,
xxvi, io6, 107, 372

Drury Lane, 107

Dublin, letter from Speaker Snagge
at, 144

Dudley, Edmond, Speaker in 1503-
04, xxxvi, 107, 113, 331, 372

Duel between Pitt and Tierney on
Wimbledon Common in 1798, wit-
nessed by the Speaker, 290

Duncombe, Anthony, 256

Dundas, Henry, afterwards Viscount
Melville, 291

Dunfermline, Lord, v. Abercromby

Dyer, Sir James, Speaker in 1552-53,
xxvii, xxviii, 132, 376

Dynamite explosions in Palace of
Westminster, 1884, 337

Dyson, Jeremiah, Clerk of the House
of Commons, 1747-62, xxxiii, 269,
289

Earle, Mr. J. G., xl

Easton Mauduit, Northants, 158

Eastwell Church, Kent, xxxiv

Ebury, or Eybury, 10

Edenestowe, Henry de, Clerk of the

Parliaments in 1330, 33
Edward, The Black Prince, 39, 50,

51,52
Edward the Confessor, 5, 17, 18
Edward I, King of England, 27, 121
Edward II, King of England, 16, 36
Edward HI, King of England, 50
Edward IV, King of England, 91,

92, 93
Edward V, King of England, 95
Edward VI, King of England, 129,

132, 133
Edward VII, King of England, 93
Eland, Rev. C. T., xl
Elcho, Lord, now Earl of Wemyss,

323
Eleanor of Provence, 24
Eliot, Sir John, 175, 176
Elizabeth, Queen of England, 130,

139, 141. 142, 144, 148, 150, 151,

161, 163
Elliot, Sir Gilbert, a candidate for

the Chair in 1789, 287, 290
Elms, The, (Dean's Yard, West-
minster) ; 20
Elsynge, Henry, Clerk of the House

of Commons 1640-48, 41, 174,

186, 188, 193
Ely Cathedral ; tomb of John Tiptoft,

Earl of Worcester, in, xxxii, 70
Embankment, the Thames, 12

438

INDEX

Empson, Sir Richard, Speaker in
1491, xxxvi, 105, 106, 107, 113,
370

Englefield, Sir Thomas, Speaker in
1496-97 and 1509-10, xxiii, xxxvii,

107. 113. 303. 372
English Primitives, paintings by, in

country houses, xxii
Erskine, Mr. H. D., of Cardross

(Serjeant-at-Arms), xxx, xxxix, xl
Erskine-May, Sir Thomas, v. May
Esturmy, or Sturmy, Sir William,

Speaker in 1404,69, 354
Etaples, Peace of, 105
Eton, 76, 211, 276, 286, 287
Evans, Elizabeth, wife of Speaker

Lenthall, 184
Evelyn, John, 225
Evelyn, George, 227
Evelyn, Sir Edward, 227
Eversley, Viscount, v. Shaw-Lefevre,

Charles
Ewelme, Oxfordshire, burial place of

Speaker Chaucer, xxv, 71
Exchequer, Office of, 7, 119
Exclusion Bill of i860, 228
Eye, or Aye, Cross, 10
Exeter, burial place of Speaker

Bampfylde, 387
Experimental meeting of the House

in the new Chamber, May 30, 1850,

322

Faber, Johann, engraver, xxxv
Fairfax, General, brother-in-law of

Speaker Widdrington, 21
Faithorne, William, engraver, xxxv
Falconbergh House, Soho Square,

former residence of Speaker Arthur

Onslow, xxxix, 256
Falconbergh, Mary, Lady, Oliver

Cromwell's daughter, 256
Falkland, Viscount, Lucius Cary, 184,

206
Farleigh Castle, Somerset, seat of the

Hungerford family, xxiv, 53
Farleigh - Hungerford, Somerset,

burial place of Sir Thomas

Hungerford, Speaker in 1376-77,

xxiv, xxvi, 53
Fawkes, Guy, 169
Felstead Church, Essex, xxxiv ; burial

place of Speaker Rich, 127
Felton, John, 171

Fenwick, Sir John, 237

Fermerie at Leicester, meeting-place
of the House of Commons 1414, 74

Fiennes, Mr, 193

Financial supremacy of the House of
Commons, asserted in the Declara-
tion of Gloucester, 1407, 72

Finch, Sir Heneage, Speaker in
1625-26, xxviii, xxix, xxxiv, I7S>
384

Finch, Sir John, Speaker in 1627-28,
xxviii, xxix, xxxi, xxxv, 176, 177,
182, 384

Fire at old Palace of Westminster in
1512, 118; in 1834, 17, 311, 312,

313
FitzWilliara, Sir Thomas, Speaker

in 148S-89, xxiii, xxxvii, 105, 370,

420
Five members, attempted arrest of, by

Charles I, 190
Fleet Ditch, 119
Fleet Prison, 83
Flower, Roger, Speaker in 1417,

1419, 1422, xxxvii, 75, 358
Foley, Mr. Paul Henry, xxii
Foley, Paul, Speaker in 1694-95 ^"^d

1695, xxviii, 223 ; miniature of,

xxii
Foley, Richard, 232
Foley, Thomas, 232 ,
Forster, John, " biographer of

Dickens," 193
Fortescue, Sir John, 206
Fox, Charles James, 279, 280, 285
Frankland, Sir Thomas, 256
Franchise Act of 1884, 330
Free Trade and Protection in the

reign of Queen Anne, 248
Furness, abbot of, 13

Gainsborough, Thomas, xxx

Gallows, the new, beyond the Tem-
ple Gate, 75

Gardener's Lane, 10, 12

Gardiner, S. R., Dr., opinion of
Lenthall, 187

Gardiner, Sir Thomas, 184

Gargrave, Sir Thomas, Speaker in
1558-59, xxix, 378

Gascony, 17, 24

Gasquet's Henry III and the Church,
referred to, 35

INDEX

439

Gatton, Surrey, 175

Gaunt, John of, 50, J I

Gentlemen Errant, by Mrs. Henry

Cust, quoted, 118
"George," The, by Paul's Wharf, 89
George I, King of England, 251, 253
George II, King of England, 253
George III, King of England, 271,

275. 279, 287, 300, 301
George IV, ICing of England, 50
Gillray, James, caricature by, xxxix
Gladstone, Rt. Hon. W. E., 309, 313,

323, 335. 336, 337, 339
GlanviUe, Sir John, Speaker in 1640,

xxvii, xxxi, 182, 183, 384
Gloucester, Parliament held at, in

1407, 72
Golden Square, town residence of

Speaker Cornwall, 285
"Good " Parliament of 1376, 49
Gordon, Thomas, translator of Taci-
tus, compiles Parliamentary De-
bates for the London Magazine,

261
Gorhambury, estate purchased by

Sir Harbottle Grimston, 2:4
Goring House, now Buckingham

Palace, occupied by Speaker

Lenthall, 190, 196
Goring, Lord, afterwards Earl of

Norwich, 198
Goschen, Lord, 335
Goulburn, Henry, a candidate for

the Chair in 1839, 321
Government and Opposition Benches

in Elizabethan times, 138 ; in the

reign of George II, 262
Grant, Sir F., xxxi
Grant, Sir William, 136
Grantley, Lord, xxix
Granville, 2nd Earl, 334 ;
Grattan, Henry, 304, 331
Gray's Inn, Speaker Snagge at, with

Walsingham and Burghley, 143
Great College Street, 7, 10, 12
Great George Street, 19
Great Linford Church, Bucks, xxv
Great Russell Street, death of Speaker

Arthur Onslow in, 273
Great Smith Street, 10
"Great Tom" of Westminster, 104
Green, Sir Henry (Chief Justice),

xxxvii, 41, 57, 346
Green, John, Speaker in 1460, xxiii,

xxxvii, 81, 85, 366

Greensted, Mr. Henry, xl

Gregory, Mr., xxviii

Gregory, Sir William, Speaker in,

1678-79, xxviii, XXX, 227, 388
Grenville, George, 276
Grenville, William Wyndham (Lord

Grenville), Speaker in 1789, xxvii,

xxviii, xxxi, xxxv, 286, 287, 288,

289, 398
Greville, Charles, 307, 314
Greville Memoirs quoted, 309, 314,

3,16, 318
Grey, Lady Jane, 133
Grey de Ruthyn, Lord, 80
Grimston, Sir Harbottle, Speaker in

1660, xxvii, xxviii, xxxi, xxxv,

214, 215, 388
Grimthorpe, Lord, 163
Guildesborough, Sir John, Speaker

in 1379-80, xxiii, xxxvii, 33, 54,

348

Guildhall, the, xxviii

Guillotine orders, regulating the pro-
cedure of the House on Bills and
Supply, 336

Gully, William Court (Viscount
Selljy), Speaker in 1895 (2), 1900,
xxxi, 338, 412

Gunpowder Plot, The, 166, 169

Gwynne, Nell, 206

Habeas Corpus Act, of 1679, 388
Haden, Sir Francis Seymour, the

late, xxxviii
Hakewil, William, 30, 34, 178
Hale, Sir Matthew, 183
Halifax, Earl of, Charles Montagu,

235
Hall, Sir Benjamin, First Com-
missioner of Works, 103
Halloran, Rev. J. A., xl
Hampden, John, 177, 183, 190
Hampden, Viscount, v. Brand, Henry
Hampton Court Palace, proposals
between Charles I and the Parlia-
ment, 1647, 196
Hampton Court, Herefordshire,
property of Speaker Lenthall, 195
Hanbury- Williams, Sir Charles, 253
Hanmer, Sir Thomas, Speaker in
1713-14, xxviii, XXX, xxxi, 246,
248, 249, 250, 332, 394
Harbord, Mr., 223

440

INDEX

Harding, S. P., xxvii

Harding, Sylvester, v. Harding, S. P.

Hardinge, Nicholas, Clerk of the
House of Commons, 267

Hare, Sir Nicholas, Speaker in 1539,
xxxvii, 127, 376

Haringay, Speaker Thorpe beheaded
at, 83

Harford, North Devon, burial place
of Speaker Thomas Williams, xxv,
379

Harley, Robert (Earl of Oxford),
Speaker in 1700-01, 1701, and
1702, xxvii, xxviii, xxxi, 236, 238,
239, 240, 246, 331, 390, 392

Harling, East, Norfolk, home of
Speaker Lovell, 105

Harman, family of, owners of Bur-
ford Priory, 205, 206

Hartley, David, 285

Hasely, Oxfordshire, birthplace of
Speaker Lenthall, 184

Hastings, Sir Francis, 165

Hatton, Sir Christopher, 141, 163,
169

Hatfield House, Herts, plans of
Westminster Palace in 1593 pre-
served at, 119

Hatsell, John, Clerk of the House of
Commons, xxxviii, 253, 258, 289

Haxey, Sir Thomas, 56, 166

Hay or Aye Hill, 10

Hazlerig, Arthur, 190, 201

H. B., caricatures by, xxxix

Heigham, Sir Clement, Speaker in
1554, xxvii, xxxiv, 133, 134, 376

Henley in Arden, 36

Henley, Thomas, Abbot of West-
minster, 37

Henry III, King of England, 4, 5,
6, 7, n, 19, 24, 28, 45

Henry IV, King of England, 56, 57,
59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 66, 67, 68, 69,

72, 73. 74, 161

Henry V, King of England, 74, 76

Henry VI, King of England, 76, 79,
81, 83, 85, 86

Henry VII, King of England, 99,
100, loi, 102, 104, 105, 107, 109,
1 10 ; virith Empson and Dudley,
painting of, xxvi ; Chapel, West-
minster, xxii

Henry VIII, King of England, 113,
114, 117, 121, 122, 126, 128, 129

Henry of Knighton's Chronicle, 36

Herbary, The, "between the King's
Chamber and the Church," 11

Herschell, Lord, 338

Hervey, Lord, 253

Higham, Mr. John, of Bedford, xxvii

Highclere, Hants, seat of Sir Robert
Sawyer, Speaker in 1678, 226

High Gate of the Palace of West-
minster, 19

Hoby, Sir Edward, 165

Hogarth, William, paints interior of
the House of Commons, xxxiv,
276

Holbein, Hans, drawing after, xxviii ;
portrait of Sir Thomas More, 194

HoII, Frank, xxxi

Holland, Rev. C. W., xl

Hollar, Wenceslaus, engraver, xxxviii

Holies, Denzil, 190

Holmes, Mr. C. J., xl

Holywell, Nunnery of, Shoreditch,
105

Hooker's description of the House
of Commons in the reign of Eliza-
beth, 138 ; remarks on publica-
tion of proceedings of the House,
263

Hours of meeting of the House of
Commons in former times — at sun-
rise in the fourteenth century,
49; at 6 a.m., 159; at 7 a.m.,

IS9
House of Commons, v. Commons
House of Lords, v. Lords
Howard's Coffee House, at upper end

of Westminster Hall, 295
"Hudibras," quoted in connection

with Speaker Lenthal, 201
Hulton, Rev. C. B., xl
Hume, Joseph, 324
Humphreys, Mr. A. L., xl
Hungerford, Sir Thomas, Speaker in

1376-77 ; first Speaker mentioned

in the Rolls, xxiv ; monumental

efiigy of, xxvi ; portrait of, xxvi ;

xxvii, 33, 52, 53, 348
Hungerford, Sir Walter (Lord

Hungerford), Speaker in 1414,

xxiv, 74, 75, 356
Hunsdon House, Herts, seat of

Speaker Oldhall, 82
Hunt, Roger, Speaker in 1420 and

I433i 358, 360 ; memorial brass of,

xxv
Hustings in Trafalgar Square, a

INDEX

441

Hutton-Hall, Rev. E., xl

Hylton, Lord, xl

Hysing, Hans, painter, xxxv

Iddesleigh, Earl of, xl

Ilbert, Sir Courtenay, Clerk of the
House of Commons, from 1902, xi,
289

Ilmington, Warwickshire, owned by
Peter de Montfort, 343

Imber Court, Thames Ditton, resi-
dence of Speaker Arthur Onslow,
274

Impeachment of Lord Melville,
Speaker Abbot's casting vote, 298

Income Tax, sought to be imposed
on all owners of land and house
property, temp. Henry IV, 65 ;
institution of, in an inquisitorial
form, by Edward IV, 92

Infirmary garden of St. Peter's
Monastery, 12

Inner Palace of Westminster, Con-
stable of England's apartments in,
70

Inns, wretched accommodation af-
forded by, in the Middle Ages, 26

" Instrument of Government," 200

Intimidation of voters in mediaeval
times, 114

Inundations of the Thames at West-
minster in former times, 12

Ireland, early mention of in English
Parliament, 29 ; Speaker of the
Irish House of Commons, 97, 138 ;
great debate on the state of, in
1812, 304, 30S ; demand for Home
Rule, rejected in 1886 and 1893,
330

Irish House of Commons, Speakers
of, 97

Islip, John, Abbot of Westminster,
420

Ivy Bridge, Strand, 142

James I, King of England, 165, 172
James II, King of England, 229,

230
Jeffreys, Judge, 222, 229, 230
Jermyn Street, residence of Mr.

Gladstone in, on first entry into

Parliament, 310

Jerusalem Chamber, Westminster
Abbey, 74

Jewel Office, 282

Jewel Tower of the Palace of West-
minster, the, illustration of, from
a drawing, xxxviii ; view of the
interior, xxxviii, 7

"Jew's Harp," Marylebone Fields,
2S9

Jodrell, Paul, Clerk of the House of
Commons, 242, 274

John, King of England, 4

Jonson, Ben, his description of a
dishonest lawyer applied to Sir
Fletcher Norton by "Junius,"
277

Journals of the House of Commons,
defaced by James I, 172; ordered
to be printed in 1 742, under Speaker
Arthur Onslow, 267 ; Sir Symonds
D'Ewes prints portions of Eliza-
bethan Journals, 147 ; antiquity
of, 267 ; curious entries in, temp.
James I, 268 ; improvements in,
269 ; indexed by Sir T. Erskine
May, 268

Journals, Clerk of the, first mention
of, in 1750, 266

"Junius" and Sir Fletcher Norton,
277

Katherine of Arragon, Queen of
England, 123

Keate, Dr. , head master of Eton, 309

Kenilworth, 37

Kettle, Mr. Bernard, of the Guild-
hall Library, xxix

Kew, residence of Speaker Pucker-
ing, 142

King Street, Covent Garden, 190

Kingston, Jamaica, mace at, 215

King Street, Westminster, 1 1

Kneller, Sir Godfrey, portrait of
Speaker William Williams, in the
Dining-room of the House of Com-
mons, XXX ; portrait of Speaker
Arthur Onslow in National Portrait
Gallery, erroneously attributed to,
274

Knightsbridge, Speaker Trevor's es-
tate at, 230

Knights of the Shire, the aristocracy
of the Lower House, 18, 22, 23,
2S, 79

442

INDEX

Knollys, Sir Francis, 150
Knyvet, Sir John (Chancellor), 51,
346

Labouchere, Henry, Rt. Hon., his
house in Old Palace Yard, 8

Labour, representation of, in the
House of Commons, 330

Ladies' Galleryof House of Commons,
280, 301, 337

Lambe, John, Dr., 181

Lambert, John, Parliamentary
General, 199, 201, 202

Lambeth Palace, xxxi ; fall of en-
graving at, xxxii, 14

Landor, Walter Savage, Imaginary
Conversations, 67

Land taxes, early unpopularity of the
principle, 43, 66, 235

Langham, Simon, Abbot of West-
minster, Cardinal and Archbishop,
Preface, viii, 42, 43

Langland's " Richard the Redeless,"

Late hours in the House of Commons
and late hours of meeting strenu-
ously opposed by Speaker Arthur
Onslow, 270, 271

La Terriere, Colonel, restores Burford
Priory, Lenthall's former house,
204

Latimer, Lord, impeachment of, in
1376, SI

Laud, William, Archbishop of Canter-
bury, xxxii, 189, 213

Law, firm grip of the Speaker's
Chair by the legal profession, 135

Law and Practice of Parliament, by
Sir Thomas Erskine-May, 268

Law in Ireland, Speaker Snagge's
opinion of, temp. Elizabeth, 144,

145

Lawrence, Sir Thomas, xxxi, xxxiv,
303 ; portrait of George III by,
formerly at Westminster, 301

Lawson, Wilfrid, Mr., 157

Layard, Sir Austen Henry, 328, 329

Lefevre-Shaw, Charles (Viscount
Eversley), Speaker in 1839, 1841,
1847, and 1852, 318, 319, 320,
321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 329, 406

Leicester, Earl of, v. Montfort, De,
Simon

Leicester, Earl of, xxix

Leicester, Parliament held at, in

1414, 74
Leicester Street, Leicester Square,
Speaker Arthur Onslow's house in,

Lely, Sir Peter, xxix, xxxi

Le Marchant, Sir Denis, Clerk of the

House of Commons from 1850 to

1871, 289
Lenthall, Sir John, 190, 203, 206
Lenthall, Sir Roland, 195
Lenthall, William, Speaker in 1640

1647, 1654, 1659, 1659-60, xxvii,

xxxi, xxxiii, 184-210, 384, 386
Le Scrope, Sir Geoffrey, xxxiv, xxxvii
Le Sueur, Hubert, sculptor, xxxiii,

173
Lesser Tenants in Chief, or Barones

Minores, 22
Leveson-Gower, Frederick, 334
Lewin, William, 150
Lewkenor, Mr. 181
Ley, John, Clerk of the House of

Commons from 1797 to 1814, 289,

291
Ley, John Henry, Clerk of the House

of Commons from 1820 to 1850,

289, 312, 313
Ley, William, 313
Ley, a Devonshire family of that

name connected with the House

of Commons for 150 years, 289,

313

Library of the House of Commons,
books and papers formerly in the
custody of the Clerk of the Jour-
nals, 267

Lincoln, 4

Lincoln's Inn, the gateway of, built
by Speaker Lovell, 103

Lincoln's Inn Fields, 202, 215, 281

Litlington, Nicholas, Abbot of West-
minster, 44, 45, 47

Little Hall, in old Palace of West-
minster, 17, 48

Littleton, Edward John (afterwards
Lord Hatherton), a candidate for
the Chair in 1833, 309

Littleton, Sir Thomas, Speaker in
1698, XXX, 223, 233, 234, 236, 237,
238, 239, 390

Liverpool, Earl of, 285

Livery and maintenance, evils of,
81

Lollards, The, 69

INDEX

443

London, Sir Robert Brooke, the first
Speaker to represent the City of,
134
Long Ditch, Westminster, 11, 12
Long Parliament assembles, 183
Long, Sir Lislebone, Speaker in,

1658-59, xxxvii, 213, 386
Longford, Lord, 227
Lords —

Lords, House of, viii ; the parent
assembly, 22
A body lineally descended from
the feudal Norman Curia, 22
The writ of summons to, a privi-
lege to be issued or withheld
at the will of the Sovereign,

Constitution of in Plantagenet
times, the non-hereditary ele-
ment a moiety of the whole
until the Reformation, 28

Separation of the two Houses,
usually accepted date of, 3 1

The Upper House appoints its
own Clerk in 1330, 33

" The Mad Parliament " of Ox-
ford in 1258, a restricted
assembly of Barons and Pre-
lates, 35

Grants made by the Lords in
1339, and disagreement with
the Commons, lead to the call-
ing of a New Parliament,

The Deadlock of 1339 not dis-
similar to that of 1909, 39

The Lords meet in the Chambre
Blanche of the Palace of
Westminster in 1368, 43

The Speaker of the House of
Commons (Sir Thomas Hun-
gerford) delivers seven Bills
to the Clerk of the Parliament
in 1376-77, but the Lords
vouchsafe no reply, the session
having come to an end, 53

Consolidation of the Peerage,
temp. Henry IV, and a re-
markable unanimity prevailing
between Lords and Commons,

63
Establishment of a permanent
hereditary Chamber acting as
■a. Court of Appeal in civil
cases, 64

Lords, House of —

King Henry IV invites both
Lords and Commons to dine
with him at Westminster in
1402, 65

Social reunion of the two
Houses in Plantagenet times
contrasted with the recent
scheme for two Chambers
sitting as one deliberative
body, in cases of deadlock.

The Declaration of Gloucester,
in 1407, defines the functions
of the Lords in assenting to
money grants, 72, 73

Exhaustion of the English no-
bility consequent on the Wars
of the Roses, 87

Depletion of the numbers of the
House of Lords at the com-
mencement of the Tudor era,

Only twenty-nine temporal peers
entitled to sit at the accession
of Henry VII, 100

The peerages created in the six-
teenth century lay the founda-
tions of a new aristocracy,
100

Henry VII relegates the House
of Lords to a position of legis-
lative impotence, at the same
time desiring to be indepen-
dent of the Lower House, 101

The temporary eclipse of the
Lords as a legislative body
continued under Henry VIII,
114

A serious disagreement with the
Commons in 1593, i"^ connec-
tion with a Money Bill, 151

Sir Francis Bacon, on behalf of
the Commons, opposes a con-
ference with the Lords, as
contrary to their privileges,
152

The conference held, and the
wording of the preamble of
the Bill decided in favour of
the Lords, 155

The Bill hurriedly passed by the
Commons through the action
of its Speaker (Sir Edward
Coke), 156

444

INDEX

Lords, House of —

In :625 the Lords concur in a
Money Bill, founded upon a
grant to which their assent
had not been specified in the
preamble, 178
In 1628 the wording of the pre-
amble of a Money Bill again
gives rise to serious disagree-
ment between the two Houses,
a deadlock averted by the
Lords passing the Bill as pre-
sented to them, after a con-
ference with the Commons,
180
A message sent to the Lords by
the Commo'ns declaring that
"the good concurrence be-
tween the two Houses is the
very heart-string of the Com-
monwealth, and that they shall
be ever as zealous of their
Lordships' privileges as of
their own rights," 180
Cromwell's House of Lords meets
in January, 1658, Lenthall, the
Speaker of the Long Parlia-
ment, takes his place in it,
together withFleetwood,Monk
and Pride, 20 1
In 1671 the Pensionary Parlia-
ment of Charles II passes a
formal resolution to the effect
that the Lords are unable to
amend a Money Bill, 221
In 1675 the relations of the two
Houses again become strained,
and the Lords accuse the re-
presentative Chamber of in-
fringing their privileges, 225
Queen Anne creates a dozen
peers to ensure a Tory majority
in the House of Lords, 234 ;
Lord Wharton's sarcastic ob-
servations upon, 234
The House of Lords most com-
pact body in the State at
the accession of George I,
251
Several bills having been rejected
by the Lords in the last Parlia-
ment of George II, the Speaker
of the House of Commons de-
sired to have animadverted
upon the cause of their failure,

Lords, House of —

but was prevented from doing
so by the accidental absence of
the Sovereign, 272
A Bill for the repeal of the paper
duty having been rejected by
the Lords in i860. Speaker
Denison deprecates the action
of the Peers as calculated
to break down the distinc-
tion between the duties and
powers of the two Chambers,
328
Lovell, Sir Thomas, Speaker in 1485,
102, 103, 104, 105, 370, 419, 420 ;
medallion portrait of, by Torre-
giano, in Westminster Abbey, xxii,
420
Lowe, Robert (Viscount Sherbrooke),

33
Lowther, Right Hon. James Wilham,
Speaker in 1905, 1906, 1910, and
1911, XXX, 339, 412, 414

Macaulay, Lord, on conferences be-
tween the two Houses, 155

Mace of the House of Commons ;
description of, xxxix ; 215

"Mad" Parliament of 1258, held at
Oxford, 35, 342

Maiden Bradley, xxxv

Maitland, Professor, his introduction
to the Memoranda de Parlia-
mento, 29

Mall, The, 112

Manners, Lady Victoria, xl

Manners-Sutton, Charles (Viscount
Canterbury), Speaker in 1817, 1819,
1820, 1826, 1830, 1831, and 1833,
xxix, XXX, xxxi, 281, 301, 304, 305,
306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 314,
315. 316, 317, 402, 404

Marculph's Tower, Palace of West-
minster, 17

Mare, Sir Peter De la. Speaker in
1377, xxxvii, 33, 50, SI, 52, S3,

54. 348
Margaret of Anjou, Queen of Henry

VI, 86
Marlowe's Edward II, reference

to Trussell in, 37
Marshall, Master, 189

INDEX

445

Marston Morteyne, Beds, burial

place of Speaker Snagge, xxvi, 146
Mary, Queen of England, 133, 134,

13s
Mary, Queen of Scots, 139, 141
Maud, Empress, 12
Maundy, Thomas, goldsmith in

Fetter Lane, maker of the mace

removed by Cromwell, 215
May-Erskine, Sir Thomas (Lord

Farnborough), Clerk of the House

of Commons from 1871 to 1886, x,

242, 268, 289, 310, 311
Mayo, Rev. Canon, of Long Burton,

xxvii
Melbourne, Lord, 313
Melville, Lord, impeachment of,

decided by casting vote of Speaker

Abbot, 298
Member of Parliament, early uses of

the term, 75, 128
Memoranda de Parliamento, 1304-05,

29
Memorial Brasses, xxii, xxv
Metes, Sir Thomas, 226
Mereworth, Kent, burial place of

Speaker Nevill, xxv, 375
Merchant Taylors Company, 168
Merrow, near Guildford, burial

place of Speaker Arthur Onslow,

274
"Michael Ritus," v. John Michael

Wright
Middlesex, Earl of, impeachment,

174

Mildmay, Sir H., 185

Mileham, near Swaffham, Norfolk,
birthplace of Sir Edward Coke,
house in which he was born, xxxix

Millbank, 10, 19

Millyng, Thomas, Abbot of West-
minster, 95

Milman, Sir Archibald, Clerk of the
House of Commons from 1900 to
1902, 289

Milner, Mr. J. D., xl

Mitford, Sir John (Lord Redesdale),
Speaker in 1801, xxviii, xxx, 294,
295,400

Mompesson, Sir Onles, 171

" Model " Parliament of 1295, 27

Monastery of Blackfriars, v. Black-
friars

Monastery of Westminster, v. West-

. minster

Monconys, description of the House

of Commons in 1663, 220, 221
Money Bills, Speaker Arthur Onslow's

attitude on presentation to the

House of Lords, 272
Money grants, differences between

Lords and Commons as to, in

Gloucester Parliament of 1407, 72 ;

in 1593, 152; in 1628, 178; in

1671, 221
Monk, General, 2or, 202, 203
Monopolies, 136, 137, 171
Montacute, co. Somerset, built by

Speaker Phelips, xxxix, 165,

166
Montagu, Sir Henry, 165
Monteagle, Lord, Thomas Spring

Rice, 319
Montfort, de, Peter, xxiii, xxxvii, 33,

34. 35

Montfort, de, Simon, S, 23, 24, 27,

35, 36 ; his coat of arms remaining
in the Abbey, 5

Monumental Effigies of Speakers,

xxii
Moore, Thomas, 306
Mordaunt, Sir John, Speaker in 1487,

monumental effigy of, xxvi ; 105,

370
Morecambe Bay, 13
More, Sir Thomas, Speaker in 1523,

xxviii, xxx, XXXV, xxxvi, 49, 120,

I2r, 122, 123, 124, 331, 374, 421,

422 ; portrait of, formerly at Burford

Priory, 194
Morley's Life of Gladstone, 333
Morpeth, Lord, 302
Morris, Mr., 150
" Mother of Parliaments, The,"

XXXV

Mowbray, John, Earl-Marshal of

England, 78
Moyle, Sir Thomas, Speaker in 1541-

xxxiv, xxxvii, 42, 128, 376
Murray, Alexander, defies Speaker

Arthur Onslow in 175 1, 269
Myddleton, Mrs., of Chirk Castle,

xxxiii

National Portrait Gallery : library
of, xxiv, xxvii ; album of water-
colour drawings of Speakers in,
xxiv, xxvii, xxxviii

446

INDEX

Nelson, Horatio, Admiral, memorial

to, in Trafalgar Square, 113 ; Lady

Sidmouth's ancedote of, 293
Nevill, Sir Henry, 165
Nevill, Sir Thomas, Speaker in

1514-15, 119, 173, 374; memorial

brass of, xxv
Newcastle, Duke of, 253
Newgate Prison, 270
New Palace Yard, Westminster, view

of, xxxviii ; 9, 20
Newspaper Press, rise of the power

of, 260
Neyte, Manor House of, belonging

to the Abbots of Westminster,

SI
Norfolk, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke

of, 129
Norman masonry remaining in

Westminster Hall, 8
North, Lord, 276, 279, 280, 281
North, Roger, 222, 233
North, Mr. Stanley, xxiv
Northampton, Mary, Countess of,

254

Northcote, James, painter and en-
graver, XXXV

Northumberland, Duke of, 133

Northumberland, Earl of, thanked
by Parliament in 1402, 64

Norton, Sir Fletcher (Lord Grantley),
Speaker in 1770 and 1774, xxviii,
xxix, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281,
282, 396, 398

Nottingham Castle, Sir Peter de la
Mare imprisoned in, 52

Occasional Conformity Bill of 1703,
265

O'Connell, Daniel, 306, 3r6

Official residence of the Speaker, in
1511-12, 117; in the seventeenth
century, 136; in 1795, 292; in
1802, 300 ; new house, designed by
Sir Charles Barry, first occupied
by Speaker Denison, 332

Oglethorpe, Mr., 241

Old and new peerages, Selden's
opinion of, 177

Oldcastle, Sir John, 75

"Old Cole," a nickname bestowed
on Tierney, 317

Oldhall, Sir William, Speaker in
1450, xxxvii, 81, 82, 83, 364

Old Palace Yard, Westminster, 19,
20, 71, 169

OUver Isaac, 123

Onslow, Arthur, grandfather of the
Speaker of that name, 227

Onslow, Arthur, Speaker in 1727-28,

1734-35. 1741, 1747. and '754.

xxvii, xxviii, xxxi, xxxiv, xxxv,

xxxviii ; view of his house in Soho

Square, xxxix ; 255-274, 394, 396
Onslow, Earl of, xxxiii, xl
Onslow, Fulk, Clerk of the House of

Commons, 137, 160
Onslow, Richard, Speaker in 15661

xxviii, XXX, 137, 139, 378
Onslow, Sir Richard, Speaker in

1708, xxviii, XXX, 239, 241, 242,

392

Opposition, early rise of a constitu-
tional, temp. Henry VI, 8i

Orchardson, Sir W. Q,, xxxi

Order in debate, rules adopted in
1888, 335

Order, maintenance of, in the Palace
of Westminster, regulations, temp.
Edward III, 31

Orders regulating the procedure of
the House on Bills and Supply,
336

Oriel College, Oxford, xxxv

Ossington, Viscount, v. Denison,
John Evelyn

Otway, Mr., 328

Owen, William, painter, xxxv

Oxford, xxxii, xxxv ; a colloquium
held there in 1204, 4 ; provisions
ofi 35 > assizes at, 139 ; Parlia-
ments at, 35, 228, 342, 390

Painted Chamber in the Old Palace
of Westminister, 17, 48, 49, 96,
118, 155, 178, 218, 225, 274, 296,

297, 313
Paisley, Lord, James Hamilton, 207
Palace of Westminster, v. West-
minster
Palace Gate, Westminster, 17
Palgrave, Sir Reginald, Clerk of the
House of Commons from 1886 to
1900, 289

INDEX

447

Pall Mall, 246

Palmerston, Viscount, x, 324, 325,

326, 328, 329
Paris, Matthew, 12
Parliament held at Blackfriars, 119,

120, 374; Bury St. Edmund's, 362 ;

Coventry, 69, 354, 366 ; Gloucester,

72. 348, 354; Leicester, 74, 356,

360 ; Lincoln, 4 ; Northampton,

348 ; Oxford, 4, 35, 228, 342, 390 ;

Reading, 364 ; Shrewsbury, 350 ;

Winchester, 45 ; York, 32, 352,

366
" Parliamentary Indoctorum, "or Lay-
men's Parliament, held at Coventry,

14.04, 3SS
Parliament Street, xxxix
Parndon, Little, Essex, burial place

of Speaker Tumour, 219
Party government, rise of, 225,

Z36
Paston family, co. Norfolk, 15, 87

Agnes, 82 ; Elizabeth, 83 ; John,

88-89; Margaret, 15
Patten-Wilson, Mr., 322
Payment of members in the Middle

Ages, 88
Pearson, J. L. , architect employed on

Westminster Hall, temp. Queen

Victoria, 8, 9
Peart, Henry, pupil of Vandyck,

xxxi, 210
Peel, Arthur Wellesley (Viscount

Peel), Speaker in 1884, 1886 (2),

and 1892, xxxi, xl, 224, 334, 335,

336, 337, 410, 412
Peel, Sir Robert, 160, 313, 315, 322,

323
Peerage and Pedigree, by J. Horace

Round, 23
Peerages, created by Queen Anne in

1712 to secure a Tory majority in

the House of Lords, 234
Peerages old and new, Selden's

opinion of the comparative value

set upon them, 177
Pelham, Dr., chaplain to Speaker

Bromley, 245
Pelham, Henry, Speaker in 1647,

xxiii, xxix, 210, 214, 384
Pembroke, 8th Earl of, 226
Pembroke College, Oxford, xxviii,

XXXV

" Pensionary Parliament," 216, 222
Pepys, Samuel, 216, 217, 218

Ferrers, Alice, 50, 52, 53

Pery, Edmond Sexten, Speaker of the
Irish House of Commons, 1772-85,
97

Petite Salle in the old Palace of West-
minster, 43

Petition of Right, 177

Petitions, gradually replaced by Bills,

75.
Petitions, triers of (first mentioned in

1304), 17, 343
Peyton, Sir Robert, 228
Phelips, Sir Edward, Speaker in

1603-04, xxviii, xxix, xxxi, 165,

166, 167, 168
Phelips, Mr. William Robert, of

Montacute, xxix
Philip II of Spain, husband of Queen

Mary, 133, 134, 135
Phillips, Thomas, painter, xxxi, xxxv
Picart, Charles, engraver, xxxv
Pickering, Sir James, Speaker in

1378, xxxvii, 33, 54, 55, 56,

348
Pimlico, 19
Pinkerton's Iconographica Scotica,

plate in, supjrased to represent

Edward I sitting in Parliament,

121
Piozzi, Mrs., 277
Pitt, William, Earl of Chatham, 260,

277
Pitt, William, the younger, 290, 297,

298, 299, 310
Play House Yard, Blackfriars, 123
Plate, service of, used by the Speaker,
formerly his personal property, but
now attached to the holder of the
oifice for the time being, 246, 250,

295. 324

" Pleine Parlement,'' proposed rever-
sion to, in case of disagreement
between the two Houses, 65

Plough Inn, Lincoln's Inn Fields,

237
Podlicote, Richard, robs the Royal
Treasury in Westminster Abbey in

1303. S8
Pole, Cardinal, 134
Pole, William de la, 37
Pollard, Sir John, Speaker in 1553

and 1555, xxxvii, 133, 134, 376,

378
Pollen, Richard, xxiv
Poltimore, Lady, xl

448

INDEX

Poltimore, Lord, descended from
Speaker Bampfylde, 213

Poole, Mrs. S. L., xl

Popham, Sir John, Speaker in 1449,
364

Popham, Sir John, Speaker in 1580-
81, xxvii, xxxiv, xxxvii, 139, 140,
380

Porritt's Unreformed House of Com-
mons quoted, 233, 266

Portmore, Lord, 254

Portraits, from church windows,
xxii ; historical collection at Lam-
beth Palace, xxxi ; ignorance of
owners regarding their possessions,
xxi ; list of Speakers of whom no
portraits can be traced, xxxvi ;
many unidentified in country-
houses, xxii ; reasons why the
present collection is of such in-
terest, xxii

Portsmouth and Plymouth, fortifica-
tion of, in 1786, debate and casting
vote of the Speaker, 283

Powerscourt, Viscount, xl

Powle, Henry, Speaker in 1688-89,
xxviii, XXX, 231, 232, 390

Poynings, Robert, sword-bearer to
Jack Cade, 83

Prayers in the House of Commons,

159

Praemunire, Statute of, passed at
Winchester in 1393, 4S

Preamble of Bills of Supply, wording
of, gives rise to differences between
Lords and Commons, 152, 177

Prerogative of the Crown, 75, 163,
165, 174, 175. 178, 234

Press Gallery, House of Commons,
264, 266

Pride, Thomas, 201

Prideaux family, the, brass in colours
to the memory of, xxv

Pride's Purge, 196

Primogeniture and Selection, evolu-
tion of the Writ of Summons,
22

Prince's Chamber, Palace of West-
minster, 301

Prince's Street, 10

Princess of Wales requested to with-
draw from the Gallery by Speaker
Abbot, 301

Printing House Square, Blackfriars,
123

Priory Church, Malvern, xxvi

Priflr John, of Burford, murdered in
1697, 207

Priory, Great Hall of, in Blackfriars,
Parliaments held in, 120, 123

Private Bill Office, instituted by
Speaker Abbot in 181 1 and de-
veloped by Speaker Abercromby,

318
Privilege, 261 ; v. Commons, House

of
Privy Garden, Whitehall, 285
Procurator of Parliament, a title

bestowed on some of the earlier

presiding officers of the Commons ,

Prolocutor, a title bestowed on some
of the earlier Speakers, 36

"Provisions of Oxford," 35

Prynne, William, 24, 25

Public Record Office, 230

Puckering, Sir John, Speaker in 1584
and 1586, 140, 141, 142, 380;
tomb of, xxvi

Pulteney, Sir William, Earl of Bath,
69, 261

Purbrick, Father Edward, at Lam-
beth Palace, xxxii

Purveyance, 15

Pym, John, 172, 175, 190, 191, 192,

193
Pyx, Chapel of the, in Westminster
Abbey, 27, 58

Queen Anne's creation of peers in
1712 to secure a Tory majority in
the House of Lords, 234

Quenington, Gloucestershire, burial
place of Speaker Powle, 232

Question to be put forthwith by the
Chair, rules adopted in i88i and
1882, and extended in 1887, 335

Quorum of the House of Commons
fixed by the Long Parliament, 188

Radley, Berks, Canopy of Speaker
Lenthall's chair preserved at, 195

Radnor, Earl of, xl

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 153, 154, 158,
160

INDEX

449

Reading, Parliament held at, 364

Redesdale, Lord, v. Mitford, Sir John

Redesdale, Lord, xxxiv, xl

Redford, Sir Henry, Speaker in 1402,
xxxvii, 64, 352

Redman, or Redmayne, Richard,
xxxvii. Speaker in 1415, 356

Redress of grievances to precede the
granting of supplies, temf. Henry
IV, 66

Refectory of the Monks of West-
minster, meeting-place of the Com-
mons in 1397, 1403-4. 1414. HIS.
and 1416, 48

Reformation of Religion Act, 128

Reform Bill of 1832, 308 ; of 1867,
326

" Regale of France,'' a diamond
stolen from Becket's shrine by
Henry VIII, 126

Regency Bill of 1751, opposed by

Speaker Arthur Onslow, 270-
Reid, Sir George, xxxi
" Reign of the Saints," a name
bestowed on the ' ' Barebone's "
Parliament, 200
Remarks on the Grand Tour of France
and Italy by Speaker Bromley,

243
" Remonstrance, The Grand," 189
Repeal of the Paper Duty, Bill

rejected by the House of Lords

i860, 328
Reporters' Gallery, House of Com-
mons, first officially recognised,

266
Reporting of debates, recorded in

The Times since its establishment,

264
Reporting of debates in the House

of Commons, 263, 264, 265,

266
Representative system, origin of, 6,

23. 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31,

32. 35
Reunion of the two Houses of Par-
liament in 1402 for a social purpose,

65
Reynell, Mr., a candidate for the

Chair in 1658-59, 213
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, xxxiii
Rheims, 7
Rich, Sir Richard, (afterwards Lord

Rich), Speaker in 1536, xxviii,

XXX, xxxiv, 125, 126, 374

Z G

Richard II, King of England, 9, 13,

55> S7> 59. 60
Richard III, King of England, 95,

96,97
Richardson, Samuel, author of
Pamela, 267 ; printing of the Jour-
nals of the House of Commons
entrusted to, in 1742, 267
Richardson, Sir Thomas, Speaker in
1620-21, xxvii, xxxiii, 170, 171,
173. 382
Rickman, John, Clerk-Assistant of

the House of Commons, 313
Ridley, White, Sir Matthew, a candi-
date for the Chair, 338
Rigby, Richard, 279
Ripperda, 257
Robinson, Mr. George, xl
Robinson, Sir Charles, xxii
Rockingham Administration, 276
Rolliad, The, and Speaker Cornwall,

285 ; on Pitt and Duudas, 291
Rolls Chapel, 230

Rolls House, Chancery Lane, former
residence of many Speakers (as
Masters of the Rolls), 136
Rolls of Parliament [liotuli Parlia-

mentorum), 30, etc. etc.
Rome, engraving of, xxxii
Rosamond, Fair, 92
Rosebery, Earl of, 175
Rothschild, Messrs., io6 ^
Round, Mr. J. H., xl
Round, Rt. Hon. James, xxxv
Rous, Francis, Speaker in i653,xxviii,

XXX, xxxi, xxxv, 200, 384
Royal Commission on Historical

Portraits, the necessity for, xxi
Rules of the House of Commons
adopted, temp. James I, 168 ;
great alterations in, adopted in
1882 and 1888, 334, 335
"Rump" Parliament, 196, 384,

386
Rushworth, John, Clerk-Assistant of

the House of Commons, xxiii,

xxxviii, 7, 174, 193
Russell, Lord Charles, Serjeant-at-
Arms to the House of Commons,

289, 326
Russell, Rt. Hon. G. W. E., 289
Russell, Lord John, afterwards Earl

Russell, 315, 323
Russell, Sir John, Speaker in 1423

and 1432, xxxvii, 77, 78, 358, 36Q

450

INDEX

Russell, John, Bishop of Lincoln and
Lord Chancellor, 420

Russell House, Strand, town resi-
dence of Speaker Puckering, 142

Rutland, Duke of, xxvi

Rutland, Dukes of, xxxiii

Rutley, Mr. J. L., xl

St. Albans, 84

St. Albans, Duke of, 206

St. Bartholomew's, Smithfield, 126

St. Benedict's Chapel, Westminster

Abbey, tomb of Simon Langham

in, 44
St. Chad's Church, Shrewsbury,

burial place of Speaker Richard

Onslow in 1571, 139
St. Edward's Chamber, Palace of

Westminster. Painted Chamber

sometimes so called, 296
St. Erasmus' Chapel, Westminster

Abbey, 95
St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle,

94, 109

— burial place of Sir Reginald Bray,
109

St. George's Church, Stamford,

burial place of Speaker Cust,

276
St. Giles-in-the-Fields, Church of,

xxvii ; burial place of Speaker

Widdrington, 385
St. James's Park, II, 19, 112
St. James's Square, town residence

of Speaker Compton, 254

— town residence of Speaker Gren-
ville, 289

St. John, Oliver, 150
St. John's College, Oxford, the Presi-
dent of, xxix
St. Martin's Church, Canterbury,

burial place of Speaker John Finch,

182
St. Mary Overy's, Southwark, 90
St. Mary's Church, Bury St. Edmunds,

burial place of Speaker Drury,

xxvi, 373
St. Maur, Mr. Harold, xxxiv
St. Michael, PaternosterRoyal, burial

place of Speaker Oldhall, 365
St. Michael's Chapel, Westminster

Abbey, Wm. Trussell's tomb in,

St. Paul's Chapel, Westminster
Abbey, Speaker Puckering's tomb
in, 142

St. Stephen's Chapel, Palace of West-
minster, xxxviii ; 17, 44, 48, 93,
131, 138, 156, 201, 295, 296. 301.
306, 313 • •

St. Swithin's Lane, 106

Sac, Le, M., 239

Sacheverell, Dr., 242

Saffron Walden, Essex, burial place
of Speaker Audley, 124

Salisbury Cathedral, xxiv, 300; burial
place of Speaker Walter Hunger-
ford, 357

Salle Blanche, or White Hall in the
old Palace of Westminster, 18, 42,

Salter's Hall, 106

Sanctuary, The, Westminster, ix,

95
Sandys, Lord, 213
Sanitation in Westminster in the

Middle Ages, 16
Saturday holiday of House of

Commons, due to Sir Robert

Walpole, 160
Saunders, Sir Edward, 139
Savage, Sir Arnold, Speaker in 1400-

01 and 1403-04, 64, 65, 66, 67,

68, 352, 354; memorial brass of,

xxv
Sawyer, Margaret, 226
Sawyer, Sir Robert, Speaker in 1678,

xxviii, 225, 226, 388
Say, Sir John, Speaker in 1448-49,

1463 and 1467, 80, 81, 84, 125,

362, 366 ; memorial brass of,

xxv
Say, William, Speaker in 1659-60,

xxxvii, 214, 386
Scardesburgh, John de. Clerk of

the House of Commons 1388,

33
Scobell, Henry, Clerk of the House

of Commons, 139, 174, 199
Scotch members at Westminster in

1707, 240
Scott, Sir Gilbert, architect, 112
Scrope, Geoffrey Le, 33, 40, 342,

343

Scrope, William Le, (Earl of Wilt-
shire), 57

Selby, Viscount, v. Gully, William
Court

INDEX

451

Selden, John, on peerages old and

new, 177
"Self-Denying Ordinance," Eton

exempted from, 211
Separation of Lords and Commons,

supposed date of, 32, 45
Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of

Commons, The, xl, 140, 156,

IS7
Serjeant's Inn, 157
Seymour, Sir Edward, Speaker in

1678 and 1678-79, xxvii, xxxi,

xxxiv ; 55, 223, 224, 225, 226,

231. 236, 388
Seymour, John, Clerk of the House

of Commons, temp. Elizabeth, 132
Shaftesbury, ist Earl of, Anthony

Ashley-Cooper, 225 ; 3rd Earl,

242
Shaftesbury, 6th Earl of, Cropley

Ashley-Cooper, Chairman of the

Lords Committee on the Dignity

of the Peerage, 23
Shakespeare, William, S7> 123 ; on

SirJohnBussy,Speakerin 1393-94,

1396-97, 57
ShareshuU, Sir William, Chief

Justice, xxxvii, 41, 346
Shaw-Lefevre, Charles (Viscount

Eversley), Speaker in 1839, 1841,

1847 and 1852, XXX, xxxi, 318, 319,

320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 32s, 329,

406
Shee, Sir Martin Archer, xxxi
Sheffield, Sir Robert, Speaker in

1511-12, XXX, 117, 118, 374
Shelburne, Lord, 282
Shere, Manors at, xxvi
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 283,

285
Shirley, Evelyn Philip, 154
Shirley, Sir Thomas, 166, 167
Shore, Jane, 91

"Short" Parliament of 164O, 1 82
Shottesbrooke, Berks, 40
Shovell, Sir Cloudesley, 257
Shrewsbury, Duke of, the "favourite

of the nation," 234
Shrine of Edward the Confessor in

Westminster Abbey, 126
Sidmouth, Lord, v. Addington
Sidmouth, Lady, the second, anec-
dote of Nelson, 293
Sidney, Henry, Lord Deputy of

Ireland, temp. Elizabeth, 143

Simco, Mr., xxviii

Simon de Montfort, v. Montfort

Single Chamber system, proposed re-
union of Lords and Commons as
one deliberative body, 65 ; contrast
between 1402 and 191 1, 65 ; Crom-
well's adherents chafe under the
uncontrolled rule of, 198

Sissinghurst Castle, near Cranbrook,
Kent, built by Speaker Baker,
129, 130

Skelton, Sir John, 127

Smallbridge, Suffolk, 54

Smith, "Bobus," his translation of
Speaker Addington's motto, 294

Smith, John, Speaker in 1705 and
1707, xxvii, xxxi, 240, 392

Smith, William Henry, Rt. Hon.,

253

Smith's Antiquities of Westminster,
301

Snagge, Thomas, Speaker in 1588-89,
xxvi; 142, 143, 144, 14s, 146,
380

Snagge, Sir Thomas, a direct descen-
dant of the Speaker of that name,
xxvi, 146, 147

Soho Square, Speaker Arthur Onslow's
house in, 256, 257

Somerset, Dukes of, 84, 224

Somerset, Duchess of, at Burford
Priory, 206

Speaker's Commentary, 332

Speaker, v. Commons, House of,
and under individual names ;
earliest painting of, xxvii ; of the
Irish Parliament, 97, 138

Speakers executed, xxxvi

Speaker's house, collection of por-
traits at, XXX, xxxi ; parlour at
Clandon, xxxiv ; residence, xxxvi ;
salary, xxxvi

Speeches of the Speakers, 303

Spring Gardens, 303

Stamford, St. George's Church, burial
place of Speaker Cust, 276

Stanhope, General, 247, 248

Stanhope, Sir Walter Spencer, Bart.,

XXXV

Stanley, Arthur Penrhyn, Dean of
Westminster, x, 5, 6, 40, 41, 94

Staple in Westminster, 1 7

State dinner in the Crypt of St.
Stephen's Chapel, described by
Speaker Abbot, 296

452

INDEX

Star Chamber, in Palace of West-
minster, 17, loi, 118, 178,

Court of, loi

Statute "De hseretico comburendo,"

68
Steele, Rev. J. T., xl
Stew Lane, 21
"Stiff Dick," a nickname of Sir

Richard Onslow, Speaker in 1708,

241
Stoke Edith, Herefordshire, built by

Speaker Foley, 232, 233 ; view of,

xxxix
Stone Buildings, Lincoln's Inn,

Stone, Sir Benjamin, xxxviii

Storey's Gate, 10, 11

Stourton, William, Speaker in 1413,
xxiii, xxxvii, 63, 356

Strangers in the House, temp. Eliza-
beth, 156

Strangeways, Sir James, Speaker in
1461, xxxvii, 89, 366

Strangways, Colonel, 223

Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, ist
Earl of, 183, 189

Stratford, John, Archbishop of Can-
terbury, 37

Strange, John, 115

Strode, William, 166, 190

Sturgis, Russell, Mr., 334

Sturmy, or Esturmy, Sir William,
Speaker in 1404, xxxvii, 69,

354
Subsidy Bills, disputes between Lords

and Commons in IS93^ 152 ; as to

preamble of the Bill of Supply in

1628, 178
Suffolk, Duchess of, daughter of

Speaker Chaucer, 72
Suffolk, Duke of, William de la Pole,

Supplies, granting of, to follow re-
dress of grievances, temp. Henry
IV, 66

Supply, modern procedure of, fore-
shadowed in 1380, 54

Supply, Bills of, 73 ; disputes between
Lords and Commons in connection
with, 152, 178

Sutton Street, Soho Square, 257

Swift, Jonathan, 240, 246

Symonds, John, 119

"Tacking," temp. William III,

235
Talbot, Gilbert, 37
Tanfield, Sir Lawrence, owner of

Burford Priory, 206
Tariff Reform in the reign of Queen

Anne, 247
Taunton, Lord, 326
Taxes on House and Land Property,

unpopularity of, in the Middle

Ages, 43, 66
Taylor, Michael Angelo, a possible

candidate for the Chair, 287
Temple Bar, 16, 17
Temple Church, burial place of

Speaker Hare, 127
Temple Gate, The New Gallows

beyond, 75
Temporary Chambers for Lords and

Commons, improvised after the

great fire of 1834, 313
Tenants in Chief, Lesser, become

merged in the Knights of the

Shire, 23
Tewkesbury, Battle of, two former

Speakers killed at, 86, 365,

367
Thames Ditton, former residence of

Speaker Arthur Onslow, 273
Thirty-nine Articles, The, legalised

by Parliament of 1571, 162
Thomas, Sir Alfred, 229
Thomond, Murrough O'Brien, ist

Earl of, 128
Thompson, Mr. H. Y., xl
Thomson, William, Archbishop of

York, 332
Thorney Island, Westminster, 10,

12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 46
Thornhill, Sir James, xxxiv, 234
Thorpe, Thomas, Speaker in 1452-

53, xxxvi, xxxvii, 83, 364
Thorpe, William (Chief Justice), 41,

344
Thurloe, John, 212
Thurlow, Lord, 279
Tierney, George, 290, 301
Tillotson, John, Archbishop of

Canterbury, 230
Times, The, Editor of, (John Delane),

on qualifications for the Speaker's

ofjfice, 324; on Speaker Denison's

retirement, 327

INDEX

453

Times Office, Blackfriars, 120, 123
Tiptoft, Sir John, (Lord Tiptoft),

Speaker in 1405-06, 34, 69, 70,

354
Tiptoft, Sir John, (Earl pfWorcester),

son of the Speaker of that name,

xxxiii, xxxvii, 69, 70, 71; called

"The butcher of England,"

70
Tong, Shropshire, burial place of

Speaker Vernon, xxxvi, 360
Tooke, John Home, 278
Torel, William, sculptor, 58
Torregiano's medallion portrait of

Speaker Lovell, now in Henry VII's

Chapel, xxii, 105, 420
Tory and Whig, early growth of two

parties so called, 225, 227
Tothill Fields, 11, 17, 21
Tower Hill, 71
Tower of London, 26, 57, 83, 167,

282
Townshend, Thomas, the Rt. Hon.,

277, 283
Trafalgar Square, proposed recon-
struction of, 112, 113
Treasury, Royal, in Westminster,

42, 58 ; at Winchester, 7
"Tree of Commonwealth," 331
Trenchard, Sir Thomas, of Wolfeton,

Dorset, 77
Tresham, Sir Thomas, Speaker in

1459, xxxvi, xxxvii, 80, 366
Tresham, William, Speaker in 1439,
1441-42, 1446-47, and 1449, xxxvi,

xxxvii, 79
Trevor, Arthur, 229
Trevor, Sir John, Speaker in 1685

and 1689-90, XXX, 136, 229, 230,

39°
Triennial Bill of 1640, 189
Triers of Petitions, 17
Trussell, William, xxxvii, 33, 40, 342,

344 ; his tomb in Westminster

Abbey, 40
Tumour, Sir Edward, Speaker in

1661, xxviii, XXX, 216, 217, 218,

219, 388
Turvey, Beds, burial place of Speaker

Mordaunt, xxvi, 371
Tyburn, lo
Tydder, Cadwallader, Clerk of the

House of Commons, temp. Eliza-
beth, 160
Tylney, Lord, 256

Tyrrell, Sir John, Speaker in 1427,
1430-31, and 1436-37. xxxvii, 360

Uniformity, Act of, IS49, 132

Union of Scotland, the Scotch mem-
bers sit at Westminster for the first
time, 240

Up Ottery, Devon, seat of Lord Sid-
mouth, 293

Utopia, by Sir Thomas More, 331

Utrecht, Treaty of, 247

Valence, Aymer de, Bishop-Elect of

Winchester, and half-brother to

King Henry IH, 34, 343
Vandyck, Anthony, portrait by, at

Raby Castle, xxviii, xxxi, 123
Vernon, Sir Richard, Speaker in

1425-26, xxvi, 360
Vertue, Robert, architect of Henry

VII's Chapel, Westminster Abbey,

109
Victoria Tower, Palace of West-
minster, designed by Sir Charles

Barry, 9
Votes and Proceedings of the House

of Commons, earUest issue of, 268
Vyne, The, Hampshire, property of

Speaker Chute, 213

Wadham College, Oxford, xxxv
Wake, William, Archbishop of

Canterbury, 14
Wakefield, Battle of, 85, 86
Walbrook, 106
Waldegrave, Earl, xl
Waldegrave, Sir Richard, Speaker in

1381, xxxvii, 33, 54, 55, 348
Wall, Rev. R., xl

Walpole, Horace, 270, 275,. 278, 282
Walpole, Sir Robert, 69, 160, 251,

255, 260, 261, 262, 271 ; portrait

of, xxxiv
Walter, John, founder of The Times,

123
Walsingham, Sir Francis, 143, 144,

146
Walton, or Wauton, Sir Thomas,

Speaker in 1425, xxxvii, 78, 360

454

INDEX

Warden of the Fleet Prison, 167

Ware, Richard, Abbot of West-
minster, 42

Warfield, Berks, 40

Warham, William, Archbishop of
Canterbury, 113

"War Parliament" of 1511-12,
117

Wars of the Roses arrest constitu-
tionsil progress, 81

Warwick House, Cloth Fair, town
residence of Speaker Rich, 126

Warwick, the "King-maker," 86

Wauton, V. Walton

Webster, T. L., Second Clerk-
Assistant of the House of Com-
mons, xi

Wellington Church, Somerset, xxxiv

Wenlock, Sir John (Lord Wenlock),
Speaker in I455> xxxvi, xxxvii,
81, 84, 364

Wentworth, Peter, 249

Westminster Abbey, x, xxii, xxvi,
xxviii, S, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13,
l8, 19, 20, 21, 27, 36, 40, 41, 42,

43. 44. 45. 46, 47. 48. 49. 58. 59.
62, 85, 94, 95, 105, 109, no, III,
118, 126, 135, 142, 173, 303
Westminster Hall, 8, 9, 64, 93,

338
Westminster Palace, great fires at, in

1512, 118; in 1834, 311
Westminster Stairs, 191
Westmorland, Earl of, Ralph Nevill,

100
Wharton, Lord, 234
Whig and Tory, early growth of

rival parties, 225, 227
"Whimsicals," The, 250
"Whip with six strings," 127
White, Sir Thomas, xxix
White-Ridley, Sir Matthew, v.

Ridley
Whitehall, 14, 112, 199, 232
White Hall or Salle Blanche in the

old Palace of Westminster, 18, 42,

43
"White House" in Soho Square,

257
White Lodge in Richmond Park,

residence of Speaker Addington

when Lord Sidmouth, 293
Whitelocke, Bulstrode, Speaker in

1656-57, xxvii, 212, 213, 231,

386

Widdrington, Sir Thomas, Speaker

in 1656, xxvii, 211, 212, 384
Wilkes, John, 275, 281
William III, King of England, 224,

231, 234, 235, 236, 238
William IV, King of England, 311,

313, 315, 318
William of Colchester, Abbot of

Westminster, 46, 47, 48
Williams, Thomas, Speaker in 1562-

63. 378 ; epitaph on, xxv ; memo-
rial brass of, xxv
Williams, Sir William, Speaker in

1680 and 1680-81, XXX, 228, 229,

388, 390
Wilmington, Earl of, v. Compton,

Sir Spencer
Windsor, 93, 161
Wingfield, Major, xxix
Wingfield, Sir Humphrey, Speaker

in 1533, xxix, 124, 125, 374
Winnington Bridge, 202
Witley, Worcestershire, 232 .
Wolfeton, Dorset, seat of Sir Thomas

Trenchard, 77
Wolsey, Cardinal, 121, 122, 125
Wood, John, Speaker in 1482-83,

xxxvii, 93, 368
Woodfall, H. S., Printer of Parlia-
mentary debates etc. , 278
WooUey, Sir John, 149
Worcester, Earl of, John Tiptoft,

son of the Speaker of 1405-06,

xxxii, 70 ; execution of, xxxvi
Worsop, William, 115
Wraxall, Sir Nathaniel, on Speaker

Cornwall, 286
Wray, Sir Christopher, Speaker in

1571, xxvii, xxviii, xxxi, 162,

378
Wright, John Michael, xxix
Wriothesley, Sir Thomas, 1st Earl

of Southampton, 129
Writ of summons, origin of the

issue to Members of Parliament,

22
Wyatt, James, architect and Sur-
veyor - General to the Board of

Works, 300, 301
Wyndham, Sir William, 261
Wynn, Sir Watkin, 289, 305
Wypn, Williams, C, a candidate

for the Speakership in 1817,

305

INDEX

455

Yarborough, Earl of, xxix
Yelverton, Sir Christopher, Speaker

in 1 597, XXX, 158, 159. 382
York, 86

Archbishop of York, William
Thomson, 332

York-
Archbishops of, resident at White-
hall until the fall of Wolsey, 14
Parliaments held at, 32, 352, 356
York, Richard Duke of, 85, 86
"Young Cole," nickname bestowed
on Speaker Abercromby by Lord
Brougham, 317

THE WORKS OF
ANA^PGidg-iPRANCE

T has long been a reproach to
England that only one volume
by ANATOLE FRANCE
has been adequately rendered
into English ; yet outside this
country he shares with
TOLSTOI the distinction
of being the greatest and most daring
student of humanity living.

f There have been many difficulties to
encounter in completing arrangements for a
uniform edition, though perhaps the chief bar-
rier to publication here has been the fact that
his writings are not for babes — but for men
and the mothers of men. Indeed, some of his
Eastern romances are written with biblical can-
dour. " I have sought truth strenuously," he
tells us, " I have met her boldly. I have never
turned from her even when she wore an

THE WORKS OF ANATOLE FRANCE

unexpected aspect." Still, it is believed that the day has
come for giving English versions of all his imaginative
works, as well as of his monumental study JOAN OF
ARC, which is undoubtedly the most discussed book in the
world of letters to-day.

f MR. JOHN LANE has pleasure in announcing that
the following volumes are either already published or are
passing through the press.

THE RED LILY

MOTHER OF PEARL

THE GARDEN OF EPICURUS

THE CRIME OF SYLVESTRE BONNARD

BALTHASAR

THE WELL OF ST. CLARE

THAIS

THE WHITE STONE

PENGUIN ISLAND

THE MERRIE TALES OF JACQUES TOURNE

BROCHE
JOCASTA AND THE FAMISHED CAT
THE ELM TREE ON THE MALL
THE WICKER-WORK WOMAN
AT THE SIGN OF THE REINE PEDAUQUE
THE OPINIONS OF JEROME COIGNARD
MY FRIEND'S BOOK
THE ASPIRATIONS OF JEAN SERVIEN
LIFE AND LETTERS (4 vols.>
JOAN OF ARC (2 vols.)

f All the books will be published at 6/- each with the
exception of JOAN OF ARC, which will be 25/- net
the two volumes, with eight Illustrations.

IT The format of the volumes leaves little to be desired.
The size is Demy 8vo (9 x 5|), and they are printed from
Caslon type upon a paper light in weight and strong of
texture, with a cover design in crimson and gold, a gilt top,
end-papers from designs by Aubrey Beardsley and initials by
Henry Ospovat. In short, these are volumes for the biblio-
phile as well as the lover of fiction, and form perhaps the
cheapest library edition of copyright novels ever published,
for the price is only that of an ordinary novel.

f The translation of these books has been entrusted to
such competent French scholars as mr. Alfred allinson,

THE WORKS OF ANATOLE FRANCE

MR. FREDERIC CHAPMAN, MR. ROBERT B. DOUGLAS,
MR. A. W. EVANS, MKS. FARLEY, MR. LAFCADIO HEARN,
MRS. W. S. JACKSON, MRS. JOHN LANE, MRS, NEWMARCH,
MR. C. E, ROCHE, MISS WINIFRED STEPHENS, and MISS
M. P. WILLCOCKS.

^ As Anatole Thibault, dit Anatole France, is to most
English readers merely a name, it will be well to state that
he was born in 1844 in the picturesque and inspiring
surroundings of an old bookshop on the Quai Voltaire,
Paris, kept by his father. Monsieur Thibault, an authority on
eighteenth-century history, from whom the boy caught the
passion for the principles of the Revolution, while from his
mother he was learning to love the ascetic ideals chronicled
in the Lives of the Saints. He was schooled with the lovers
of old books, missals and manuscript ; he matriculated on the
Quais with the old Jewish dealers of curios and obfels (fart;
he graduated in the great university of life and experience.
It will be recognised that all his work is permeated by his
youthful impressions ; he is, in fact, a virtuoso at large.

fl; He has written about thirty volumes of fiction. His
first novel was JOCASTA & THE FAMISHED CAT
(1879). THE CRIME OF SYLVESTRE BONNARD
appeared in 1 881, and had the distinction of being crowned
by the French Academy, into which he was received in 1896.

H His work is illuminated with style, scholarship, and
psychology ; but its outstanding features are the lambent wit,
the gay mockery, the genial irony with which he touches every
subject he treats. But the wit is never malicious, the mockery
never derisive, the irony never barbed. To quote from his own
GARDEN OF EPICURUS : "Irony and Pity are both of
good counsel ; the first with her smiles makes life agreeable,
the other sanctifies it to us with her tears. The Irony t
invoke is no cruel deity. She mocks neither love nor
beauty. She is gentle and kindly disposed. Her mirth
disarms anger and it is she teaches us to laugh at rogues and
fools whom but for her we might be so weak as to hate."

H Often he shows how divine humanity triumphs over
mere asceticism, and with entire reverence ; indeed, he
might be described as an ascetic overflowing with humanity,
just as he has been termed a "pagan, but a pagan
constantly haunted by the pre-occupation of Christ."
He is in turn — like his own Choulette in THE RED
LILY — saintly and Rabelaisian, yet without incongruity.

THE WORKS OF ANATOLE FRANCE

At all times he is the unrelenting foe of superstition and
hypocrisy. Of himself he once modestly said : " You will
find in liiy writings perfect sincerity (lying demands a talent
I do not possess), much indulgence, and some natural
affection for the beautiful and good."

f The mere extent of an author's popularity is perhaps a
poor argument, yet it is significant that two books by this
author are in their HUNDRED AND TENTH THOU-
SAND, and numbers of them well into their SEVENTIETH
THOUSAND, whilst the one which a Frenchman recently
described as " Monsieur France's most arid book " is in its
FIFTY-EIGHT-THOUSAND.

f Inasmuch as M. FRANCE'S ONLY contribution to
an English periodical appeared in THE YELLOW BOOK,
vol, v., April 1895, together with the first important English
appreciation of his work from the pen of the Hon. Maurice
Baring, it is peculiarly appropriate that the English edition
of his works should be issued from the Bodley Head.

ORDER FORM.

_ 190

To Mr _

Bookseller.

Please send me the following works of Anatole France:
THAlS PENGUIN ISLAND

BALTHASAR THE WHITE STONE

THE RED LILY MOTHER OF PEARL

THE GARDEN OF EPICURUS
THE CRIME OF SYLVESTRE BONNARD
THE WELL OF ST. CLARE
THE MERRIE TALES OF JACQUES TOURNE-

BROCHE
THE ELM TREE ON THE MALL
THE WICKER-WORK WOMAN
JOCASTA AND THE FAMISHED CAT
JOAN OF ARC (2 Vols.)

for which I enclose. „ _

Name

Address , _ _

JOHN LANE, Publisher, The Bodlev Head, Vigo St., London, W.

3^0 TICK

'Those who possess old letters, documents, corre-
spondence, £MSS., scraps of autobiography, and also
miniatures and portraits, relating to persons and
matters historical, literary, political and social, should
communicate with efTkfr. John Lane, The Bodley
Head, Vigo Street, London, W., who will at all
times be pleased to give his advice and assistance,
either as to their preservation or publication.

A CATALOGUE OF

MEMOIRS, "BIOGRAPHIES, ETC.

WO%KS UPON ^APOLEON
NAPOLEON dr^THE INVASION OF ENGLAND :

The Story of the Great Terror, 1 797-1 805. By H. F. B.
Wheeler and A. M. Broadley. With upwards of 100 Full-
page Illustrations reproduced from Contemporary Portraits, Prints,
etc. ; eight in Colour. Two Volumes. 3 zs. net.

Outlook. — "The book is not merely one to be ordered from the library; it should be
purchased, kept on an accessible shelf, and constantly studied by all Englishmen who
love England."

DUMOURIEZ AND THE DEFENCE OF

ENGLAND AGAINST NAPOLEON. By J. Holland
Rose, Litt.D. (Cantab.), Author of "The Life of Napoleon,"
and A. M. Broadley, joint-author of " Napoleon and the Invasion
of England." Illustrated with numerous Portraits, Maps, and
Facsimiles. Demy 8vo. 21/. net.

NAPOLEON IN CARICATURE : 1795-1821. By

A. M. Broadley, joint-author of " Napoleon and the Invasion of
England," etc. With an Introductory Essay oh Pictorial Satire
as a Factor in Napoleonic History, by J. Holland Rose, Litt.D.
(Cantab.). With 24 full-page Illustrations in colour and upwards
of 200 in black and white from rare and often unique originals.
In 2 vols. Demy 8vo (9 x sf inches.) 42/. net.

THE FALL OF NAPOLEON. By Oscar

Browning, M .A., Author of "The Boyhood and Youth of Napoleon."
With numerous Full-page Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f inches).
I2J. 6d. net.

i>frf<i<or.—'_' Without doubt Mr. Oscar Browning has produced a book which should have

Its place m any library of Napoleonic literature."
Truth.—" Mr. Oscar Browning has made not the least, but the most of the romantic

material at his command for the story of the fall of the greatest figure in history."

THE BOYHOOD & YOUTH OF NAPOLEON,

1769-1793. Some Chapters on the early life of Bonaparte.
By Oscar Browning, m.a. With numerous Illustrations, Por-
traits, etc. Crown 8vo. 5/. net.

Daily News.—" Uz. Browning has vvith patience, labour, careful study, and excellent taste
given us a very valuable work; which will add materially to the literature on this most
fascinating of human personalities.

MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, Etc. 3
THE LOVE AFFAIRS OF NAPOLEON. By

Joseph Turquan. Translated from the French by James L. May.
With 32 Full-page Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5^ inches).
12s. 6d. net.

THE DUKE OF REICHSTADT(NAPOLEON II.)

By Edward de Wertheimer. Translated from the German.
With numerous Illustrations, Demy 8vo. Cheap Edition. 5/. net.

Times. — *' A most careful and interesting work which presents the first complete and

authoritative account of the life of this unfortunate Prince."
Wesiminsier Gazette.— " This book, admirably produced, reinforced by many additional

portraits, is a solid contribution to history and a monument of patient, well-applied

research."

NAPOLEON'S CONQUEST OF PRUSSIA, 1806.

By F. LoRAiNE Petre. With an Introduction by Field-
Marshal Earl Roberts, V.C, K.G., etc. With Maps, Battle
Plans, Portraits, and i6 Full-page Illustrations. Demy 8vo
(9 ^ Sf inches), izs, dd, net.

Scotsman. — " Neither too concise, nor too diffuse, the book is eminently readable. It is the

best work in English on a somewhat circumscribed subject."
Outlook. — " Mr. Petre has visited the battlefields and read everything, and his monograph is

a model of what military history, handled with enthusiasm and literary ability, can be. "

NAPOLEON'S CAMPAIGN IN POLAND, 1806-

1 807. A Military History of Napoleon's First War with Russia,
verified from unpublished official documents. By F. Loraine
Petre. With i6 Full-page Illustrations, Maps, and Plans. New
Edition. Demy 8vo (9 x 5 finches), izs. 6d. net.

Army and Navy Ckronicle, — " We welcome a second edition of this valuable work. . .
Mr. Loraine Petre is an authority on the wars of the great Napoleon, and has brought
the greatest care and energy into his studies of the subject."

NAPOLEON AND THE ARCHDUKE

CHARLES. A History of the Franco- Austrian Campaign in
the Valley of the Danube in 1809. By F. Loraine Petre.
With 8 Illustrations and 6 sheets of Maps and Plans. Demy 8vo
(9 ^ Sf inches). 1 2/. dd. net.

RALPH HEATHCOTE. Letters of a Diplomatist

During the Time of Napoleon, Giving an Account of the Dispute
between the Emperor and the Elector of Hesse. By Countess
GuNTHER Groben. With Numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo
(9 X 5-| inches). \zs.6d.vxX,.

*,* Kalfik Heaihcotey the sen of an English father and an Alsatian mother, was for
some time in the English diplomatic service as first secretary to Mr. Brook Taylor, minister
at the Court of Hesse, and on one occasion found himself very near to making history.
Napoleon became persuaded that Taylor was implicatedin a plot to procure his assassina-
tion, and insisted on his dismissal from the Hessian Court. As Taylor refused to be
dismissed, the incident at one time seemed likely to result to the Elector in the loss of his
throne. Heathcoie came into contact with a number of notable people, including the Miss
Berrys, with whom lu assures his mother he is not in Iffve. On the whole, there is much
interesting materialfor lovers 0/ old letters and journals.

A CATALOGUE OF

MEMOIRS OF THE COUNT DE CARTRIE.

A record of the extraordinary events in the life of a French
Royalist during the war in La Vendee, and of his flight to South-
ampton, where he followed the humble occupation of gardener.
With an introduction by Fredjeric Masson, Appendices and Notes
by Pierre AininiE Pichot, and other hands, and numerous Illustra-
tions, including a Photogravure Portrait of the Author. Demy 8vo.
I2s. 6d. net.

Daily News. — " We have seldom met with a human document which has interested us so
much."

THE JOURNAL OF JOHN MAYNE DURING

A TOUR ON THE CONTINENT UPON ITS RE-
OPENING AFTER THE FALL OF NAPOLEON, 1814.
Edited by his Grandson, John Mayne Colles. >With 16
Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f inches), izs. 64. net.

WOMEN OF THE SECOND EMPIRE.

Chronicles of the Court of Napoleon III. By Frederic Loli^ie.
With an introduction by Richard Whiteing and 53 full-page
Illustrations, 3 in Photogravure. Demy 8vo. zu. net.

standard.— yM.. Fr6d6ric Loli^e has written a remarkable book, vivid and pitiless m its
description of the intrigue and dare-devil spirit which flourished unchecked at the P'rench
Court. . . . Mr. Richard Whiteing's introduction is written with restraint and dignity."

LOUIS NAPOLEON AND THE GENESIS OF

THE SECOND EMPIRE. By F. H. Cheetham. With
Numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5| inches). 1 6s. net.

MEMOIRS OF MADEMOISELLE DES

ECHEROLLES. Translated from the French by Marie
Clothilde Balfour. With an Introduction by G. K. Fortescue,
Portraits, etc. 5/. net.

Liuerfool^ Mercury.—". . . this absorbing book. . . . The work has a very decided
historical value. The translation is excellent, and quite notable in the preservation of
idiom."

JANE AUSTEN'S SAILOR BROTHERS. Being

the Life and Adventures of Sir Francis Austen, g.c.b.. Admiral of
the Fleet, and Rear-Admiral Charles Austen. By J. H. and E. C.
HuBBACK. With numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 1 2/. 6d. net.

Morning Post.—". . . May be welcomed as an important addition to Austeniana . .•
It IS besides valuable for its glimpses of life in the Navy, its illustrations of the feelings
and sentiments of naval officers during the period that preceded and that which
followed the great batt e of just one century ago, the battle which won so much but
which cost us — Nelson.

MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, Etc. 5
SOME WOMEN LOVING OR LUCKLESS.

By Teodor de Wyzewa. Translated from the French by C. H.
Jeaffreson, m.a. With Numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo
(9 X 5f inches). 7/. dd. net.

THE TRUE STORY OF MY LIFE: an Auto-
biography by Alice M. Diehl, Novelist, Writer, and Musician.
Demy 8vo. \os. 6d. net.

GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO : A BIOGRAPHICAL

STUDY. B7 Edward Hutton. With a Photogravure Frontis-
piece and' numerous other Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5I
inches). \6s. net.

MINIATURES : A Series of Reproductions in

Photogravure of Eighty-Five Miniatures of Distinguished Person-
ages, including the Queen Mother and the three Princesses of the
House. Painted by Charles Turrell. The Edition is limited
to One Hundred Copies (many of which are already subscribed for)
for sale in England and America, and Twenty-five Copies for Pre-
sentation, Review, and the Museums. Each will be Numbered
and Signed by the Artist. Large Quarto. ^^15 15j.net.

COKE OF NORFOLK AND HIS FRIENDS:

The Life of Thomas William Coke, First Earl of Leicester of
the second creation, containing an account of his Ancestry,
Surroundings, Public Services, and Private Friendships, and
including many Unpublished Letters from Noted Men of his day,
English and American. By A. M. W. Stirling. With 20
Photogravure and upwards of 40 other Illustrations reproduced
from Contemporary Portraits, Prints, etc. Demy 8vo. 2 vols.
32/. net.

Tht Times.—" We thank Mrs. Stirling for one of the most interesting memoirs of recent

years. "
Daily Telegraph.—" A very remarkable literary performance. Mrs. Stirling has achieved

a resurrection. She has fashioned a picture of a dead and forgotten past and brought

before our eyes with the vividness of breathing existence the life of our English ancestors

of the eighteenth century."
Pall Mall Gazette.-" A work of no common interest ; in fact, a work which may almost be

called unique."
Evening Standard.—" One of the most interesting biographies we have read for years."

A CATALOGUE OF

THE LIFE OF SIR HALLIDAY MACART-
NEY, K.C.M.G., Commander of Li Hung Chang's trained
force in the Taeping Rebellion. Secretary and Councillor to
the Chinese Legation in London for thirty years. By Demetrius
C. BouLGER, Author of the " History of China," the « Life of
Gordon," etc. With Illustrations. Demy 8vo. Price 21 j-. net.

Daily Graphic. — " It is safe to say that few readers will be able to put down the book with-
out feeling the better for having read it . . . not only full of personal interest, but
tells us much that we never knew before on some not unimportant details."

DEVONSHIRE CHARACTERS AND STRANGE

EVENTS. By S. Baring-Gould, m.a., Author of « Yorkshire
Oddities," etc. With 58 Illustrations, Demy 8vo. 21j.net,

Daily News. — "A fascinating series . . . the whole book is rich in human interest. It is
by personal touches, drawn from traditions and memories, that the dead men surrounded
by the curious panoply of their time, are made to live again in Mr. Baring- Gould's pages. '*

CORNISH CHARACTERS AND STRANGE

EVENTS. By S. Baring-Gould, m.a., Author of "Devonshire
Characters and Strange Events," etc. With 6z full-page Illus-
trations reproduced from old prints, etc. Demy 8vo. 21/. net.

ROBERT HERRICK : A BIOGRAPHICAL AND

CRITICAL STUDY. By F. W. Moorman, B.A., Ph. D.,
Assistant Professor of English Literature in the University of
Leeds. With 9 Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5 J inches).
12/. Sd. net.

THE MEMOIRS OF ANN, LADY FANSHAWE.

Written by Lady Fanshawe. With Extracts from the Correspon-
dence of Sir Richard Fanshawe. Edited by H. C. Fanshawe.
With 38 Full-page Illustrations, including four in Photogravure
and one in Colour. Demy 8vo. 16/. net.

V This Edition has tern i>rinied direct from the original manuscript in the -^ossessuin
of the Fanshawe Family, and Mr. H. C. Fanshawe contributes ntimerous notes which
form a running commentary on the text. Many famous pictures are reproduced, includ-
it^ paintings hy Velazquez and Van Dyck.

THE LIFE OF JOAN OF ARC. By Anatole

France. A Translation by Winifred Stephens. W'ith 8 Illus-
trations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5| inches), z vols. Price 25/. net.

MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, Etc. 7
THE DAUGHTER OF LOUIS XVI. Marie-

Ther^se-Charlotte of France, Duchesse D'Angouleme. By. G.
Lenotre. With 13 Full-page Illustrations. Demy 8vo. Price
10s, dd. net.

WITS, BEAUX, AND BEAUTIES OF THE

GEORGIAN ERA. By John Fyvie, author of « Some Famous
Women of Wit and Beauty," " Comedy Queens of the Georgian
Era," etc. With a Photogravure Portrait and numerous other
Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f inches), i is. 6d. net.

LADIES FAIR AND FRAIL. Sketches of the

Demi-monde during the Eighteenth Century. By Horace
Bleackley, author of "The Story of a Beautiful Duchess."
With I Photogravure and 15 other Portraits reproduced from
contemporary sources. Demy 8vo (9 x '5 J inches). izs.6d. net.

MADAME DE MAINTENON : Her Life and

Times, 1635-1719. By C. C. Dyson. With l Photogravure
Plate and 16 other Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9x5! inches).
lis. 6d. net,

DR. JOHNSON AND MRS. THRALE. B7

A. M. Broadley. With an Introductory Chapter by Thomas
Seccombe. With 24 Illustrations from rare originals, including
a reproduction in colours of the Fellowes' Miniature of Mrs.
Piozzi by Roche, and a Photogravure of Harding's sepia drawing
of Dr. Johnson. Demy 8vo (9 x sf inches). izs.6d.rM.

THE DAYS OF THE DIRECTOIRE. By

Alfred Allinson, M.A. With 48 Full-page Illustrations,
including many illustrating the dress of the time. Demy 8vo
(9 X 5I inches), i6j.net.

A PRINCESS OF INTRIGUE : A Biography of

Anne Louise Benedicte, Duchesse du Maine. Translated from the
French of General de Piepape by J. Lewis May. With a
Photogravure Portrait and 16 other Illustrations. Demy 8to
(9 X sl inches), i zs. 6d. net.

8 A CATALOGUE OF

PETER THE CRUEL : The Life of the Notorious

Don Pedro of Spain, together with an Account of his Relations
with the famous Maria de Padilla. By Edward Storer. With
a Photogravure Frontispiece and 1 6 other Illustrations, Demy
8vo (9x5! inches). 12s. 6d. net.

CHARLES DE BOURBON, CONSTABLE OF

FRANCE: "THE GREAT CONDOTTIERE." By

Christopher Hare. With a Photogravure Frontispiece and 16
other Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5^ inches). 1 2s. 6d. net.

HUBERT AND JOHN VAN EYCK : Their Life

and Work. By W. H. James Weale, With 41 Photogravure

and 95 Black and White Reproductions. Royal 4to. ^5 5/. net.

Sir Martin Conway's Note.
Nearly half a century has passed since Mr. W. H. Ja^tes Weale^ then resident at
Bruges^ began that long series of patient investigations into the history of Netherlandish
art which uuas destined to earn so rich a harvest. When he began work Metnlinc was
still called He^nling, and wets fahled to have arrived at Bruges as a "wounded soldier.
The van Eycks were little more than legendary heroes. Roger Van der Weyden wa^ little
more than a name. Most of the other great Netherlandish artists were either wholly
'forgotten or named only in connection with paintings with "which they had nothing to do,
Mr. Weale discovered Gerard David, and disentangled his principal works from Mem.-
line's, with which they were then confused.

VINCENZO FOPPA OF BRESCIA, Founder of

THE Lombard School, His Life and Work. By Constance

JOCELYN FfOULKES and MoNSIGNOR RoDOLFO MaJOCCHI, D.D.,

Rector of the Collegio Borromeo, Pavia. Based on research in the
Archives of Milan, Pavia, Brescia, and Genoa, and on the study
of all his known works. With over loo Illustrations, many in
Photogravure, and loo Documents. Royal 4to. ;;£■>, \\s. 6d. net.

*** No complete Life of Vincenzo Foppa kas e-ver been luritien : an omission vihich
seems almost inexplicable in these days of over-production in the matter of bio-
graphies of painters, and of subjects relating to the art of Italy. The object of the
authors of this book has been to present a true picture of the master^s life based
upon the testimony of records in Italian archives. The authors have unearthed a large
amount of new material relating to Foppa, one of the most interesting facts brought to
light being that he lived for twenty-three years longer than was formerly supposed. The
illustrations will include several pictures by Foppa. hitherto unknown in the hisioiy of art.

MEMOIRS OF THE DUKES OF URBINO.

Illustrating the Arms, Art and Literature of Italy from 1440 to
1630. By James Dennistoun of Dennistoun. A New Edition
edited by Edward Hutton, with upwards of 100 Illustrations.
Demy 8vo. 3 vols. 42/. net.

*»* For many years this great book has been out oj print, although it still remains the
chief authority upon the Duchy of Urbino from the beginning of the fifteenth century
Mr. Hutton has carefully edited the whole work, leaving the text suistantiallv the same
but adding a large nuviber of new notes, comments and references. Wherever possible
the reader is directed to original sources. hvery sort of work has been laid under
contribution to illustrate the text, and bibliographies /lave been supplied on man)i subjects.
Besides these notes the book acguires anew value on account of the mass of illustrations
which it now contains, thus adding a pictorial comment loan historical and critical one

MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, Etc. 9
SIMON BOLIVAR, "EL LIBERT ADOR." A

Life of the Chief Leader in the Revolt against Spain in Venezuela,
New Granada and Peru. By F. Loraine Petre. Author of
" Napoleon and the Conquest of Prussia," " Napoleon's Campaign
in Poland," and " Napoleon and the Archduke Charles." With
2 Portraits, one in Photogravure, and Maps. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f
inches). 12s. 6d. net.

THE DIARY OF A LADY-IN-WAITING. By

Lady Charlotte Bury. Being the Diary Illustrative of the
Times of George the Fourth. Interspersed with original Letters
from the late Queen Caroline and from various other distinguished
persons. New edition. Edited, with an Introduction, by A.
Francis Steuart. With numerous portraits. Two Vols.
Demy 8vo. 215. net

THE LAST JOURNALS OF HORACE WAL-

POLE. During the Reign of George III from 1771 to 1783.
With Notes by Dr. Doran. Edited, with an Introduction, by
A. Francis Steuart, and containing numerous Portraits (2 in
Photogravure) reproduced from contemporary Pictures, Engravings,
etc. 2 vols. Uniform with " The Diary of a Lady-in- Waiting."
Demy 8vo (9 x 5f inches). 25^. net.

JUNIPER HALL: Rendezvous of certain illus-
trious Personages during the French Revolution, including Alex-
ander D'Arblay and Fanny Burney. Compiled by Constance Hill.
With numerous Illustrations by Ellen G. Hill, and reproductions
from various Contemporary Portraits. Crown 8vo. 5/. net.

JANE AUSTEN : Her Homes and Her Friends.
By Constance Hill. Numerous Illustrations by Ellen G. Hill,
together with Reproductions from Old Portraits, etc. Cr. 8vo. j/.net.

THE HOUSE IN ST. MARTIN'S STREET.

Being Chronicles of the Burney Family. By Constance Hill,
Author of " Jane Austen, He^r Homes and Her Friends," " Juniper
Hall," etc. With numerous Illustrations by Ellen G. Hill, and
reproductions of Contemporary Portraits, etc. Demy 8vo. 21s.net.

STORY OF THE PRINCESS DES URSINS IN

SPAIN (Camarera-Mayor). By Constance Hill. With 12
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Crown 8vo. 5^. net.

lo A CATALOGUE OF

MARIA EDGEWORTH AND HER CIRCLE

IN THE DAYS OF BONAPARTE AND BOURBON.

By Constance Hill. Author of "Jane Austen : Her Homes
and Her Friends," "Juniper Hall," "The House in St. Martin's
Street," etc. With numerous Illustrations by Ellen G. Hill
and Reproductions of Contemporary Portraits, etc. Demy 8vo
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NEW LETTERS OF THOMAS CARLYLE.

Edited and Annotated by Alexander Carlyle, with Notes and
an Introduction and numerous Illustrations, In Two Volumes.
Demy 8vo. 251. net.

J'^aii Mall Gazette. — " To the portrait of the man, Thomas, these letters do really add

value ; we can learn to respect and to like him the more for the genuine goodness of his

personality."
Literary World. — " It is then Carlyle, the nobly filial son, we see in these letters ; Carlyle,

the generous and affectionate brother^ the loyal and warm-hearted friend, . , . and

above all, Carlyle as the tender and faithful lover of his wife."
Daily^ Telegraph. — '* The letters are characteristic enough of the Carlyle we know : very

picturesque and entertaining, full of extravagant emphasis, written, as a rule, at fever

heat, eloquently rabid and emotional.'

NEW LETTERS AND MEMORIALS OF JANE

WELSH CARLYLE. A Collection of hitherto Unpublished
Letters. Annotated by Thomas Carlyle, and Edited by
Alexander Carlyle, with an Introduction by Sir James Crichton
Browne, m.d., ll.d., f.r.s., numerous Illustrations drawn in Litho-
graphy by T. R. Way, and Photograyure Portraits from hitherto
unreproduced Originals. In Two Volumes. Demy 8vo. 251. net.

Westminster Gazette, — " Few letters in the language have in such perfection the qualities
which good letters should possess. Frank, gay, hrilliant, indiscreet, immensely clever,
whimsical, and audacious, they reveal a character which, with whatever alloy of human
infirmity, must endear itself to any reader of understanding."

World.— " Ihriyni a deal of new light on the domestic relations of the Sage of Chelsea.
They also contain the full text- of Mrs. Carlyle's fascinating journal, and her own
* humorous and quaintly candid ' narrative of her first love-aflfair,"

THE LOVE LETTERS OF THOMAS CAR-
LYLE AND JANE WELSH. Edited by Alexander Carlyle,
Nephew of Thomas Carlyle, editor of "New Letters and
Memorials of Jane Welsh Carlyle," « New Letters of Thomas
Carlyle," etc. With 2 Portraits in colour and numerous other
Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5| inches). 2 vols. 25/. net.

CARLYLE'S FIRST LOVE. Margaret Gordon-
Lady Bannerman. An account of her Life, Ancestry and
Homes ; her Family and Friends. By R. C. Archibald. With
20 Portraits and Illustrations, including a Frontispiece in Colour.
Demy 8vo (9 x sf inches). loj. 6</. net

MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, Etc. ii

THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE NINE-
TEENTH CENTURY. By Houston Stewart Chamber-
lain. A Translation from the German by John Lees, M.A.,
D.Litt. (Edin.). With an Introduction by Lord Redesdale,
G.C.V.O., K.C.B. 2 vols. Demy 8vo (9 X 5f inches). 32/. net.

MEMOIRS OF THE MARTYR KING : being a

detailed record of the last two years of the Reign of His Most
Sacred Majesty King Charles the First, 1646- 1 648-9. Com-
piled by Allan Fea. With upwards of 100 Photogravure
Portraits and other Illustrations, including relics. Royal 4to.
105^. net.

Mr. M. H. Spielmanh in T^u AcatUviy, — "The volume is a triumph for the printer and

publisher, and a solid contribution to Carolinian literature."
Pall Mall Gazette. — " The present sumptuous volume, a storehouse of eloquent associations
. . comes as near to outward perfection as anything we could desire."

MEMOIRS OF A VANISHED GENERATION

1813-1855. Edited by Mrs. Warrenne Blake. With numerous
Illustrations. Demy 8vo. i6s, net.

*^^* This work is compiled front diaries and letters dating front the time of the Regency
to the middle of the nineteenth century. The value of the work lies in its natural un-
embellished picture of the life of a cultured and well-born family in a foreign environment
at a period so close to our own tkmt it is far less familiar than periods much more re?note»
There is an atmosphere of Jane Austen's novels about the lives of Admiral Knox and his
family, and a large number of well-known contemporaries are introduced into Mrs. Blake's
pages.

THE LIFE OF PETER ILICH TCHAIKOVSKY

(1840-1893). By his Brother, MoDESTE Tchaikovsky. Edited
and abridged from the Russian and German Editions by Rosa
Newmarch. With Numerous Illustrations and Facsimiles and an
Introduction by the Editor. Demy 8vo. "js. 6d. net. Second
edition.

The Times.— " A. most illuminating commentary on Tchaikovsky's music."

H^orld. — " One of the most fascinating self-revelations by an artist which has been givea to

the world. The translation is excellent, and worth reading for its own sake."
Contemporary Reaiew. — " The book's appeal is, of course, primarily to the music-lover ; but
there is so much ol human and literary interest in it, such intimate revelation of a
singularly interesting personality, that many who have never come under the spell of
the Pathetic Symphony will be strongly attracted by what is virtually the spiritual
autobiography of its composer. High praise is due to the translator and editor for the
literary skill with which she has prepared the English version of this fascinating work . . .
There have been few collections of letters published within recent years that give so
vivid a portrait of the writer as that presented to us in these pages."

12 A CATALOGUE OF

CESAR FRANCK : A Study. Translated from the
French of Vincent d'Indy, with an Introduction by Rosa New-
march. Demy 8vo. js. 6d, net.

*>* There is no^urer influence in modern music than thai 0/ Cisar Franc k, /or many
years i^ored in every capacity save that of organist ofSainte-Clotilde^ in Paris, but now
recognised as the legithnaie successor of Bach and Beethoven. His inspiration ' ' rooted in
love and faith " has contributed in a remarkable degree to the regeneration of the musical
art in France and elsewhere. The now famous ** Schola Cantorum" founded in Paris in
i8g6, by A. Guilfnant, Charles Bordes and Vincent dlndy^ is the direct outcome of his
influence. Among the artists who were in some sort his disciples were Paul Dukas^
Chabrier, Gabriel Femri and the great violinist Ysaye. His Pupils include such gifted
composers as BenoU, Augusta Holmes, Chausson^ Ropartz, and cC Indy. This book,
written with tJie devotion of a disciple and the authority of a master^ leaves us with
a vivid and touching impression of the saint-like composer of " The Beatitudes."

GRIEG AND HIS MUSIC. By H. T. Finck,

Author of Wagner and his Works," etc. With Illustrations.
Crown 8vo. Js. 6d. net.

THE OLDEST MUSIC ROOM IN EUROPE :

A Record of an Eighteenth-Century Enterprise at Oxford. By
John H. Mee, M.A., D.Mus., Precentor of Chichester Cathedral,
(sometime Fellow of Merton College, Oxford). With 25 full-page
Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5^ inches). 10/. 6d. net.

EDWARD A. MACDOWELL: A Biography.

By Lawrence Oilman, Author of " Phases of Modern Music,"
"Straus's 'Salome'," "The Music of To-morrow and Other
Studies," etc. Profusely Illustrated. Crown 8vo. 5;. net.

THE KING'S GENERAL IN THE WEST,

being the Life of Sir Richard Granville, Baronet (1600-1659).
By Roger Granville, M.A., Sub-Dean of Exeter Cathedral.
With Illustrations. Demy 8vo. \os. 6d. net.

Westminster Gazette. — " A distinctly interesting work ; it will be highly appreciated by
historical students as well as by ordinary readers."

THE SOUL OF A TURK. By Mrs. de Bunsen.

With 8 Full-page Illustrations. Demy 8vo. loj. 6d. net.

* *

. We hear of Moslem " fanaticism" and Christian " superstition," liut it is not easy
to find a book which goes to the heart of the matter. " The Soul of a Turk" is the
outcome of several journeys in Asiatic and European Turkey, notably one through the
A rmentan provinces, down the Tigris on a raft to Baghdad and across the Syrian Desert
to pamascus. Mrs. de Bunsen made a special study of the mirious forms of religion
existing m those countries. Here, side hy side with the formal ceremonial of the milage
mosgue and the Christian Church, is tlie resort to Magic and Mystery.

THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF ROBERT

Stephen Hawker, sometime Vicar of Morwenstow in Cornwall.
By C. E. Byles. With numerous Illustrations by J. Ley
Pethybridge and others. Demy 8vo. 7/. dd. net.

Daily Telegraph.— '' . . . As soon as the volume is opened one finds oneself in the presence
of a real original, a man of ability, genius and eccentricity, of whom one cannot know
too much. . . .No one will read this fascinating and charmingly produced book without
thanks to Mr. Byles and a desire to visit— or revisit— Morwenstow."

MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, Etc. 13
THE LIFE OF WILLIAM BLAKE. By Alexander

Gilchrist. Edited with an Introduction by W.Graham Robertsok.
Numerous Reproductions from Blake's most characteristic and
remarkable designs. Demy 8vo. loj. 6^. net. New Edition.

Birmingham Post. — "Nothing seems at all likeljr ever to supplant the Gilchrist biographyi
Mr. Swinburne praised it magnificently in his own eloquent essay on Blake, and there
should be no need now to point out its entire sanity, understanding keenness of critical
insight, and masterly literary style. Dealing with one of the most difficult of subjects,
it ranks among the finest things of its kind that we possess."

GEORGE MEREDITH : Some Characteristics.
By Richard Le Gallienne, With a Bibliography (much en-
larged) by John Lane. Portrait, etc. Crown 8vo. 5/. net. Fifth
Edition. Revised,

Punch. — "All Meredithians must possess 'George Meredith ; Some Characteristics,' by
Richard Le Gallienne. This book is a complete and excellent guide to the novelist and
the novels, a sort of Meredithian Bradshaw, with pictures of the traffic superintendent
and the head office at BoxhiU. Even Philistines may be won over by the blandishments
of Mr. Le Gallienne."

LIFE OF LORD CHESTERFIELD. An Account

of the Ancestry, Personal Character, and Public Services of the
Fourth Earl of Chesterfield. By W. H. Craig, M.A. Numerous
Illustrations. Demy 8vo. i ^s. dd. net.

Times. — " It is the chief point of Mr. Craig's hook to show the sterling qualities which
Chesterfield was at too much pains in concealing, to reject the perishable trivialities of
his character, and to exhibit him as a philosophic statesman, not inferior to anjr of his
contemporaries, except Walpole at one end of his life, and Chatham at the other."

A QUEEN OF INDISCRETIONS. The Tragedy

of Caroline of Brunswick, Queen of England. From the Italian
of G. P. Clerici. Translated by Frederic Chapman. With
numerous Illustrations reproduced from contemporary Portraits and
Prints. Demy 8vo. ^ls. net.

The Daily Telegraph.—" It could scarcely be done more thoroughly or, on the whole, in
better taste than is here displayed by Professor Clerici. Mr. Frederic Chapman himself
contributes an uncommonly interesting and well-informed introduction."

LETTERS AND JOURNALS OF SAMUEL

GRIDLEY HOWE. Edited by his Daughter Laura E.
Richards. With Notes and a Preface by F. B. Sanborn, an
Introduction by Mrs. John Lane, and a Portrait. Demy 8to
(9x5! inches). i6j. net.

Outlook.— "1\M deeply interesting record of experience. The volume is worthily produced
and contains a striking portrait of Howe."

THE WAR IN WEXFORD. An Account of the

Rebellion in the South of Ireland in 1798, told from Original
Documents. By H. F. B. Wheeler and A. M. Broadley,
Authors of " Napoleon and the Invasion of England," etc. With
numerous Reproductions of contemporary portraits and engravings.
Demy 8vo (9 x jf inches), iz/. (>d. net.

14 A CATALOGUE OF

THE LIFE OF ST. MARY MAGDALEN.

Translated from the Italian of an Unknown Fourteenth-Century
Writer by Valentina Hawtrey. With an Introductory Note by
Vernon Lee, and 14 Full-page Reproductions from the Old Masters.
Crown 8vo. 5/. net.

Daily News. — " Miss Valentina Hawtrey has given a most excellent English version of this
pleasant work."

LADY CHARLOTTE SCHREIBER'S

JOURNALS : Confidences of a Collector of Ceramics and
Antiques throughout Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain,
Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, and Turkey. From the Year
1869 to 1885. Edited by Montague Guest, with Annotations
by Egan Mew. With upwards of 100 Illustrations, including
8 in colour and 2 in photogravure. Royal 8vo. 2 Volumes.
42/. net,

WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY. A

Biography by Lewis Melville. With 2 Photogravures and
numerous other Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f inches). 2^s, net.

*#* /« compiling this biography of T/iackeray Mr. Lewis Melville^ ivko is admittedly
tht authority on the subject^ has been assisted by numerous Thackeray experts. Mr.
Melville's name has long been associated with Thackeray, not only as founder of the
Titmarsh Club, but also as the author of *^ The Thackeray County" and the editor of the
standard edition of Thackeray's "works and " Thackeray's Stray Papers." For Tnany
vears Mr. Melville has devoted himself to the collection of material relating to the life and
work of his subject. He has had access to m^any neiv letters, and much information has
come to hand since the publication of " The Life of Thackeray." Now that eueryihing
about the novelist is knoivn, it seems that an appropriate jnoTnent has arrived for a new
biography, Mr. Melville has also compiled a bi&Hography of Thackeray that runs to
upwards 1^00 items, by many hundreds m.ore than contained in any hitherto issued.
This section will be invaluable to the collector. Thackeray's speeches, including several
never before republished, have also been collected. There is a list of portraits of the
novelist, and a separate index to the Bibliography,

A LATER PEPYS. The Correspondence of Sir
William Weller Pepys, Bart., Master in Chancery, 175 8-1825,
with Mrs. Chapone, Mrs. Hartley, Mrs. Montague, Hannah More,
William Franks, Sir James Macdonald, Major Rennell, Sir
Nathaniel Wraxall, and others. Edited, with an Introduction and
Notes, by Alice C. C. Gaussen. With numerous Illustrations.
Demy 8vo. In Two Volumes. 32/. net.

Douglas Sladen in the Queen. — " This is indisputably a most valuable contribution to the
literature of the eighteenth century. It is a veritable storehouse of society gossip, the
art criticism, and the tjtots of famous people."

MEMORIES OF SIXTY YEARS AT ETON,

CAMBRIDGE AND ELSEWHERE. By Oscar Browning,
M. A., University Lecturer in History, Senior Fellow and sometime
History Tutor at King's College, Cambridge, and formerly Assistant
Master at Eton College. Illustrated. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f inches).
14/. net.

MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, Etc. 15
RUDYARD KIPLING : a Criticism. By Richard

Le Gallienne. With a Bibliography by John Lane. Crown
8vo, 3J. 6d, net.

Scotsman — *'It shows a keen insight into the essential qualities of literature, and analyses
Mr. Kipling's product with the skill of a craftsman . . . the positive and outstanding
merits of Mr. Kipling's contribution to the literature of his time are marshalled by his
critic with quite uncommon skill."

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, AN ELEGY ;

AND OTHER POEMS, MAINLY PERSONAL. By
Richard Le Gallienne. Crown 8vo. ^. bd. net.

Globe. — "The opening Elegy on R. L. Stevenson includes some tender and toucliing
passages, and has throughout the merits of sincerity and clearness."

JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY AND HIS

FAMILY : Further Letters and Records. Edited by his daughter
and Herbert St John Mildmay, with numerous Illustrations.
Demy 8vo (9x5! inches), ids. net.

THE LIFE OF W. J. FOX, Public Teacher and

Social Reformer, 1 786-1 864. By the late Richard Garnett,
C.B., LL.D., concluded by Edward Garnett. Demy 8vo.
(9x5! inches.) ids. net.

*»* f- /• Fax was a prominent figure in public life Jrom iSzo to i860. From a
weaver's boy he became M.P. /or Oldham (1841-1862), and he will always be remembered
for his association with South Place Chapel, where his Radical opinions and fame as a
preacher and popular orator brought him in contact with an advanced circle of thoughtful
people. He was the discoverer of the youthful Robert Browning and Harriet Martineau,
and the friend of J. S. Mill, Home, fohn Forster, Macready, etc. As an Anti-Corn
Law orator, he swayed, by the power of his eloquence, enthusiastic audiences. As a
politician, he tvas the unswerving champion of social reform and tJie cause of oppressed
nationalities, his most celebrated speech being in support of his Bill for National Educa-
tion, 1850, a Bill which anticipated many of the features of the Education Bill of our
own time. He died in 1863. The present Life has been compiled from manuscript
material entrusted to Dr. Garnett by Mrs. Bridell Fox.

ROBERT DODSLEY: POET, PUBLISHER,

AND PLAYWRIGHT. By Ralph Straus. With a Photo-
gravure and 16 other Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9x5! inches).
2 1 J. net.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MARTIN

BLAKE, B.D. (1593-1673), Vicar of Barnstaple and Preben-
dary of Exeter Cathedral, with some account of his conflicts with
the Puritan Lecturers and of his Persecutions. By John
Frederick Chanter, M.A., Rector of Parracombe, Devon. With
5 full-page Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f inches), los. 6d. net.

WILLIAM HARRISON AINSWORTH AND

HIS FRIENDS. By S. M. Ellis. With upwards of 50
Illustrations, 4 in Photogravure. 2 vols. Demy 8vo (9 x 5I
inches). 32^. net.

i6 MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, Etc.

THE SPENCER STANHOPES OF YORK-
SHIRE; FROM THE PAPERS OF A MACARONI
AND HIS KINDRED. By A. M. W. Stirling, Author of
" Coke of Norfolk," etc. With numerous Illustrations reproduced
from contemporary prints, etc. 2 vols. Demy 8vo. 32/. net.

THE SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF

COMMONS from the Earliest Times to the Present Day,
with a Topographical Account of Westminster at various Epochs,
Brief Notes on the Sittings of Parliament, and a Retrospect of
the principal Constitutional Changes during Seven Centuries. By
Arthur Irwin Dasent, Author of " The Life and Letters of
John Delane," " The History of St. James's Square," etc. With
numerous Portraits. Demy 8vo. 21/.

JUNGLE BY-WAYS IN INDIA : Leaves from

the Note-book of a Sportsman and a Naturalist. By E. P.
Stebbing, I.F.S., F.Z.S., F.R.G.s. With upwards of 100 Illustrations
by the Author and others. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f inches), i zx. dd.
net.

A TRAMP IN THE CAUCASUS. By Stephen

Graham. With 16 full-page Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 x sf
inches). I zs. 6d. net.

SERVICE AND SPORT IN THE SUDAN: A

Record of Administration in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. With
some Intervals of Sport and Travel. By D. C. E. ff.Comyn,
F.R.G.s. (late of the Black Watch). With 1 6 full-page Illustrations
and 3 Maps. Demy 8vo (9 x 5f inches), lis. 6d. net.

FRENCH NOVELISTS OF TO-DAY: Maurice

Barres, Rene Bazin, Paul Bourget, Pierre de Coulevain, Anatole
France, Pierre Loti, Marcel Prevost, and Edouard Rod. Bio-
graphical, Descriptive, and Critical. By Winifred Stephens.
With Portraits and Bibliographies. Crown 8vo. 5/. net.

*»• Tht writer, who has lived mnch in France, is thorougrhly acquainted 'with French
life and -with the principal currents of French thought The book is intended to be a
guide to English readers desirous to keep in touch with the best present-day French
fiction. Special attention is given to the ecclesiastical, social, and intellectual problems
of contemporary France and their influence upon the ijuarks of French novelists of to-day.

MEN AND LETTERS. By Herbert Paul, m.p.

Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo. 5/. net.

Daily News. -"Mr. Herberl Paul has done scholars and the reading world in general a
high service in publishing this collection of his essays."

JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD, VIGO STREET, LONDON, W.

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Full text of "The speakers of the House of Commons from the earliest times to the present day with a topographical description of Westminster at various epochs & a brief record of the principal constitutional changes during seven centuries"

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