The history of the rebellion and civil wars in England : to which is added an historical view of the affairs of Ireland : a new ed., exhibiting a faithful collation of the original MS., with all the suppressed passages; also unpublished notes of Bp. Warburton Volume 2

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THE

HISTORY

OF THE

REBELLION,

BY

EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON.

IN EIGHT VOLUMES.

Krrjiua Ij e/. THUCYD.
JVe qmdjalsi dlccre audeat, ne quid veri nan audcai. CICEKO.

THE

H I S T O R

OF THE

REBELLION AND CIVIL WARS

IN

ENGLAND,

TO WHICH IS ADDED

AN HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE AFFAIRS OF IRELAND,

BY

EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON.

A NEW EDITION,

EXHIBITING A FAITHFUL COLLATION OF THE ORIGINAL MS.,
WITH ALL THE SUPPRESSED PASSAGES ;

ALSO

THE UNPUBLISHED NOTES OF BISHOP WARBURTON.

+

VOL. II.

OXFORD,
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

MDCCCXXVI.

THE

HISTORY

OF THE

REBELLION, &c.

BOOK IV.

ISA. xvii. 12. a

Wo to the multitude of many people, which make a noise
like the noise of the seas ; and to the rushing of nations ,
that make a rushing- like the rushing of many waters.

WHEN the king came to York, which was about 1641.
the middle of August, he found no part of either The kin s

came to

army disbanded ; for, though orders had been issued York in his

. journey to-

to that purpose, yet the money, without which it wards Scot-
could not be done, was not yet come to hand ; b and h
because so great a sum could not be presently pro
cured, as would satisfy both, an act of parliament
had been passed, for the satisfaction of the principal
officers of the king s army, by which they were pro
mised payment, upon the public faith, in November
following ; till which time they were to respite it,
and be contented that the common soldiers, and in-

a ISA. xvii. 12. many wa- b to hand ;] to their hands ;
tersJ] Not in MS.

VOL, II. B

THE HISTORY

BOOK ferior officers, should be fully satisfied upon their dis-
1 banding.

1 * A | ^"^^

During the time of the king s abode at York,
which was not many days, the earl of Holland, lord
general, made a suit to him for the making a baron ;
which, at that time, might have been worth to him
ten thousand pounds. Whether the king appre
hended the making an unfit man, who might dis
serve him in the house of peers ; or whether he re
solved to contain himself from enlarging that num-
. ber, except upon an extraordinary relation to his own
service, I know not : but he thought not fit, at that
time, to gratify the earl : by which he took himself
to be highly disobliged, (as the courtiers of that time
looked upon c whatsoever was denied to them, as
taken d from them,) and having received some in
formation, from sir Jacob Ashley and sir John Corners,
of some idle passages in the late tampering with the
army to petition, which had not been before heard
of ; as soon as the king was gone towards Scotland
.l*i (^ough his majesty hath since told me, "that he
" thought he had left him e at parting in very good
" humour, and devotion to his service") the earl f
wrote a letter to the earl of Essex, to be communi
cated in parliament, " that he found there had been
strange attempts made to pervert and corrupt the
army, but, he doubted not, he should be able to
prevent any mischief:" the whole sense being so
mysterious, that it was no hard matter, after it was
read in the houses, fif to persuade men, that it related
to somewhat they had yet never heard ; and being

2 looked upon] took f the earl] he

as taken] to be taken g the houses,] both houses,

- him] the earl

66

66

OF THE REBELLION. 3

dated on the sixteenth day of August, which must BOOK
be the time that the king was there, or newly gone
thence h , (for he took his journey from London on 1641
the tenth,) seemed to reflect on somewhat his ma
jesty should have attempted. Hereupon their old
fears are awakened, and new ones infused into the
people ; every man taking the liberty of making
what interpretation he 1 pleased of that which no
man understood.

The papists were the most popular common-place, order of

both

and the butt against whom all the arrows were di- houses to

dlsar f

papists.

rected ; and so, upon this new fright, an order was dlsar a11

made by both houses " for disarming all the papists
" in England :" upon which, and the like orders,
though seldom any thing was after done, or no mat
ter of moment, yet it served to keep up the fears
and apprehensions in the people, of dangers and de
signs, and to disincline them from any reverence or
affection to the queen, whom they begun J every day
more implacably to hate, and consequently to dis
oblige. And, as upon those, and the like light oc
casions, they grew to a licence of language, without
the least respect of persons, of how venerable estima
tion soever ; so they departed from all k order or re
gularity in debate ; or rules and measures l in judg
ing; the chief rulers amongst them first designing
what they thought fit to be done, and the rest con
cluding any thing lawful, that they thought, in or
der to the doing and m compassing the same : in
which neither laws nor customs could be admitted
to signify any thing against their sense.

h thence] Not in MS. k all] any

1 he] they l measures] measure

j begun] began m and] or

B 2

66
66

66

4 THE HISTORY

BOOK I remember, about that time, in the providing mo-
ney for the disbanding the armies, upon which they
1C4J. W ere marvellously solicitous, from the time that the
king went towards the north, there arose a question,
" Whether Wilmot, Ashburnham, and Pollard, should
receive their pay due to them upon their several
commands, lying under the charge of the plot, for
bringing up, and corrupting the army ;" very many
passionately alleging, " that such men ought not to
" receive their pay, who had forfeited their trust :"
yet there wanted not many who alleged, " that they
" had the security of an act of parliament for their
" payment, and that in justice it could not be de-
" tained from them ; that, though they lay under the
displeasure of the house, they were so far from a
judgment yet, n that there was not so much as a
charge against them, but that they were at liberty
under bail ; and therefore they could not be said
" to have forfeited any thing that was their own."
In this debate the house seemed equally divided, till
one, who well knew what he said, told them, " that
" there could not be any reasonable pretence for de
taining their due, as well for the reasons that had
been given, as, that they were absolutely pardoned
by the late act of oblivion, and pacification, be
tween the two kingdoms :" the which was no soon
er said, than many of those who were before inclined
to the gentlemen, changed their opinions, and, with
out so much as calling to have the statute read, de
clared, " that they could have no benefit by that act
of parliament, because then, the same might be as
well applied to the archbishop of Canterbury." And

66
66
66
66

66
66
66
66

66
6(

11 they were so far from a far from a judgment,
judgment yet,,] yet there was so

OF THE REBELLION. 5

so, without further weighing the law, or the reason, BOOK

I \/

it was thought sufficient, not only to exclude them

from that benefit, but to bar them from their money ;
lest they might be thought to be admitted to it for
that reason, which might prove an advantage to an
other, to whom they had no inclination to be just.
And no question, they had been overseen in the pen
ning that statute ; the words, in their true and ge
nuine signification and extent, comprehending as
well the archbishop of Canterbury, as those who at
that time had no contempt of the security they
reaped thereby.

Soon after the king went into Scotland, there be
ing some motion "to adjourn the houses till after
" Michaelmas," which seemed to be generally inclined
to, very many of both houses being willing to refresh
themselves, after so long absence from their homes,
(the summer being far spent, and the plague increas
ing ; of which some members had died : and others
were in danger, having been in infected houses,) and
conceiving, that there was no more to be done till
the return of the king, saving P only the procuring
money to finish the disbanding ; went into the coun
try : and others, who staid in the town, were less
solicitous to attend the public service; but betook
themselves to those exercises and refreshments which
were pleasanter to them : insomuch, as within twenty
days after the king s remove, there were not above
twenty lords, nor much above a hundred commoners,
in both houses. But this was the advantage looked
for ; <i those persons continuing (especially in the

refresh themselves,] refresh 1 looked for ;] they looked
themselves in the country, for ;

P saving] save

B 3

6 THE HISTORY

BOOK house of commons) to whose care and managery the
whole reformation was committed. They now en-

1641. tered upon the consultation of the highest matters,
both in church and state; and made attempts and
entries upon those regalities and foundations, which
have been since more evident in wider and more no
torious breaches. 1

From the 8 liberty and success of advising what
was fit to be done out of the kingdom, 1 with refer
ence to the levies for France and Spain, they as
sumed the same freedom, of consulting and determin
ing what was not fit, within the walls of the church;
and finding their numbers to be so thin, that they
might, by art or accident, prevail with the major
part to be of their mind ; and to gratify the more
violent party of the reformers, (who, with great im
patience, suffered themselves to be contained within
any bounds or limits, by those who knew better how
to conduct their business,) they entered upon debate
of the Book of Common-Prayer, (which sure, at that
time, was much reverenced throughout the king
dom,) and proposed, " in regard (they said) many
" things in it gave offence, at least umbrage, to
" tender consciences, that there might be liberty to
" disuse it :" which proposition was so ungracious,
that, though it was made in a thin house, and
pressed by those who were of the greatest power
and authority, it was so far from being consented
to, that by the major part (the house consisting then
of about six score) it was voted, " that it should be
" duly u observed."

r notorious breaches.] A por- s the liberty] this liberty
tlon here omitted from MS. C. l out of the kingdom,] with-

will be found in the Appendix, out the walls of the kingdom,
A. u duly] justly and duly

OF THE REBELLION. 7

However, the next day, contrary to all rules and BOOK
orders of parliament, very many being absent who ^

had been active in that debate, they suspended that 1641 -
order ; and resolved, " that the standing of the com-
" munion-table in all churches should be altered ;"
the rails (which in most places had been set up for
the greater decency x ) " should be pulled down ; that
" the chancels should be levelled, and made even
" with all other parts of the church ; and that no
" man should presume to bow at the name of Jesus,"
(which was enjoined by a canon, and of long use^ in
the church ;) and having digested these godly reso
lutions into an order, they carried it up to the lords
for their concurrence ; promising themselves, that,
from the small number which remained there, they
should find no dissent. But the major part of the
lords being much scandalized, that the house of
commons should not only unseasonably, and irregu
larly, interpose in a matter wherein z they had not
the least jurisdiction ; but should presume to disturb
the peace of the church, and interrupt the settled
and legal government thereof, by such schismatical
presumption, not only refused to join with them,
but, instead thereof, directed an order, formerly
made by the house of peers, (on the sixteenth of Ja
nuary before,) to be printed, to this effect : " that
" the divine service should be performed, as it is ap-
" pointed by the acts of parliament of this realm;
" and that all such as shall disturb that wholesome
" order, shall be severely punished, according to
"law;" a and acquainted the commons therewith:

x greater decency] more tie- wherein] of which
cency * to law ;] to the law ;

y use] usage

B 4

8 THE HISTORY

BOOK who, nothing satisfied, pursued their former order;
_ and, " commanding all the commons of England to

1641. tt su bmit to their direction, declared, that the order
" of the lords was made by the consent but of eleven
" lords, and that nine other lords did dissent from
" it ; and, therefore, that no obedience should be
" given thereunto." Whereas the order had been
made in full parliament, seven months before ; and
was seasonably ordered to be published, by the major
part present, upon that important occasion. And
such an arraigning the house of peers, for publishing
an order in maintenance of the laws established, by
those who had no authority to declare what the law
was, nor a jurisdiction over those who should in
fringe the law, was so transcendent a presumption,
and breach of privilege, that there was great expec
tation what the lords would do in their own vindi
cation.

An ordi- There was one clause in the act of pacification,
both houses " that there should be a public and solemn day of
oftbanks- " thanksgiving, for the peace between the two king-
ocla"?o nof " ^ oms f England and Scotland :" but no day being
thepacifi- appointed for that act of indevotion, the lords and

cation.

commons assumed the power to themselves of di
recting it ; and, to that purpose, made an ordinance,
as they called it, " that it should be observed on the
" seventh of September following, throughout the
" kingdom of England and dominion of Wales."
Which was done accordingly ; the factious ministers
in all pulpits taking occasion then to magnify the
parliament, and the Scots ; and to infuse as much
malignity into the people, against those who were
not of that faction, as their wit and malice could
suggest ; the house of commons celebrating that day

OF THE REBELLION. 9

in the chapel at Lincoln s Inn; because the bishop BOOK
of Lincoln, as dean of Westminster, had formed a

prayer for that occasion, and enjoined it to be read
on that day, in those churches where he had juris
diction 13 ; which they liked not: both as it was a
form, e and formed by him ; and so avoided coming
there d .

After the solemnization of that day, and their
making 6 their declaration against the lords, about the
order above mentioned, and the recommending some
seditious, unconformable ministers, to be lecturers in
churches about London, whom the incumbents f were
compelled to receive : when they had great appre
hension, by their members leaving them, that they
should not have forty remaining, (less than which
number could not constitute a house of commons,)
they consented to a recess ; and on the ninth day of Sept. 9,
September, 1641, they adjourned themselves till the houses ad-
twentieth day of October following: either house ir-oetobrfo
regularly (for the like had never been before prac- J committee
tised) making a committee, to meet twice a week, . f each to

m p sit during

and oftener, if they saw cause, during the recess, the recess.
and to transact such business as they were authorized
to do by their instructions.

The house of lords limited their committee (which The P wers

of the com-
consisted of the earls of Essex, Warwick, the lords mittee of

Wharton, Kimbolton, h and twelve more ; but every O f lords :
three were as able to transact as the whole number)
by their instructions, " only to open the letters which

b where he had jurisdiction] f whom the incumbents] which

Not in MS. the ministers

c a form,] formed, g been before] before been

d coming there] Not in MS. h Kimbolton,] Mandeville,
e their making] the making

10 THE HISTORY

BOOK " should come from the committee in Scotland, and
, " to return answers to them ; with power to recall

1641. "that committee, when they thought fit; to send
" down monies to the armies ; and to assist about
" their disbanding ; and in removing the magazines
" from Berwick and Carlisle."

of the But the house of commons thought this power too

commons, narrow for their committee ; and therefore against
order too (for the power of the committees of both
houses ought to have been equal) they qualified theirs
(which consisted of Mr. Pym, Mr. Saint-John, Mr.
Strode, sir Gilbert Gerrard, sir Henry Mildmay, sir
Henry Vane, alderman Pennington, captain Venn,
and others ; every six having the authority of the
whole) as well with the 1 powers granted to the lords,
as likewise, " to go on in preparation of proceedings
" against such delinquents, as were voted against, k or
complained of 1 in the house ; and to receive any
offers of discovery 111 that they should make ; to send
to all sheriffs, and justices of peace, upon informa
tion of any riots, or tumults ; to stir them up in
their n duty in repressing them ; and to report to
their house any failing in obedience to their com
mands; to take the accounts of any accountants
to his majesty, in order to the preparation P of his
majesty s revenue; to consider of framing and
constituting a West India company ; and to con
sider the fishing, upon the coasts of England, Scot-
" land, and Ireland ;" and many other extravagant

the] Not in MS. n in their] to their

k against,] Not in MS. commands ;] sending ;

1 of] against p preparation] preparations
m of discovery] Not in MS.

(6

((

(f

66

it

6f

66

66

66

66

66

OF THE REBELLION. 11

particulars : which served 1 to magnify the authority BOOK
of that committee ; and to draw resort and reverence IV "

to them from almost all sorts of men.

The houses being thus adjourned, the committee The busi-
of the commons appointed Mr. Pym to sit in their"
chair; who, forthwith, with his own hand, signed
the printed declarations before mentioned, of the mons -
ninth of September ; and caused them to be so read
in all churches in London, and throughout the coun
tries. 1 Whereupon the seditious and factious per
sons caused the windows to be broken down in
churches ; broke down the rails, and removed the
communion-table, 8 (which, in many places,* had stood
in that manner ever since the reformation,) and com
mitted many insolent and scandalous disorders. And
when the minister, and the graver and more sub
stantial sort of inhabitants, used any opposition, and
resisted such their licence, they were immediately
required to attend the committee ; and, if they could
be neither persuaded nor u threatened to submit,
their attendance was continued from day to day, to
their great charge and vexation. If any grave and
learned minister refused to admit into his church a
lecturer recommended by them, (and I am confident,
there was not, from the beginning of this parliament,
one orthodox or learned man recommended by them
to any church in England,) he was presently re
quired to attend upon the committee ; and not dis
charged till the houses met again ; and then like
wise, if he escaped commitment, continued, to his

<i which served] Thus in MS. : s communion-table,] table,

which neither of both houses l places,] churches,

had to do with, but served u nor] or

1 countries.] counties.

THE HISTORY
BOOK intolerable loss and trouble: few men having; the

IV.

! patience to endure that oppression, against which

1 they knew not whither to appeal ; and therefore in

the end submitted to what they could not resist ;

and so all pulpits were supplied with their seditious

and schismatical preachers.
The armies The armies were at last disbanded : and, about

disbanded.

the end of September, the earl of Holland, in great
pomp, returned to his house at Kensington ; where
he was visited and caressed, with great application,
by all the factious party : for he had now, whether
upon the disobligation remembered before, of being
denied the making a baron ; or upon some informa
tion, of some sharp expressions used by the queen
upon his letter ; and the conscience of that letter :
or the apprehensions of being questioned and pro
secuted upon the enormities of his office of chief
justice in eyre, and other transgressions, fully de
clared himself of their party. And that they might
be the better prepared to keep up the prejudice to
the king, and the keenness against the court, till the
coming together of both houses ; when they had rea
son to believe the observation of their crooked and
indirect courses, and their visible, unwarrantable
breaches, upon the church, and the religion esta
blished by law, would render men less devoted to
them ; his lordship furnished them with many in
formations of what had passed in the late army,
which might be wrested to the king s disadvantage ;
told them whatsoever the king himself had said to
him, when he looked upon him as a person true to
him ; and when, it is very probable, he was not much
delighted with the proceedings at Westminster ; and
of all the particulars, which sir Jacob Ashley, and sir

OF THE REBELLION. 13

John Corners, had informed him, when they took BOOK
him to be of entire trust with his majesty, and

wholly under that consideration, (whereupon they
were afterwards examined, and compelled to testify
that in public, which they had before imparted to
him in the greatest secrecy;) and added to all this,
whatever information he had received by the lady
Carlisle, of words or actions, spoken or done by the
queen, which might increase their jealousy or malice x
to her majesty. And he? himself (who had been al
ways believed a creature of the queen s, and exceed
ingly obliged and protected by her immediate and
single grace and favour, against the earl of Portland,
the earl of Strafford, and the archbishop of Canter
bury, in those times z when they had otherwise de
stroyed him) visited her majesty but once, from the
time of his return out of the north, to the time of
the king s return from Scotland, which was full six
weeks. And yet, there were some men still at those
private meetings at Kensington, who thought the
queen s favour a likelier means for their preferment,
than the interest of the others ; and therefore always
gave advertisement to her of what passed in that
company : which information, for want of due care
in the rnanagery, and by reason of the unfaithful
ness of her nearest servants, commonly produced
somewhat, of which the other side made greater ad
vantage, than she could do by the knowledge of
their counsels and resolutions. a

x or malice] and malice king s journey into Scotland is

Y he] Not in MS. taken from MS. B. The relation

z times] high times of that visit, as given in MS. C.

a resolutions.] The account is inserted in the Appendix, B.
which immediately follows of the

14 THE HISTORY

BOOK The short recess of the parliament, though it was
1 not much above the space of a month, was yet a
1641. great refreshment to those who had sat near a full
year, mornings and afternoons, with little or no in
termission ; and in that warm region, where thunder
and lightning was made. Some very unwarrantable
proceedings, by the committee that sat during the
recess, or Mr. Pym, who sat in the chair of that
committee, and issued out those orders concerning
the church, gave so much offence and scandal, that
the members were like to meet together with more
courage, and less inclinations to novelties, than they
had parted with. But there were several accidents
fell out, some from very little, and some from very
great causes, which had b that influence upon the
nature and spirit of men, and upon the actions of
that time, that, for the better understanding some
particular passages, which will appear pertinent, it
will be even necessary, briefly, and it shall be but
very briefly, to mention some of those particular s. d
A smaii When the king went into Scotland ; for the better 6

committee . . .

of both preserving the correspondence between the two King-
tendedthe doms, as was pretended; and to see all things per-
slofilnd formed, which were to be done in the parliament of
Scotland, by the act of pacification ; a small com
mittee (as hath been before said f ) was appointed by
the two houses, consisting of one lord and two com
mons, to attend (as the phrase was) upon his ma
jesty : but, in truth, to be spies h upon him ; and to

b which had] which, though e for the better] the parlia-

theymay not seem precisely per- merit, for the better

tinent to this present discourse, f as hath been before said]

had Not in MS.

c spirit] spirits g commons,] commoners,

those particulars.] those, how h spies] a spy

foreign soever.

OF THE REBELLION. 15

give the same assistance to the parliament there, BOOK
upon any emergent occasion, as the Scottish { com

missioners had done here. 1641>

The person appointed by the lords, was the lord For the
Howard of Escrick, a younger son of the house ofiordkow-
SufFolk ; who, in the time of the duke of Bucking- crick.
ham, married a niece of his ; and having his whole
dependence upon him, and being absolutely governed
by him, was by him made a baron : but that de
pendence being at an end, his wife dead, and he
without any virtue to promote himself, he withdrew
himself from following the court, and, shortly after,
from wishing it well ; and had now delivered him
self up, body and soul, to be disposed of by that
party, which appeared most averse, and obnoxious,
to the court and the government : and only in that
confidence was designed to that employment ; and to
be entirely disposed and governed by the two mem
bers, who were joined with him by the house of ^ * h n e n ,

v CUIJ.1 111 U IIS y

commons, who were, k sir Philip Stapleton and Mr. * irphili P

Stapleton,

Hambden. Mr.Hamb-

The latter hath been mentioned before, as a man
of great understanding and parts, 1 and of great sa
gacity 111 in discerning men s natures and manners ;
and he must, upon all occasions, still be mentioned,
as a person of great dexterity and abilities, and equal
to any trust or employment, good or bad, which he
was inclined to undertake.

1 Scottish] Scots in nature and manners ; and lie

k who were,] and they were, must upon all occasions still be

understanding and parts,] mentioned as a person of great

parts of understanding, utility, and equal to any em-

m of great sagacity bad,] ployment or trust, good or bad,

Thus in MS. : of great dexterity &c.

16 THE HISTORY

BOOK The other, sir Philip Stapleton, was a proper man,
of a fair extraction ; but, being a branch of a younger

J641. f am iiy ? inherited but a moderate estate, about five
hundred pounds a year, n in Yorkshire ; and, accord
ing to the custom of that country, had spent much
time P in those delights which horses and dogs ad
minister. Being returned to serve in parliament, he
concurred with his neighbours, Hotham and Chol-
mondley; being much younger than they, and go
verned by them in the prosecution of the earl of
Strafford ; and so was easily received into the com
pany and familiarity of that whole party which took
that work to heart ; and in a short time appeared a
man of vigour in body and mind ; and to be rather
without good breeding, than not capable of it ; and
so he quickly outgrew his friends and countrymen
in the confidence of those who governed : they look
ing^ upon him, as worth the getting entirely to
them ; and not averse from being gotten ; and so
joined him with Mr. Hambden in this their first em
ployment (and the first, that ever a parliament had
of that kind) to be initiated under so great a master ;
whose instruction he was very capable of.

There had been, even from the time the Scottish r

Scotland, army came s into England, many factions and jea-
lousies amongst the principal persons of that na-

and ^ on . ^ut none so much taken notice of, as that

Hamilton.

between the two earls, of Montrose, and Argyle.
The former took himself to have deserved as much
as any man, in contributing more, and appearing

n a year,] the year, <i they looking] and they looked

had] Not in MS. r Scottish] Scotch

p much time] his time s came] entered

OF THE REBELLION. 17

sooner, in their first approach towards rebellion ; as BOOK

IV

indeed he was a man of the best quality, who did so

soon discover himself; and, it may be, he did it the
sooner, in opposition to Argyle ; who being then of
the king s council, he doubted not, would be of his
majesty s t party. The people looked upon them both,
as young men of unlimited ambition ; and used to
say, " that they were like Caesar and Pompey, the
" one would endure no superior, and the other would
" have no equal." True it is, that from the time
that Argyle declared himself against the king (which
was immediately after the first pacification) Montrose
appeared with less vigour for the covenant ; and had,
by underhand and secret insinuations, made proffer
of his service to the king. But now, after his ma
jesty s arrival in Scotland, by the introduction of
Mr. William Murray of the bedchamber, he came
privately to the king ; and informed him of many
particulars, from the beginning of the rebellion ; and,
" that the marquis of Hamilton was no less faulty,
" and false towards his majesty, than Argyle ;" and
offered " to make proof of all in the parliament ;"
but rather desired," to have them both made away ;" u
which he frankly undertook to do ; but the king,
abhorring that expedient, though x for his own secu
rity, advised, " that the proofs might be prepared for
" the parliament." When suddenly, on a Sunday
morning, the city of Edinburgh was in arms ; and
Hamilton and Argyle both gone out of the town to
their own houses; where they stood upon their
guards ; declaring publicly, " that they had with-

* majesty s] Not in MS. " away ;"] to kill them both ;

11 " to have them both made x though] Not in MS.

VOL. II. C

1.8 THE HISTORY

BOOK " drawn themselves, because they knew that there

IV

; was a design to assassinate them ; and chose ra-

li " ther to absent themselves, than by standing upon
" their defence in Edinburgh (which they could well
" have done) to hazard the public peace and y secu-
" rity of the parliament ; which thundered on their
behalf."

The committee at Edinburgh despatched away an
express to London, with a dark and perplexed ac
count, in the morning that the two lords had left the
city ; with many doubtful expressions, " what the
" end of it would be ;" not without some dark insi
nuations, as if the design might look farther than
Scotland. And these letters were brought to Lon
don, the day before the houses were to come to
gether, after the recess ; all that party taking pains
to persuade others, " that it could not but be a de-
" sign to assassinate more men than those lords at
" Edinburgh."

And the morning the houses were to meet, Mr.
Hyde being walking in Westminster-hall, with the
earl of Holland and the earl of Essex, both the earls
seemed wonderfully concerned at it ; z and to believe,
" that other men were in danger of the like assaults :"
the other not thinking the apprehension worthy of
them, told them merrily, " that he knew well what
" opinions they both had of those two lords, a year
" or two before, and he wondered how they became
" so altered :" to which they answered smiling, " that
" the times and the court was much altered since."
And the houses were no sooner sat, but the report
being made in the house of commons, and the com-

y and] and the z at it ;] in it ;

OF THE REBELLION. 19

mittee s letter from Scotland being read, a motion BOOK
was made, " to send to the house of peers, that the ,

earl of Essex, who was left by the king, general on 1641 -
this side Trent, might be desired to appoint such
a guard, as he thought competent for the security
of the parliament, constantly to attend while the
houses sat ;" which was done accordingly ; and The eari of
continued, till they thought fit to have other guards, points a

66
66
66

66

All which was done to amuse the people, as if the
parliament were a in danger : when in Scotland all ?. f the f ar "

hament.

things w^ere quickly pacified ; and ended in creating
the marquis Hamilton a duke, and Argyle a mar
quis. b

There was a worse accident than all these, which News of the

n n n -i -i r-<ii rebellion in

tell out in the time of the king s stay in Scotland, Ireland.
and about the time of the two houses reconvening ;
which made a wonderful impression upon the minds
of men ; and proved of infinite disadvantage to the
king s affairs, which were then recovering new life ;
and that was the rebellion in Ireland : which broke
out about the middle of October, in all parts of the
kingdom. Their design upon Dublin was miracu
lously discovered, the night before it was to be exe
cuted ; and so the surprisal of that castle prevented ;
and the principal conspirators, who had the charge
of it, apprehended. In the other parts of the king
dom they observed the time appointed, not hearing
of the misfortunes of their friends at Dublin. A ge
neral insurrection of the Irish spread itself over the
whole country, in such an inhuman and barbarous

1 parliament were] parlia- Rothes, and the effect it had upon

merit was the Scots, is here omitted : see

b Argyle a marquis.] An ac- Appendix, C.
count of the death of the earl of

C 2

20 THE HISTORY

BOOK manner, that there were forty or fifty thousand of
the English protestants murdered, before they sus-

pected themselves to be in any danger, or could pro
vide for their defence, by drawing together into
towns, or strong houses.

From Dublin, the lords justices, and council, des
patched their letters by an express (the same man
who had made the discovery, one Oconelly, c who
had formerly been a servant to sir John Clotworthy)
to London, to the earl of Leicester, then lord lieute
nant of Ireland. From the parts of the north, and
Ulster, an express was sent to the king himself, at
Edinburgh ; and the king s letters from thence, to
the two houses, arrived within less than two days
after the messenger from Dublin.

It was upon a Sunday night, that the letters from
Dublin came to the earl of Leicester ; who imme
diately caused the council to be summoned, and, as
soon as it was met, informed them of the condition
of Ireland ; that is, so much as those letters contain
ed : which were written^ when little more was
known than the discovery at Dublin; and what the
conspirators had confessed upon their examinations.
The house of peers had then adjourned itself to the
Wednesday following; but the house of commons
were to meet on the next day, Monday morning;
The lords of and the council resolved, " that they would in a body

IcquTint the " to tne house of commons, as soon as it sat,
house of an( j i n f orm them of it ;" which they did ; notice

commons J

with the being first given to the house, " that the lords of the

news, the

house of council had some matters of importance to impart
sitting " to them, and were above in the painted chamber

c Oconelly,] O Conelly,

OF THE REBELLION. 21

" ready to come to them:" whereupon chairs were BOOK

set in the house for them to repose themselves, and .

the sergeant sent to conduct them. As soon as they
entered the house, the speaker desired them to sit
down ; and then being covered, Littleton, lord keep
er, told the speaker, " that the lord lieutenant of
" Ireland, having received letters from the lords jus-
" tices and council there, had communicated them
" to the council ; arid since the house of peers was
" not then sitting, they had thought fit, for the im-
" portance of the letters, to impart them to that
" house ;" and so referred the business to the lord
lieutenant ; who, without any enlargement, only read
the letters he had received, and so the lords departed
from the house.

There was a deep silence in the house, and a kind
of consternation : most men s heads having been in
toxicated, from their first meeting in parliament,
with imaginations of plots, and treasonable designs,
through the three kingdoms. The affair itself seem
ed to be out of their cognizance ; and the communi
cation of it served only to prepare their thoughts,
what to do when more should be known ; and when
they should hear what the king thought fit to be
done. And when the king s letters arrived, they
were glad the news had come to him, when he had
so good council about him to advise him what to do.

The king was not then informed of what had been
discovered at Dublin : but the letters out of Ulster
(which he sent to the parliament) gave him notice
" of a d general insurrection in the north ; and of the
" inhuman murders committed there, upon a mul-

d of a] of the

c 3

THE HISTORY

BOOK " titude of the protestants; and that sir Phelim

! ." O Neil appeared as the general and commander

1641. a : ^i^f

chief.
His majesty Upon which his majesty writ to the two houses,

writes to the . .

two houses " that he was satisfied that it was no rash insurrec-
" tion, but a formed rebellion ; which must be pro-
" secuted with a sharp war ; the conducting and
" prosecuting whereof he wholly committed to their
" care and wisdom, and depended upon them for the
" carrying it on ; and that for the present he had
" caused a strong regiment of fifteen hundred foot,
" under good officers, to be transported out of Scot-
" land into Ulster, for the relief of those parts ;"
which were upon the matter wholly inhabited by
Scots and Irish ; there being fewer English there e ,
than in any part of Ireland.

This fell out to their wish ; and thereupon they
made a committee of both houses, " for the conside-
" ration of the affairs of Ireland, and providing for
" the supply of men, arms, and money, for the sup-
" pressing that rebellion ;" the lord lieutenant of
Ireland being one of the committee, which sat every
morning in the painted chamber ; and the lord lieu
tenant first communicated all the letters he received,
to them to be consulted on, and to be thence report
ed to the two houses ; which were hereby possessed
of a large power f and dependence ; all men applying
themselves to them, that is, to the chief leaders, for
their preferments in that war : the mischief whereof,
though in the beginning little taken notice of, was
afterwards felt by the king very sensibly.

These concurrent circumstances much altered and

e there] Not in MS. f large power] huge power

66
(6

OF THE REBELLION. 23

suppressed that good humour and spirit the houses BOOK
were well disposed to meet in ; and the angry men, ^_
who were disappointed of the preferments they ex
pected, and had promised themselves, took all occa
sions, by their emissaries, to insinuate into the minds
of the people, " that this rebellion in Ireland was
" contrived and h fomented by the king, or, at least,
by the queen, for the advancement of popery ; and
that the rebels published and declared, that they
" had the king s authority for all they did ;" which
calumny, though without the least shadow or colour
of truth, made more impression upon the minds of
sober and moderate men (who till that time l had
much disliked the passionate proceedings of the par
liament) than could be then imagined, or can yet be
believed. So great a prejudice, or want of reverence,
was universally contracted against the court, espe
cially the queen, k whose power and activity was
thought too great.

Shortly after the beginning of the parliament, A commit-

tee revived

there had been a committee appointed, " to prepare f or drawing
" and draw up a general remonstrance of the state
" of the kingdom, and the particular grievances it
" had sustained ;" but it scarce met, ] or was ever
after spoken of. m But now, the houses no sooner
met after their recess, than Mr. Strode (one of the
fiercest men of the party, and of the party only for
his fierceness) moved, " that that committee might
" be revived, and ordered to meet ;" for which, of
course, a time and place was appointed : by which

meet in ;] meet with ; k especially the queen,] espe-

h and] or cially towards the queen,

1 (who till that time] and who * scarce met,] scarce ever met,

till then m spoken of.] mentioned.

c 4

24 THE HISTORY

BOOK men easily discerned, that nothing of their fury was
abated, but rather increased, n in that they found

1 their credit every day lessened in the house, by the
opposition and contradiction they sustained. And
they being thus disquieted; and knowing little;
and so doubting much ; every day seemed to them
to produce P a new discovery, of some new treason
and plot against the kingdom. One day, " a letter
" from beyond seas, of great forces prepared to in-
" vade England ;" another, <i " of some attempt upon
" the life of Mr. Pym ;" and no occasion omitted to
speak of the evil council about the king ; when scarce
a counsellor durst come near him, or be suspected to
hear from him. r

A new bin After some days, a new bill was presented to the
of commons house of commons, " for the taking away the bishops
" votes in parliament ; and for disabling them to

st
a

..

shops votes. exercise any temporal office in the kingdom :"
against which was objected, " that it was contrary
" to the course and order of parliament, that any bill
that had been rejected should be again preferred
the same session ; and therefore it s ought not to
be so much as read :" to which nothing was re
plied but noise ; and " that this bill varied in some

n but rather increased,] and no privy-counsellor but such as

the less, the two houses might approve

And they] Men of, and many other such extra-

P seemed to them to produce] vagancies, which, though they

produced seemed then but the murmur-

^ another, " of] then, ings of inconsiderable persons,

r from him.] MS. adds: then were artificially vented to try

an order must be framed to the the pulse of the house, and

marquis of Hertford, (governor whether they were sufficiently

to the prince,) to require him to inflamed with the new discove-

take all care of his highness ries.

person, and a motion that the s therefore it] therefore that

king might be desired to make it

OF THE REBELLION. 25

" clauses from the former; and that the good of the BOOK

IV.

" kingdom absolutely depended upon it :" and so, by

majority of voices, it was ordered to be read ; and
afterwards, without any very considerable* opposition,
passed the house, and was transmitted to the lords :
the greatest argument being, " that their intermed-
" dling with temporal affairs was inconsistent with,
" and destructive to, the exercise of their spiritual
" function." Whilst their reformation, both in Scot
land and this kingdom, was driven on by no men
so much as those of their u clergy, who were their
instruments. As, without doubt, the archbishop of
Canterbury had never so great an influence upon the
counsels at court, as Dr. Burgess and Mr. Marshall
had then upon the houses ; neither did all the bishops
of Scotland together so much meddle in temporal
affairs, as Mr. Henderson had done.

There being at this time the bishoprics of Wor- The king
cester, Lincoln, Exeter, Chichester, and Bristol, void vers vacant

by death, or translation ; the king, during the time
of his being in Scotland, collated to those sees, Dr.
Prideaux, the king s v professor of divinity in Ox
ford ; Dr. Winniff, dean of St. Paul s ; Dr. Brown-
erigg, master of Catharine-hall in Cambridge ; Dr.
Henry King, dean of Litchfield ; and Dr. Westfield,
of Great St. Bartholomew s, London ; all of great
eminency in the church ; frequent preachers ; and
not a man, to whom the faults of the then govern
ing clergy were imputed, or against whom the least
objection could be made.

As soon as the house of commons heard of this de-The c
signation of his majesty s, (having then newly the se- fendedat it.

* very considerable] equal v king s] regius

11 their] the

26 THE HISTORY

BOOK cond time sent up to the house of peers their bill to

IV.

remove bishops from thence,) they were much trou-

6(
(I

66
66

bled, that, at a time when they resolved to take
away the old, the king should presume to make new
bishops ; and to x create so many voices to assist y
the other ; and therefore they urged z very earnestly,
that the lords might be moved to join with them,
in sending to the king, to make no new bishops
" till the controversy should be ended about the go-
" vernment of the church :" which appeared so un
reasonable, that the wisest of them who wished it,
apprehended no possibility, that the lords would
join with them ; or, if they did, that the king would
be prevailed with. However, being glad to find their
companions had so much mettle, after a long debate,
the major part carried it, " that a committee should
be appointed to draw up reasons to give the lords,
to concur with them in that desire to the king :
but, after that, moved that stone no further.

In all debates of this nature, where the law, rea
son, and common sense, were directly a opposite to
what they proposed, they suffered those who differed
from them in opinion, and purposes, to say what they
thought fit in opposition ; and then, without vouch
safing to endeavour their satisfaction, called impor
tunately for the question ; well knowing that they
had a plurality of voices to concur with them, in
whatsoever they desired. I remember, in this last
business, when it was voted that a committee should
be named to draw up reasons, b many of those who
had during the debate positively argued against the

x to] Not in MS. a directly] in a diameter

y to assist] to oppose b reasons,] MS. adds : the

z urged] moved committee being to be named,

OF THE REBELLION. 27

thing, were called upon to be of that committee; BOOK

A V

and, amongst them, c the lord Falkland, and Mr.

a

(f

ft

1 f^ A "I

Hyde, who stood up, and " desired to be excused
" from d that service, where they could be of no use ;
" having given so many reasons against it, that they
could not apprehend any could be given for it ;
therefore thought e the work would be better done,
if those, who had satisfied themselves with the rea
sonableness of what they wished, would undertake
the converting and disposing of other men." There
was a gentleman who sat by, (Mr. Bond of Dorches
ter; very severe, and resolved, against the church
and the court,) who, f with much passion and trouble
of mind, said to them, " For God s sake be of the com-
" mittee ; you know none of our side can give rea-
" sons ;" which made those that overheard him
smile, though he spoke it suddenly, and upon ob
servation that the h leaders were not then in the
house. Otherwise, it cannot be denied, those who
conducted them, and were the contrivers of the mis
chief, were men of great parts, and unspeakable in
dustry ; and their silence in some debates proceeded
partly from pride, that it might appear their reputa
tion and interest had an influence upon the sense of
the house, against any rhetoric or logic : but princi
pally from the policy they were obliged to use ; for
though they could have given a pregnant reason for
the most extravagant overture they ever made, and
evinced it, that it was the proper way to their end ;
yet, it not being time 1 to discover their purposes,

c them,] these, g spoke] spake

d from] in h the] their

e thought] they thought yet, it not being time] but

f who,] Not in MS. it being not yet time

6(
t(

28 THE HISTORY

BOOK (how apparent soever they were to discerning men,)

^j they were necessarily to give no reasons at all ; or

such as were not k the true ones.

This stratagem failing, of stopping the creation of
the new bishops, they endeavour by all means to
hasten the house of peers to despatch the work before
them, before they should be qualified (their elections,
confirmations, and consecrations, and other ceremo
nies, spending much time) to increase the number of
the opposers ; and for the better doing thereof, with
great confidence, they demand of the lords, " that no
recusant lord, or any l bishop, might have a vote
in the passing that act : the last being parties ;
" and the other not supposed competent judges on
" the behalf of the kingdom." But, when they found
that logic could not prevail, (the demand being in
deed so scandalous, that the house of peers, if they
had not been fatally misled, m must have resented it
as a high presumption, and insolent breach of pri
vilege,) with more formality and colour, though as
unreasonably, they pressed, " that those thirteen bi-
" shops, whom they had before impeached, for mak
ing the late canons ; and upon whom their lord
ships themselves had passed severe n votes," (such
indeed as were fitter for accusers than judges, un
parliamentary and unprecedented,) " might be se
questered from the house, till they should be
brought to judgment." And for this, P they found
lawyers in their house, who, prostituting the dignity
and learning of their profession, to the cheap and

k not] not in truth indeed] in truth

1 any] Not in MS. P And for this,] And for this

111 misled,] sotted, without any shame,

" severe] notable

66

..

if
t(

OF THE REBELLION. 29

vile affectation of popular applause, were not ashamed BOOK
to aver custom and law for their senseless proposi

tion. But the house of peers was not yet deluded
enough, or terrified, (though too many amongst them
paid an implicit devotion to the house of commons,)
to comply in this unreasonable demand.

And here I cannot but with grief and wonder re- The

i ,1 t j *i I.L sitiesatthat

member the virulency and animosity expressed at timebe .

that time, *i upon all occasions, by r many of good
knowledge in the excellent and wise profession of y ers and

some

the common law, towards the church and church men; churchmen
taking all opportunities, uncharitably, to improve great U mis-
mistakes into crimes ; and, unreasonably, to transfer c
and impute the follies and faults of particular men, s
to the malignity of their order and function ; and so
whet 1 and sharpen the edge of the law, to wound
the church in its jurisdiction ; and at last to cut it
up by the roots, and demolish its foundation. It
cannot be denied, that the peevish u spirits of some
clergymen have taken great pains to alienate x that
profession from y them ; and others as unskilfully
(finding that in former times, when the religion of
the state was a vital part of its policy, many church
men were employed eminently in the civil govern
ment of the kingdom) imputed their wanting those
ornaments their predecessors wore, to the power and
prevalency of the lawyers ; of whom, some principal
men, 7j in all times, they could not but observe to

i at that time,] Not in MS. lant

r by] from x alienate] irreconcile

8 particular men,] particular y from] to

men (swollen with ambition or z of whom, some principal

corrupted with avarice) men,] some principal men

4 whet] would whet whereof,

u peevish] peevish and petu-

30 THE HISTORY

BOOK have been their avowed enemies: 8 and so believed
the straitening and confining the profession of the

* common law, b must naturally extend and enlarge
the jurisdiction of the church. c Thence arose d their
bold and unwarrantable opposing and protesting
against prohibitions, and other proceedings e at law,
on the behalf of ecclesiastical courts ; and the f pro
curing some orders and privileges from the king, on
the behalf of the civil law ; s even with an exclusion
of the other : as the archbishop of Canterbury pre
vailed with the king to direct, " that half the masters
" of the chancery should be always civil lawyers ;"
and to declare, "that no others, of what condition
" soever, should serve him as masters of request." h
All which i was a great mistake : for, besides the
stopping prohibitions was an envious breach upon
the justice of the kingdom ; which, at some time or
other, will still be too hard for the strongest opposers
and oppressors of it : I could never yet know, why
the doctors of the civil laws were more of kin to the
bishops, or the church, than the common lawyers
were. To say that their places were in the bishops k
disposal, as chancellors, commissaries, and the like ;
and, therefore, that their persons were more like to
be at their disposal too, at least, to pay them greater
reverence, concludes nothing: for the clergy had 1
opportunity enough m to oblige and create an equal

a observe to have been their f the] Not in MS.

avowed enemies :] remember as 8 the civil law;] that faculty;

avowed enemies of the church : h masters of request."] mas-

b the profession of the corn- ter of requests,

mon law,] their profession ! All which] Which

c the jurisdiction of the k the bishops ] their

church.] their own jurisdictions. l the clergy had] they had all

d arose] proceeded m enough] enough, and I

e proceedings] proceeding think equal

OF THE REBELLION. 31

dependence from the profession of the common law ; n BOOK
and I am persuaded, the stewardships to bishops, and

of the lands of the church, which were to be ma
naged by the rules of the common law, were not
much inferior in profit to all the chancellorships in
England. And then, if, where the policy may con
sist with justice, it is no ill measure in making friend
ships, to look into, and compare, the power of doing
hurt, or doing good ; it is apparent, that the civil
law in this kingdom had not, in the least degree, the
ability to help or to hurt the church, in any exi
gency, as the common law had; whose professors
had always, by their interests, experience, and repu
tation, so great an influence upon the civil state,
upon court and country, that they were notable
friends or enemies. And the dependence of the
church, as to their inheritance and estates, (except
their minute tithes,) was entirely upon the law ; be
ing only determinable by those rules, by which they
have seldom received eminent injustice. And truly,

n an equal dependence from ill measure in making friendship,

the profession of the common to look into the power of doing

law;] a dependence from the hurt and doing good, as well as

other profession; into the faculty of judging ; and

And then, if, eminent in- it was apparent, that the civil

justice.] Thus in MS. : And for law in this kingdom could nei-

their affection and respect to ther help or hurt the church in

their patrons, I believe, experi- any exigent, it being neither of

ence hath now manifested, that reputation enough to advance it,

though many of the common or power to oppress it ; whereas

lawyers have much indiscretion, the professors of the other had

injustice, and malice to repent always, by their interests, expe-

of towards the church, the pro- rience, abilities, and reputation,

fessors of the civil law have not so great an influence upon the

been less active, to their skill civil state, upon court and coun-

and power, in the unnatural de- try, that they were notable

struction of their mother; and friends or enemies; and then

then, where their policy may the dependence of the church

consist with justice, it will be no was entirely upon that law, all

..
..

32 THE HISTORY

BOOK I have never yet spoken with one clergyman, who
hath had the experience of both litigations, that hath
* not ingenuously confessed, "he had rather, in the
respect of his trouble, charge, and satisfaction to
his understanding, have three suits depending in
" Westminster-hall, than one in the arches, or any
" ecclesiastical court."

The particulars above mentioned were, I confess,
to vulgar minds, great provocations and temptations
to revenge ; and, therefore, I do not at all wonder,
that, in the great herd of the common lawyers, many
pragmatical spirits, whose thoughts and observations
have been contracted to the narrow limits of the few
books of that profession, or within the narrower cir
cle of the bar-oratory, should go along with the
stream, P in the womanish art of inveighing against
persons, when they should be reforming things : and
that some, by degrees, having found the benefit of
being of that opinion, (for we all remember, when
papist and puritan lawyers got more money than
their neighbours, for the private opinions they were
of; not what they delivered in public,) Q grew, at last,
to have fits of conscience in earnest ; and to believe,
that a parity in the church was necessary to religion,
and not like to produce a parity in the state ; of
which doctrine, if they had been then suspected, they
would quickly have been ashamed of such divinity. r

their inheritance and estates (ex- they were of; not what they

cept their minute tithes) being delivered in public,)] for the o-

onlydeterminable by those rules; pinions they had; not which

and by which they have seldom they delivered,
received eminent injustice. r of which doctrine, if they

P go along with the stream,] had been then suspected, they

side with the others, would quickly have been a-

q for the private opinions shamed of such divinity.] the

OF THE REBELLION. 33

But, that learned and unbiassed (I mean unpro- BOOK

XV*

voked) men, in that science of our law, s who knew

i f * 1 1
the frame and constitution of the kingdom, and that

the bishops were no less the representative body of
the clergy, than the house of commons was of the
people ; and, consequently, that the depriving them
of voice in parliament, was a violence, and removing
landmarks, and not a shaking (which might settle
again) but dissolving foundations ; which must leave
the building unsafe for habitation : that such men, l
who knew the ecclesiastical and civil state was so
wrought and interwoven together, and, in truth, so
incorporated in each other, that the one could not
long continue in prosperity without the other ; u and
that the professors of the law were never at so great
a height, as even in this time that they so unjustly
envied the greatness of the church : and, lastly, that
they, x who might well know, that the great and un
wieldy body of the clergy, consisting of such differ
ent tempers, humours, inclinations, and abilities, and
which inevitably will have so strong an influence
upon the nature y and affections of the people, could
never be regulated and governed by any magistrates,
but of themselves ; nor by any rules, but of such
power as z the bishops exercised ; whom (besides all
arguments of piety, and submission to antiquity) the a
experience of the blessed times b since the reforma-

suspicion of which would have laugh and cry together ;

quickly wrought upon their di- x that they,] Not in MS.

vinity. > nature] natures

s of our law,] Not in MS. z of such power as] such of

1 that such men,] Not in MS. power which

" that the one could not long a the] Not in MS.

continue in prosperity without b the blessed times] that

the other ;] that like Hippo- blessed time

crates twins, they cannot but

VOL. II. D

34 THE HISTORY

BOOK tion, not to be paralleled in any nation under heaven,

. declared to be the most happy managers of that

J - power, whatsoever rankness and excrescence might
have proceeded c from some branches : I say, that
these knowing and discerning men (for such I must
confess there have been) should believe it possible
for them to flourish, or d that the law itself would
have the same respect and veneration from the peo
ple, when the well disposed fabric of the church
should be rent asunder, (which, without their activity
and skill in confusion, could never have been com
passed,) hath been to me an instance of the Divine
anger against the pride of both, in suffering them to
be the fatal engines of breaking 6 one another:
whereas neither could have been f oppressed by any
other strength or power but s their own.

And I cannot but say, to the professors of that
great and admirable mystery, the common 11 law,
(upon which no man looks with more affection, re
verence, and submission,) who seem now, by the fury
and iniquity of the time, to stand upon the ground
they have won, and to be masters of the field ; and,
it may be, wear some of the trophies and spoils they
have ravished from the oppressed ; that they have
yet but sharpened weapons for others to wound them; 1
and that their own arguments and k eloquence may l
be, one time or other, m applied to their own destruc
tion. And, therefore, if they have either piety to re-

c whatsoever rankness and have been

excrescence might have pro- % but] than

ceeded] what rankness and ex- h common] Not in MS.

crescence had proceeded them ;] themselves ;

d or] and k arguments and] Not in MS.

c of breaking] to break may] shall

f whereas neither could have m one time or other,] Not in

been] which could very hardly MS.

OF THE REBELLION. 35

pent and redeem the ill that they have wrought, or BOOK

policy to preserve their own condition from con .

tempt, and themselves from being slaves to the most
abject of the people, they will at length n wind up
the church and the law into one and the same inter
est ; and, by a firm P and steady pursuit, endeavour
to fix both on the same foundation, <i from whence
they have been so violently disturbed. r

By this time the king was as weary of Scotland,
as he had been impatient to go thither ; finding all
things proposed to him, as to a vanquished person,
without consideration of his honour, or his s interest ;
and having not one counsellor about him, but the
duke of Lenox, (who from the beginning carried
himself by the most exact rules of honour, gratitude,
and fidelity to him,) and very few followers, who
had either affection to his person, or respect to i his
honour.

That which should have been an act of oblivion,
was made a defence and justification of whatsoever
they had done : their first tumults, and erecting their
tables in opposition to, u and at last suppressing, both
courts of justice and session ; arid the acts and orders
of those tables, declared to be " the effects of their
" duty to his majesty; and according to the law of the
" land :" and so all those, who according to their al
legiance had opposed and resisted them on the be
half of his majesty, and were x qualified by his ma-

n at length] Not in MS. continuation of this part of MS.

into one and the same in- C. will be found in the Appendix,

terest ;] into one bottom ; D.

P firm] firm combination s his] Not in MS.

f i on the same foundation,] to i to] of

the pinnacle, " to,] Not in MS.

r disturbed.] ravished. The x were] Not in MS.

D 2

36 THE HISTORY

BOOK jesty s commissions, were? adjudged criminal; and

! the only persons excepted from pardon, and ex-

1641. enl pted from the benefit of that oblivion.

The seditious acts of that z assembly, which had
expelled all bishops, and the canonical clergy, from
being members of that assembly; and affirmed a
themselves to have a power " to inflict the censures
" of the church upon his majesty himself;" were de
clared " to be lawful, and according to the constitu-
" tion of the kingdom ; and the government of the
church by archbishops and bishops, declared to be
against the word of God ; and they condemned as
enemies b to the propagation of the true reformed
protestant religion ; and therefore to be utterly
abolished ; and their lands given to the king, his
" heirs, and successors."

In consideration of the king s necessary absence from
that his native kingdom, it was thought fit, " that
" the full and absolute government thereof should be
" committed to the lords of the secret council ; who
" were likewise made conservators of the peace of
" the two kingdoms, during the intervals of parlia-
" ments ;" and those lords and conservators " were
then, and still, to be named by parliament, which
was once in three years to assemble upon a day
certain, without any summons from the king, if he
neglected to publish such summons ; and, upon the
same reason, all great officers, as chancellor, trea
surer, secretary, and the rest, nominated by parlia
ment ; and in the interval by the lords of the se-

66
66
66
66
66

66
66
66
66
66
66
66

y were] Not in MS. h they condemned as enemies]

z that] the an enemy

a affirmed] declared

OF THE REBELLION. 37

" cret council;" without so much as being con- BOOK

IV

cerned to have c his majesty s approbation.

All which acts, and whatsoever else they were
pleased to present to him, concerning church or
state, the king confirmed; and thereby made the
lord Lowden, who had been the principal manager
of the rebellion, chancellor of Scotland ; and created
him likewise an earl ; and conferred the other great
offices, as he was directed : then he made the earl
of Argyle (for he was still trusted with conferring
of honours) marquis ; their great general, Lesley,
earl of Leven ; and their lieutenant-general, earl of
Calendar ; and conferred other honours on persons d ,
according to the capacity and ability they had e in
doing him mischief: and, lastly, (leaving all his
own party barely f to live, for he had procured a
pardon for them from the parliament, upon condi- ,
tion " they came not near the king s presence ; nor
" received any benefit from him, without their ap-
" probation,") his majesty h gave all the lands of the
church, which had been devolved to him by its 1
ruin, and whatsoever he had else to give, in that
kingdom, to those who had discovered it not to be
in good hands before : so that he seemed to have
made that progress into Scotland, only that he might
make a perfect deed of gift of that kingdom ; which
he could never have done, so absolutely, without
going thither. And so, having nothing more to do
there, he begun h his journey towards England
about the middle of November.

c concerned to have] con- B nor] or

cerned in h his majesty] he

d on persons] Not in MS. its] their

e they had] they had had k begun] began
f barely] Not in MS.

D 3

38 THE HISTORY

BOOK It is not to be doubted, in consideration of those

IV.

extravagant concessions, they made as extravagant

l - promises to the king; that, by their loyal and duti
ful comportment, his majesty should find no diminu
tion of his power ; that he should have the entire
obedience of that nation, to preserve his full rights
and regalities in England ; and to reduce Ireland :
the earl of Leven telling him, (as marquis Hamilton
assured me, in his hearing,) " that he would not
" only never more serve against him, but that when-
" ever his majesty would require his service, he
" should have it, without ever asking w T hat the
" cause was :" and many of them whispering in his
ear, and assuring him, " that as soon as the troubles
" of the late storm could be perfectly calmed, they
" would reverse and repeal whatsoever was now un-
* " reasonably extorted from him." And his majesty
having never received any considerable l profit from
Scotland, m cared the less for what he parted with
there : and, it may be, being resolved they should
be no more charge to him in his court here n , (for
surely he had then very hard thoughts of a great
part of the nation,) he believed he should save
more in this kingdom, than he had given in that ;
and he made no doubt, P but that they were so full
fed now, that they would not stir from home again,
till the temper and affection of his people here
should be better disposed for their reception.

But his majesty never considered, or not soon

1 considerable] Not in MS. very hard thoughts of a great

m Scotland,] MS. adds : or part of the nation,)] (for sure

other benefit than the reputa- he was then perfectly irrecon-

tion of a kingdom in his title, ciled to the whole nation,)

n here] Not in MS. P doubt,] scruple,

(for surely he had then

OF THE REBELLION. 39

enough, that they could not reasonably hope to BOOK
keep what they had so ill got, but by the same arts

by which they were such gainers ; and there cannot
be a surer evidence of the continuance of an enemy,
than i the having received injuries from him, of a
nature that do not use to be forgiven. Neither did
he sufficiently weigh the unspeakable encourage
ment, and, in some particulars, the reasonable pre
tence the factious party here would have, from the
prosperous wickedness of those there. And, it is
certain, their number from thenceforth 1 " increased
wonderfully ; the enemies of the church presuming
their work was more than half done, when the king
himself had declared, (for his consent to that act
they would easily make appear to be such,) " that
46 the government by archbishops, and bishops, was
" against the word of God, and the propagation of
" religion." Many concluding the king would at
last yield to any thing, put themselves in company
of the boldest and most positive askers ; and some,
who in their hearts abhorred what the Scots had
done, yet disdaining to be overwitted by them;
and that they should get more for themselves, and
receive a greater argument of the king s trust, than
we of this nation ; out of pure malice to them, re
solved to do the same things with them ; and so
joined and concurred in any exorbitancies. All
which the king too late discovered, by the enter*,
tainment he received upon his return.

About the time the news came s of the king s be-

q than] as the remonstrance is taken from

r thenceforth] thence MS. B. : a more summary ac-

s About the time the news count, from MS. C. will be found

came&c.] The ensuing account of in the Appendix, E.

D 4

40 THE HISTORY

BOOK ginning 1 his journey from Scotland upon a day ap-

pointed ; and that he had settled all things in that

1641. kingdom to the general satisfaction; the committee

The com-

mitteefor tor preparing the remonstrance offered their report
tram* to the house ; which caused the draught they offered

to be read. It contained a very bitter representa-
the house tion of all the illegal things which had been done,

of com-

mons. from the first hour of the king s coming to the
crown, to that minute ; with all the u sharp reflec
tions which could be made, upon the king himself,
the queen, and council ; and published all the un
reasonable jealousies of the present government, of
the introducing popery; and all other particulars,
that x might disturb the minds of the people ; which
were enough discomposed.

The house seemed generally to dislike it ; many
saying, " that it was very unnecessary, and unsea-
" sonable : unnecessary, all those grievances being
" already fully redressed ; and the liberty and pro-
" perty of the subject being as well secured for the
" future, as could y possibly be done : and unseason-
" able, 2 after the king had gratified them, with
" granting every thing which they had desired of
" him ; and after so long absence, in the settling
" the disorders in another kingdom, which he had
" happily composed ; to be now welcomed home
66 with such a volume of reproaches, for what others
" had done amiss, and which he himself had re-
" formed." Notwithstanding all which, all the other
party appeared passionately concerned that it might
not be rejected; and enlarged themselves with as

1 beginning] being to begin * could] can

" the] those z and unseasonable,] and then

x that] which that it was very unseasonable,

tt
tf

OF THE REBELLION. 41

high expressions against the government, as at first; BOOK

with many insinuations, "that we were in danger !

" of being deprived of all the good acts which we
" had gained, if great care and vigilance were a not
used, to disappoint some counsels which were
still entertained ;" making some b doubtful glances
and reflections upon the rebellion in Ireland, (with
which they perceived many good men were easily
amused,) and in the end prevailed, " that a day
" should be appointed, when the house should be
" resolved into a committee of the whole house, c
" and the remonstrance to be then retaken into con-
" sideration :" and in the mean time they employed
all their credit and interest with particular men, to
persuade them, " that the passing that remonstrance
was most necessary, for the preservation and
maintenance of all those good laws which they
" had already made ;" giving several reasons to se
veral persons, according to their natures and in
clinations ; assuring many, " that they intended it
only for the mortification of the court, and mani
festation that that malignant party, which ap
peared to be growing up in the house, could not
prevail ;" and then " that it should remain stiU in
" the clerk s hands, and never be published."

And by these, and the like arts, they promised
themselves, that they should easily carry it : so that
the day it was to be resumed, they entertained the
house all the morning with other debates, and to
wards noon called for the remonstrance ; and it be
ing urged by some, " that it was too late to enter
" upon it, with much difficulty they consented, that

a were] was r a committee of the whole

h some] Not in MS. house,] a grand committee,

a

0.

it
it
tt
tt

THE HISTORY

BOOK "it should be entered upon the next morning at

! " nine of the clock ; and every clause should be de-

1 " bated, the speaker in the chair ;" for they would
not have the house resolved into a committee, which
they believed would spend too much time. Oliver
Cromwell (who, at that time, was little taken notice
of) asked the lord Falkland, " Why he would have
" it put off, for that day would quickly have deter-
" mined it ?" He answered, " There would not
" have been time enough, for sure it would take
" some debate." The other replied, " A very sorry
" one :" they supposing, by the computation they
had made, that very few would oppose it.

But he quickly found he was mistaken : for the
next morning, the debate being entered upon about
nine of the clock, d it continued all that day ; and
candles being called for when it grew dark, (neither
side being very desirous to adjourn it till the next
day; though it was evident, very many withdrew
themselves out of pure faintness and disability to
attend the conclusion,) the debate continued, till it
was after e twelve of the clock, with much passion ;
and the house being then divided, upon the passing
it was or not passing it, it was carried for the affirmative,

carried by . . . , , .

nine voices, by nine voices, and no more : and as soon as it was
declared, Mr. Hambden moved, " that there might
" be an order entered for the present printing it ;"
which produced a sharper debate than the former.
It appeared then, that they did not intend to send
it up to the house of peers for their concurrence ;
but that it was upon the matter an appeal to the
people ; and to infuse jealousies into their minds. It

d nine of the clock,] nine of e till it was after] till after it
the clock in the morning, was

OF THE REBELLION. 43

had seldom f been the custom to publish any de- BOOK
bates, or determinations of the house, which were

not regularly first transmitted to the house of peers ;
nor was it thought, in truth, that the house had
authority to give warrant for the printing of any
thing; all which was offered by Mr. Hyde, with
some warmth, as soon as the motion was made for
the printing it: and he said, "he believed 11 the
" printing it in that manner was not lawful ; and
" he feared it would produce mischievous effects ;
" and therefore desired the leave of the house, that
" if the question should be put, and be i carried in
" the affirmative, that he might have liberty to
" enter his protestation ;" which he no sooner said,
than Jeffery Palmer (a man of great reputation, and
much esteemed in the house) stood up, and made
the same motion for himself, " that he might like-
" wise protest." Many k afterwards, without dis
tinction, and in some disorder, cried out together 1 ,
" They did protest :" so that there was after scarce
any quiet and regular debate. But the house by
degrees being quieted, they all consented, about
two of the clock in the morning, to adjourn till two
of the clock the next afternoon. And as they went
out of the house, the lord Falkland asked Oliver
Cromwell, " whether there had been a debate ?" to
which he answered, " he would m take his word an-
" other time ;" and whispered him in the ear, with
some asseveration, " that if the remonstrance had
" been rejected, he would have sold all he had the

f seldom] never k Many] When immediately

2 were] was together many

h believed] did believe l together] Not. in MS.

1 be] Not in MS. m " he would] that he would

44 THE HISTORY

BOOK " next morning, and never have seen England
more ; and he knew there were many other ho-

* " nest men of the same resolution." So near was
the poor kingdom at that time to its deliverance.

However n they got this victory, they did not in
a long time recover the spirits they lost, and the
agony they had sustained, whilst it was in suspense ;
and they discerned well enough, that the house had
not, at that time, half its members present ; though
they had provided, that not a man of their party
was absent ; and that they had even P carried it by
the hour of the night, which drove away a greater
number of old and infirm opposers, than would have
made those of the negative superior in number : so
that they had little hope, in a fuller house, to pre
vail in any of their unjust designs, except they
found some other expedient, by hopes or fears, to
work upon the affections of the several members.

In order to which, they spent most part of the
next day in their private consultations, how to chas
tise some of those who offended <i them the day be
fore ; and resolved in the first place, not to suffer
that precedent to be introduced into the house,
" that men should protest against the sense of the
" house :" which, it is true, had not been used in
the house of commons. This r subject was the more
grateful to them, because they should heartily 8 take
revenge upon Mr. Hyde, whom they perfectly hated;*
and to whose activity they imputed the trouble they
had sustained the day before ; and he was the first

n However] And however r This] And this

present] Not in MS. s heartily] hereby

P even] even then l hated ;] hated above any

q who offended] who most man ;
offended

OF THE REBELLION. 45

who made the protestation, that is, asked leave to BOOK
do it; which produced the other subsequent cla

mour, that was indeed in some disorder. But here
they differed amongst themselves ; all the leading
violent men, who bore the greatest sway, were most
glad of the occasion, as it gave them opportunity to
be rid of Mr. Hyde, which they passionately desired:
but sir John Hotham, Cholmondley, and Stapleton
(who never severed, and had a numerous train at
tending 11 their motions) remembered the service
Mr. Hyde had done against the court of York, (the
overthrowing whereof was their peculiar glory,) and
would not consent that they should question him ;
but were ready to concur with them in the prosecu
tion of any other of the protesters ; whereof there
was number enough. This made so great a x differ
ence amongst them, that for the present they agreed
no further, than " that they would that afternoon
" only provide, that the next morning they would
" fall upon that y matter ;" and then z they might
consult together at night, what person they would
sacrifice.

About a three of the clock, when the house met,
Mr. Pym " lamented the disorder of the night be-
" fore, which, he said, might probably have engaged
the house in blood, and had b proceeded princi
pally from c the offering a protestation, which had
" been never before offered in that house, and was
" a transgression that ought to be severely exa-
" mined, that mischief might not result hereafter d

u attending] which attended b had] Not in MS.

x a] Not in MS. c from] by

y that] the d mischief might not result

L then] that then hereafter] mischief hereafter

a About] And so about might not result

66
66

46 THE HISTORY

BOOK " from that precedent : and therefore proposed, that
_ ! " the house would the next morning enter upon
1 " that examination ; and in the mean time, men
" might recollect themselves, and they, who used to
" take notes, might peruse their memorials ; that
" the persons who were the chief causes e of the dis-
" order might be named, and defend themselves the
" best they could :" and with this resolution the
house arose ; f the vexation of the night before being
very visible in the looks and countenance of many.
Neither that night s deliberation, nor all the arti
fice or importunity that could be used, could re
move 11 the obstinate northern men from their resolu
tion : they i declared positively, " that, if they pro-
" secuted Mr. Hyde, they, and all their friends,
" would engage in his defence :" which made the
others resolve, not to incur k the danger or inconve
nience of such a schism ; and so they unanimously
agreed upon another l person, whom they would ac
cuse.

The next morning they first enlarged upon the
offence itself ; " of the mischief it had like to have
" produced, and would m unavoidably produce, if the
" custom or liberty of it were ever admitted ; n that
" it was the first time it had ever been offered in
" that house ; and that care ought to be taken, that
" it should be the last ; by the severe judgment of
" the house, upon those persons who had begun the
" presumption."

e causes] causers solve, not to incur] but the

f arose ;] rose ; others would not incur

s Neither] And l another] a third

h could remove] could not m and would] and of the

remove mischief it would

5 they] and they n were ever admitted ;] was
k which made the others re- ever introduced ;

OF THE REBELLION. 47

Mr. Hyde, who had then known nothing of the BOOK
private consultation, and had many reasons to be-

a

(6

.*.

lieve himself to be designed, stood up (notwithstand
ing some signs made to him at a distance by his
northern friends, which he understood not) and said,
" It concerned him to justify what he had done, be-
" ing the first man who mentioned the protesta-
" tion :" upon which there was a general noise and
clamour " to withdraw ;" and as great " to speak :"
he proceeded, and said, " He was not old enough
" to know the ancient customs of that house ; but,
" that he well knew, it was a very ancient custom
" in the house of peers ; and leave was never denied
there P to any man, who asked that he might pro
test, and enter his dissent, against any judgment
" of the house, to which he would not be under-
" stood to have given his consent : that he did not
" understand any reason, why a commoner should
not have the same liberty, if he desired not to be
involved in any vote, which he thought might
possibly be inconvenient to him. That he had
not offered his protestation against the remon
strance, though he had opposed it ^ all he could,
" because it remained still within those walls ; that
" he had only desired leave to protest against the
" printing it ; which, he thought, was not in many
" respects lawful for them to do ; and might prove
" very pernicious to the public peace."

They were very much offended with all he said,
and his assurance r in speaking ; and Mr. Strode
could not contain himself from saying, "that that

he proceeded,] upon which 1 it] Not in MS.
he proceeded, r assurance] confidence

P there] Not in MS.

6(

tt

ti

48 THE HISTORY

BOOK " gentleman had confessed that he had first pro-
" posed the protestation ; and, therefore, desired he

(6
(t

J - "might withdraw;" which many others likewise
called for: till sir John Hotham appeared with
some warmth against it; and young Hotham, his
son, accused Jeffery Palmer " of giving the cause of
disorder, by saying, / do protest, without asking
the leave of the house, and encouraging others 8 to
" cry out every man, / do protest :" whereupon
they all fell into great i noise and confusion ; and so,
without much more discourse, Mr. Palmer was
called upon " to explain ;" which as he was about
to do, Mr. Hyde (who loved him much, and had
rather have suffered himself, than that he should)
spoke u to the orders of the house ; and said, " that
" it was against the orders and practice of the
" house, that any man should be called upon to ex-
" plain, for any thing he said in the house two days
" before ; when it could not be presumed, that his
" own memory could recollect all the words he had
" used ; or that any body else could charge him
" with them ; and appealed to the house, whether
" there was any precedent of the like." And there
is no doubt, there never had been ; and it was very
irregular. But they were too positively resolved to
be x diverted ; till, y after two hours debate, he him
self desired, z " that, to save the house further trou-
" ble, he might answer, and withdraw ;" which he
did. When it drew towards night, after many
hours debate, it was ordered, " that he should be

8 others] men > 7 till,] and,

1 great] that z he himself desired,] him-

u vSpoke] spake self desiring,

x to be] not to be

OF THE REBELLION. 49

" committed to the Tower ;" the angry men press- BOOK

it
(t

ing, with all their power, " that he might be expel- .
u led the house ;" having borne him a long grudge, for
the civility he shewed in the prosecution of the earl
of StrafFord ; that is, that he had not used the same
reproachful language which the others had done :
but they were at last glad to compound for his bare
commitment to the Tower : from whence he was
within few days enlarged, and returned again to the
house. In a the close of that day, and the rising of the The remon-
house, without much opposition, they obtained an^red to be
order for the printing their remonstrance. printed.

That remonstrance, after many clauses and unbe-Thesub-

. . _ stance of it.

coming expressions were cast out, contained, " that
" there had been, from the beginning of his majesty s
" reign, a malignant and pernicious design, of sub
verting the fundamental laws and principles of
government, upon which the religion and justice
" of the kingdom was established : that the actors
" and promoters thereof were the jesuited papists ;
" the bishops and corrupt part of the clergy ; and
" such counsellors and courtiers, as had engaged
" themselves to further the interests of some foreign
" princes, or states, to the prejudice of the king and
" state at home ; all which had endeavoured to raise
" differences and discontents betwixt the king and
" his people, upon questions of prerogative and li-
" berty ; to suppress the purity of religion, and such
" men as were best affected to it, as the greatest im-
" pediment to that change which they thought to
" introduce ; to cherish and maintain those opinions
" in religion, which brought ours nearest and most

a In] And in
VOL. II. E-

50 THE HISTORY

BOOK " agreeable to the papists ; and to continue, mul-
" tiply, and enlarge the diiferences between the pro-

66

66

66
66
66
66
66

1641. 66 testants themselves, distinguishing between pro-
" testants and puritans, by introducing and coun-
" tenancing such opinions and ceremonies, as were
" fittest for accommodation with popery ; that so, of
papists, Arminians, and libertines, they might com
pose a body fit to act such counsels and resolu-
" tions, as were most conducible to their own ends :
and, lastly, to render the king disaffected b to par
liaments, by slanders and false imputations, and so
putting him upon other ways of supply, as of more
advantage than the ordinary course of subsidies,
which brought infinite loss to the c king and peo
ple, and caused the distractions that ensued/ 1 "
They remembered " the breach of the parliament
at Oxford, in the first year of his majesty s reign;
and reproached him e with the fruitless voyage to
Cadiz, at his first coming to the crown ; the loss of
Rochelle, by first suppressing their fleet with his
own royal ships, by which the protestant religion
in France infinitely suffered; the making a war
with France precipitately, and a peace with Spain,
" without their consent, and so deserting the cause
of the palatinate ; and with a design to bring in
German horse, to force the kingdom, by violence, f
to submit to such arbitrary contributions, as should
be required of them."

They remembered him " of charging the king
dom by billeting of soldiers, and by raising of &

46
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b to render the king disaffect- e him] his majesty

ed] to disaffect the king f violence,] rigour,

- the] Not in MS. g of] Not in MS.
1 that ensued.] which ensued.

OF THE REBELLION. 51

" coat and conduct money for those soldiers, in the BOOK
" second and third years of his reign ; of his dissolv-

66

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a
te

(6

t(

" ing the parliament in his second year, after their
" declaration of an intent to grant five subsidies ;
" and the exacting those five subsidies afterwards by
a commission of loan ; upon the refusal whereof,
divers gentlemen 11 were imprisoned, whereof some
" died, by the diseases they contracted in that im-
" prisonment ; of great sums raised by privy-seals ;
" and of an attempt to set the excise on foot."
They remembered " the dissolution of the parlia
ment in the fourth year of his reign, and the untrue
and scandalous declarations thereupon ; the im
prisoning divers members of that parliament after
the dissolution, and detaining them close prisoners
" for words spoken in parliament ; sentencing and
" fining them for those words ; one of which died in
" prison, for want of ordinary refreshment, whose
blood (they said) still cried for vengeance."
They reproached his majesty " with injustice, op
pression, and violence, which, after the breaking i
of that parliament, broke in upon them, without
any restraint or moderation ; with the great sums
of money he had exacted throughout the kingdom
for default of knighthood, in the fourth year of his
" reign ; with the receiving tonnage and poundage
" from the death of king James ; and raising the
" book of rates, and laying new impositions upon
trade; with the enlargement of forests, and com
positions thereupon ; the engrossing gunpowder,
and suffering none to buy it without licence ; with
all the most odious monopolies of soap, wine, salt,

h gentlemen] gentlemen and others breaking] breach

E 2

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52 THE HISTORY

BOOK leather, sea-coal, and: the rest," (which had been

granted from his majesty s first coming to the crown,

and some of them before,) " with the new tax of
ship-money, and the ill-guarding the seas, and
leaving the merchants k naked to the violence of
the Turkish pirates, notwithstanding that extraor
dinary and extravagant supply; with the vexa
tions upon pretence of nuisances in building, and
thereupon raising great sums of money for licences
to build ; and of depopulation, that men might pay
" fines to continue the same misdemeanour ; with
the seizing the merchants money in the mint ; and
an abominable project of making brass money."
They repeated " the extravagant censures of the
star-chamber, whereby the subject had been op
pressed by fines, imprisonments, stigmatizings, mu-
" tilations, whippings, pillories, gags, confinements,
" banishments ; the severe and illegal proceedings of
" the council-table, and other new-erected judica-
tories ; and the suspensions, excommunications,
and deprivations of learned and pious ministers,
by the high commission court ; which grew to that
excess of sharpness and severity, that they said it
was not much less than the Romish inquisition."
They reproached the king " with the liturgy and
canons sent into Scotland, as an attempt upon the
pro test ant religion ; with the forcing that nation to
raise an army in their own defence, and raising
an army against them ; with the pacification, and
breach of that pacification ; that he called a par-
" liament after, in hope to corrupt it, and make it
" countenance the war with Scotland ; which when

k merchants] merchant

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OF THE REBELLION. 53

" he found it would not do, he dissolved it, and then BOOK
committed members to prison ; and compelled men

((

" to lend money against their wills ; and imprisoned
" such as refused."

They mentioned " the synod held by the bishops
" after the end of the parliament, and the canons
" and oath made by them ; the raising the armies,
" here and in Ireland, against the Scots ; and the li-
" beral collection and contribution from the clergy,
" and the catholics, towards that war ; all the favours
" that had been done to the papists ; the reception
" and entertainment of seignior Con, and the comte
" Rozetti, by the queen, from Rome ; and some mi-
" nisters sent by her majesty thither."

In a word, they left not any error or misfortune
in government, or any passionate exercise of power,
unmentioned or l unpressed ; with the sharpest and
most pathetical expressions to affect the people, that
the general observation of the wisest, or the particu
lar animosity of the most disobliged, or ill-affected
persons, 111 could suggest, to the disadvantage of the
king, from the death of his father, to the unhappy
beginning of the present parliament.

Then they magnified their own services : " that
" having found the kingdom groaning under these
" difficulties, which seemed to be insuperable, they
" had, by the Divine Providence, overcome them
" all ; that they had n abolished ship-money, and all
" monopolies ; and had taken away that which was
" the root of all those evils, the arbitrary power of

1 or] and evils, the arbitrary power] and

m persons,] person, (which was the root of all those

n had] Not in MS. evils) had taken away that arbi-

and had taken away that trary power
which was the root of all those

E 3

54 THE HISTORY

BOOK " taxing the subject, pretended? to be in the king:
" that the living grievances, the evil counsellors.

66

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(6

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66

1641. tt were so quelled, by the justice done on 1 ! the earl
" of Strafford ; the flight of the lord Finch, and se
cretary Windebank ; the accusation and imprison
ment of the archbishop of Canterbury, and other
delinquents ; that it was not like to be only an
" ease to the present times, but a preservation to the
" future."

They 1 reckoned up 8 " all the good laws, and the
benefit the people received by those laws ; spoke*
of many good designs they had for the benefit u of
the kingdom :" but then complained " of opposi
tions, and obstructions, and difficulties, with which
" they were encountered, and which still lay in their
" way, with some strength, and much obstinacy ;
" that there was a malignant party took heart again,
" that preferred some of their own agents and factors
" to degrees of honour, and to places of trust and
employment. That they had endeavoured to work
in his majesty ill impressions and opinions of their
proceedings ; as if they had done altogether their
own work, and not his ; and had obtained many
things from him prejudicial to the crown, in re
spect of prerogative and profit. To wipe out
which slander, they declared, x all they had done
was for his majesty, his greatness, honour, and
support: that, when they gave five and twenty
" thousand pounds y a month, for the relief of the

P pretended] which was pre- t spoke] spake

tended u benefit] good

i done on] done upon x declared,] said,

r They] Not in MS. y pounds] pound
s up] Not in MS.

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OF THE REBELLION. 55

" northern counties, in the support of the Scottish 2 BOOK

IV

" army, it was given to the king, for that he was

..
..

bound to protect his subjects ; and that, when they
" undertook the charge of the army, which cost
" above fifty thousand pounds a month, a it was given
" to the king, for that it was his majesty s army, and
" the commanders and soldiers under contract with
" him ; and that, when they undertook to pay
" their brethren of Scotland three hundred thousand

pounds, it was to repair the damages and losses

they had sustained by his majesty and his mi-
" nisters; and that those b particulars amounted to
" above eleven hundred thousand pounds."

Then they negligently and perfunctorily passed
over his majesty s graces and favours, " as being
" little more than in justice he was obliged to grant,
" and of no considerable loss and damage to him-
" self; and promised the good people shortly ease
" in the matter of protections, (by which the debts
" from parliament-men, and their followers, and de-
" pendents, were not recoverable,) and speedily to
" pass a bill to that purpose."

Then they inveighed against the malignant party,
that had sought " to cause jealousies between them
" and their brethren of Scotland ; and that had such
" a party of bishops and popish lords in the house of
" peers, as hindered the proceedings of divers good
" bills, passed in the commons house, concerning
" sundry great abuses and corruptions both in church
" and state/ (when, at that time, the house of peers

z Scottish] Scotch c no considerable] inconsider*

a a month,] the month, able

b that those] that these

E 4

56 THE HISTORY

BOOK had only refused to concur with them in two bills,

IV.

that of the protestation ; and, the taking away the

* votes of bishops out of the house of peers,) " that had
" attempted to disaffect and discontent his majesty s
" late army, and to bring it up against the parlia-
" ment, and city of London ; that had raised the re-
" bellion in Ireland ; and, if not by their wisdom pre-
" vented, had brought the like misery and confusion
" in this kingdom."

Then they declared, " that they meant to have a
" general synod of the most grave, pious, learned,
" and judicious divines of this island ;" (when at that
time there was scarce one d orthodox divine of Eng
land in reputation with them ;) " who, 6 assisted by
" some f from foreign parts, professing the same reli-
" gion, should s consider of all things necessary for
the peace and good government of the church ;
and present the result of their consultations to the
parliament, to be there allowed and confirmed:
that they would provide a competent maintenance
for conscientious and preaching ministers through
out the kingdom : that they intended to reform and
purge the fountains of learning, the two univer
sities ; that the streams flowing from thence might
" be clear and pure, and an honour and comfort to
the whole land : that his majesty should be peti
tioned by both houses, to employ such counsellors,
" ambassadors, and other ministers, in managing his
" business at home and abroad, as the parliament
" have h cause to confide in ; without which, they

d scarce one] not one g should] who should

e who,] Not in MS. h have] might have

f by some] with some

a

a

it

<
It
tt

(6
66

OF THE REBELLION. 57

" could not give his majesty such supplies for his BOOK
" own support, or such assistance for the protestant
" party beyond the seas, as was desired."

Withal they declared, " that the commons might
" have cause, often, justly to take exceptions at
some men for being counsellors, and yet not
charge those men with crimes ; for that there are
grounds of diffidence, which lie not in proof; and
others, which though they may be proved, yet are
not legally criminal; as to be a known favourer of
papists ; or to have been very forward in defending
or countenancing some great offenders, question
ed in parliament ; or to speak contemptuously of
either house of parliament, or parliamentary pro
ceedings ; or such as are suspected to get counsel
lors places, or any other of trust concerning pub
lic employment, for money : that all good courses
may be taken, to unite the two kingdoms of Eng-
" land and Scotland ; to be mutually aiding and as-
" sisting one another, for the common good of the
" island, and the honour of both :" with some other
particulars of this nature. 1

I know not how those men have already answered The ways
it to their own consciences ; or how they will an- t i

66

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swer it to Him who can discern their consciences ; 1 " the

f

who, having assumed their country s trust, and, it commons -
may be, with great earnestness laboured to procure
that trust, by their supine laziness, negligence, and
absence, were the first inlets to those k inundations ;
and so contributed to those licences which have over-

5 with some other particulars follow in the MS. will be found

of this nature.] The continuation in the Appendix, F.
of lord Clarendon s remarks on k to those] to these
this remonstrance, which here

58 THE HISTORY

BOOK whelmed us. For, by this means, a handful of men,
much inferior in the beginning, in number and in-

N-- "

terest, came to give laws to the major part; and to
shew that three diligent persons are really a greater
and more significant number, 1 than ten unconcerned,
they, by plurality of voices, in the end, converted or
reduced the whole body to their opinions. It is true,
men of activity and faction, in any design, have many
advantages, that a composed and settled council,
though industrious enough, usually have not ; and
some, that gallant men cannot give themselves leave
to entertain : for, besides their through considering
and forming their counsels before they execute them, m
they contract a habit of ill nature and disingenuity n
necessary to their affairs, and the temper of those
upon whom they are to work, that liberal-minded
men would not persuade themselves to entertain,
even for the prevention of all the mischief the others
intend. And whosoever observes the ill arts, by
which P these men used to prevail upon the people
in general ; their absurd, ridiculous lying, to win the
affections, and corrupt the understandings, of the
weak ; and the bold scandals, to confirm the wilful ;
the boundless promises they presented to the ambi
tious ; and their gross, abject flatteries, and applica
tions, to the vulgar-spirited ; would hardly give him
self leave to use those weapons, for the preservation
of the three kingdoms.

The king had^ at that time a greater disadvan-

1 really a greater and more begin to execute,
significant number,] are a greater n disingenuity] uningenuity
number in arithmetic, as well as whosoever observes] who-

a more significant number in ever observed
logic. v by which] Not in MS.

m they execute them,] they ( i had] besides had

OF THE REBELLION.

tage (besides the concurrence of ill and extraordi- BOOK
nary accidents) than himself, or any of his progeni

tors, had ever had before ; having no servant of the
house of commons, of interest, ability, and reputa
tion, and of faithfulness and affection to his service :
sir Thomas Jermyn^ who was very honest to him,
and of good abilities, through his indisposition of
health, and trouble of mind for his son s misfortune,
having left the house, and the court, and being re
tired into the country ; and sir Harry Vane (who
was the other only privy-counsellor) having com
mitted those faults to the king, he knew could not
be forgiven ; and those faults to the country, could
not be forgotten ; gave himself entirely to the dispo
sition of his new masters : and Mr. Saint-John, who
at the beginning was made solicitor 1 " general, and 8
thereby had obliged himself, by a particular oath,
" to defend his majesty s rights, and in no case to be
" of counsel, or give advice, to the prejudice of the
" king, and the crown ;" was the chief instrument
to devise and contrive all the propositions and acts
of undutifulness towards him. So that, whilst these
men, and their consorts, with the greatest delibera
tion, consulted, and disposed themselves to compass
confusion ; they, who out of the most abstracted
sense of loyalty to the king, and duty to their coun
try, severed from any relations to the king s service, 1
or hopes from the court, preserved their own inno
cence, and endeavoured to uphold the good old frame
of government, received neither countenance nor u
conduct from those who were naturally to have

r solicitor] his solicitor l king s service,] king,

* and] Not in MS. nor] or

60 THE HISTORY

BOOK taken care of that province. And sure the raging

! and fanatic distemper x of the house of commons (to

164J. w hich all other distempers are to be imputed) must
most properly be attributed to the want of such?
good ministers of the crown in that assembly, as z
being unawed by any guilt of their own, could have
watched other men s ; and informed, encouraged,
and influenced a those, who stood well inclined to
the public peace.

To which purpose, if that stratagem (though none
of the best) of winning men by places, had been
practised, as soon as the resolution was taken at
York to call a parliament, (in which, it was appa
rent, dangerous attempts would be made ; and that
the court could not be able to resist those attempts,)
and if Mr. Pym, Mr. Hambden, and Mr. Hollis, had
been then preferred with Mr. Saint-John, before they
were desperately embarked in their desperate de
signs, and had innocence enough about them, to
trust the king, and be trusted by him ; having yet
contracted no personal animosities against him; it
is very possible, that they might either have been
made instruments to have done good service ; or at
least been restrained from endeavouring to subvert
the royal building, for supporting whereof they had
been b placed as principal pillars.

But the rule the king gave himself, (very reason
able at any other c time,) that they should first do
service, and compass this or that thing for him, be
fore they should receive favour, was then very un
seasonable : since, besides that they could not in

x distemper] distempers a influenced] governed

y such] Not in MS. b had been] were

7 as] who c any other] another

OF THE REBELLION. 61

truth do him that service without the qualification, BOOK
it could not be expected they would desert that side,

by the power of which they were sure to make
themselves considerable, without an unquestionable
mark of interest in the other, by which they were
to keep up their power and reputation : and so,
whilst the king expected they should manifest their
inclinations to his service, by their temper and mo
deration in those proceedings that most offended
him ; and they endeavoured, by doing all the hurt
they could, to make evident the power they had to
do him good; he grew so far disobliged and pro
voked, that he could not in honour gratify them ;
and they so obnoxious and guilty, that they could
not think themselves secure in his favour: and
thence, according to the policy and method of in
justice, continued d to oppress that power they had
injured ; and to raise a security for themselves, by
disabling 6 the king to question their transgres
sions. f

d continued] combined those that opposed them, and

e disabling] disenabling the others grew so cast down

f question their transgres- and dejected, that ever after

sions.] After this, in MS. C. is they met no equal opposition

the following short account of in the house of commons : for

the dispute in the house of com- the same night, after it was

mons respecting the right of pro- voted, upon a motion made for

testing ; of which, a circumstan- the printing it, a new debate

tial statement is given from MS. arising with more passion than

B. in page 44 of this volume: the former, and one member

I have been the longer in con- standing up, and desiring leave

templation of this particular in to enter his protestation against

this place, because from their it, (which was usual in the

mastery in that night s debate house of peers, and by the same

about the remonstrance, and reason might be thought not

the agony they were in during unlawful there, though it had

the debate, that they might not not been practised in the house

prevail, they contracted so great of commons,) all those who had

a pride and animosity against dissented, with much passion,

62 THE HISTORY

BOOK Notwithstanding all these contrivances to lessen
.the reputation of the court, (to which many other
particulars contributed, which will be touched here
after, ) the city of London made great preparations

upon his to receive the king. Gourney, then h lord mayor, was

return out . .

of Scot- a man 01 wisdom and courage, and l expressed great
indignation, to see the city so corrupted, by the ill
artifices of factious persons ; and therefore attended
upon his majesty, at his entrance into the city, with
all the lustre and good countenance it could shew ;
and as great professions of duty as it could make,
or the king expect. k And on Thursday, the five
and twentieth of November, the king entered into
London ; received l with the greatest acclamations
of joy, that had been known upon any occasion ;

and some disorder, desired to Palmer, and to wave question-
enter their protestation like- ing the gentleman who first be-
wise ; so that the business of gun the protestation, (though
printing was for the present he was more in their displea-
laid aside, and the protestation sure,) by reason one powerful
pressed in that manner, that person amongst them had taken
the house rose in some confu- some groundless affection to
sion about three of the clock in him, and declared, that he would
the morning. Whereupon, two concur with them against Mr.
days after, when they had con- Palmer, but would with all his
trived their business, they ques- interest oppose them on the be-
tioned Mr. Palmer, who was half of the other ; and so, hav-
one of those who offered his ing compassed their main end,
protestation upon some expres- from that time they found the
sions in the manner of doing sense of the house more at their
it, which some were prepared devotion, as will be observed
to witness against him ; and hereafter,
without suffering it to be de- s hereafter,] upon,
bated, whether protesting itself h then] the
were lawful and regular, after a and] and who
debate of five or six hours, ma- k the king expect.] The con-
ny of the dissenters being won tinuation of this part oftheHis-
over, and others persuaded to tory, according to MS. B. will
be absent, they judged him to be found in the Appendix, G.
be sent to the Tower ; being l received] where he was re-
contented to compound for Mr. ceived

OF THE REBELLION. 63

and after a most magnificent entertainment, by sir BOOK
Richard Gourney, lord mayor, at the guildhall; - *
where the king, queen, prince, and the whole court
of lords and ladies, were feasted ; his majesty was m
attended by the whole city to Whitehall, where he
lodged that night ; and the n earl of Essex resigned
his commission of general on this side Trent ; which
had been granted for the security of the kingdom,
at his majesty s going into the north.

The next day, the king went to Hampton-court ; sir H. Vane
and as soon as he came thither, took away the seals from being
from sir Henry Vane, (having before taken away state!* 7 C
his staff of treasurer of the household P from him,
and conferred it upon the lord Savile, in lieu of the
presidentship of the north ; which he was to q have
had, if both houses had not declared that commis
sion to be illegal,) and r appointed the guards that
were kept at Westminster, for the security of the
two houses, ever since the news out of Scotland, to
be dismissed ; and shortly after published a procla
mation, " for obedience to be given to the laws esta-
" Wished, for the exercise of religion."

These proceedings of his majesty much troubled A petition
the managers in the house; 8 and the entertainment foahe king,
given to him by the city of London, in which their

entire confidence was, much dejected them ; and remon -

9 st ranee, on

made them apprehend, their friends there were not Dec - Kand

printed.

so powerful as they expected. However, they seem
ed to abate nothing of their mettle ; and, shortly

m his majesty was] he was c was to] should

n and the] when the r and] then he

away] Not in MS. s troubled the managers in

p of the household] Not in the house ;] troubled them ;
MS.

6 4

THE HISTORY

BOOK after his return, resolved to present their remon
strance, lately framed, to him, together with a peti-

tf

66

66

66

66

1641 - tion ; in which they complained "of a malignant
" party, which prevailed so far, as to bring divers
" of their instruments to be of his privy-council ;
" and in other employments of trust and nearness
" about his majesty, the prince, and the rest of his
" children : to which malignant party, amongst other
wickedness, they imputed the insurrection of the
papists in Ireland; and therefore, for the sup
pressing that wicked and malignant party, they
besought his majesty, that he would concur with
his people, in a parliamentary way, for the depriv
ing the bishops of their votes in parliament," (when
at that time the bill to that purpose had not passed
the house of peers,) " and abridging their immode-
" rate power over the clergy: and t for the removing
" unnecessary ceremonies, by which divers weak
" consciences had been scrupled ; that he would re-
" move from his council such persons as persisted to
favour any of those pressures wherewith the peo
ple had been grieved ; and that he would for the
future employ such persons in the public affairs,
" and take such to be near him in places of trust,
as his parliament might have cause to confide in ;
and that he would reject and refuse all mediation
and solicitation to the contrary, how powerful and
near soever ; that he would forbear to alienate any
" of the forfeited and escheated lands in Ireland,
which should accrue to the crown, by reason of
this rebellion. Which desires of theirs being gra
ciously fulfilled by his majesty, (they said,) they

1 and] Not in MS.

66

66

66

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66

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66

66

66

6(

OF THE REBELLION. 65

" would apply themselves to such courses and coun- BOOK

IV.

sels, as should support his royal estate with ho

ts

ff nour and plenty at home, with power and reputa-
" tion abroad ; and by their loyal affections u and
" service lay a sure and lasting foundation of the
" greatness and prosperity of his majesty, and his
" royal posterity in future times."

This petition, together with the remonstrance,
was presented at Hampton-court, on the first day
of December ; and within few days after, both the
petition and remonstrance were by order printed,
and with great industry published throughout the
kingdom. Albeit the king, at the receipt thereof,
desired them not x to publish either, till he should
send his answer: which he did shortly after, ex
pressing,

" How sensible he was of that disrespect: repre- The king s
" hending them for the unparliamentariness of their the P eti-
" remonstrance in print; whereof, y he said, "he*
" would reserve to z himself to take such course, as
" he should think fit, in prudence and honour." But
to their petition, he told them, " that if they would

make that wicked and malignant party, whereof

they complained, known to his majesty, he would
" be as ready to suppress and punish it, as they
" could be to complain ; that by those counsellors,
" whom he had exposed to trial, he had given suffi-
" cient testimony, that there was no man so near
" him, a in place or affection, whom he would not
" leave to the justice of the law, if they should bring

u affections] affection whereof,
x desired them not] desired z to] Not in MS.
and forbade them a near him,] near unto him,

y in print ; whereof,] in point

VOL. II. F

..
..

66 THE HISTORY

BOOK " sufficient proofs, and a particular charge against
him : in the mean time, he wished them to for-

Ci

a

(6

541. 66 k ear guch g enera i aspersions, as, since they named
none in particular, might reflect upon all his coun
cil ; that, for the choice of his counsellors, and mi
nisters of state, it was the natural liberty all free-

" men have, and the undoubted right of the crown,

" to call such to his secret council, and public em
ployment, as he should think fit ; yet he would be

" careful to make election of such, as should have
given good testimonies of their abilities and in
tegrity, and against whom there could b be no just
cause of exception ; that for the depriving the bi
shops of their votes in parliament, they should
consider, that their right was grounded upon the
fundamental law of the kingdom, and constitution
of parliament.

For what concerned religion, church govern
ment, and the removing unnecessary ceremonies,
if the parliament should advise him to call a na
tional synod, he should consider of it, and give
them due satisfaction therein ; declaring his reso
lution to maintain the doctrine and discipline esta
blished by law, as well against all invasions of po
pery, as from the irreverence of schismatics and
separatists ; wherewith, of late, this kingdom and
this city abounds, to the great dishonour and ha-

" zard both of church and state ; for the suppression

" of whom, his majesty required their timely and

" active assistance.

" To their desire concerning Ireland, he told

" them, he much doubted whether it were season-

h could] can

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66

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OF THE REBELLION. 67

"able to declare resolutions of that nature, before BOOK
" the events of the war were seen : however, he .

" thanked them for their advice ; and conjured them
" to use all possible diligence and expedition in ad-
" vancing the supplies thither ; the insolence and
" cruelty of the rebels daily increasing."

The graciousness and temper of this answer made
no impression on them ; but they proceeded in their
usual manner ; framing and encouraging, underhand,
those whispers, by which the rebellion in Ireland
might be understood to receive some extraordinary
countenance from the court of England, the scan
dal whereof, they knew, would quickly fall upon the
queen.

At this time, the diligence c and dexterity of the
lord mayor caused an address to be prepared to his
majesty from the court of aldermen ; which was sent
by the two sheriffs, and two others of that body ;
by which " his majesty was humbly desired to reside
" at Whitehall :" which angered the governing party
as much as their kind reception d had done. The
petition was graciously received; all the aldermen
knighted ; and the court, within a day or two, re
moved to Whitehall.

The letters out of Ireland were very importunate Affairs in
for relief, of men, money, and provisions ; the rebels r
very much increasing, and taking courage, from the
slow proceeding here for their suppression : which
indeed was not advanced equal to men s expecta
tions ; though the king, upon his first coming to the
houses after his return from Scotland, with great

c At this time, the diligence] d their kind reception] the
And the diligence ceremonious reception

F 2

68 THE HISTORY

BOOK earnestness recommended it to them. Only the pro-

! positions made from Scotland, " for the sending ten

* " thousand men from thence into Ulster, to be paid
" by the parliament," were consented to ; whereby
some soldiers were despatched thither, to defend
their own plantation ; and did in truth, at our
charge, as much oppress the English that were
there, as the rebels could have done ; and had upon
the matter the sole government of that province
committed to them, the chief towns and garrisons,
which were kept by English, being delivered into
their hands. The lieutenant himself, the earl of
Leicester, (who was now grown gracious to the ma
nagers,) made not that haste to his charge some
men thought necessary ; pretending " that the re-
" bels had yet some apprehensions and terror of his
" coming thither with great forces, and provisions
of all kinds ; but that if they should hear he were
landed, with so small a strength as was yet raised,
and in no better equipage than he was yet able to
go in, they would take courage, and would op
press him, before more succours could come ; by
reason, that they who e yet stood upon their guard,
and publicly sided not with either/ (till, by the
resistance and opposition they found prepared for
them, they might guess who was like to prevail,)
" would then freely declare, and join with the rest."
A bin pre- The slow levying ff of men was imputed to the
^ 1 " f tbe difficulty of getting volunteers; their numbers, who
commons h a( i commission, 11 upon beating drums, 1 rising very

for press- t y

ing men for inconsiderably : and therefore they prepared a bill

Ireland.

e that they who] those who h commission,] commissions,

f with either,] with the rebels, * beating drums,] beating

8 levying] levies their drums,

a
66

66

66

66
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OF THE REBELLION. 69

for pressing; which quickly passed the commons, k BOOK
and was sent up to the lords. It cannot be sup

posed, that there could be then a scarcity of men,
or that it could be hard, within three months after
the disbanding the northern army, to bring 1 toge
ther as many men as they had occasion to use : but
their business was to get power, not men ; and there
fore this stratagem was used, to transfer the power
of pressing m men from the king to themselves ; and
to get the king, that he might be now able to raise
men for Ireland, to disable 11 himself from pressing
upon any other occasion. For, in the preamble of
this bill, which they sent up to the lords, (as they
had done before the first act for tonnage and pound
age,) they declared, " that the king had in no case,
" or upon any occasion, but the invasion from a fo
reign power, authority to press the freeborn sub
ject; which could not consist with the freedom
and liberty of his person."

This doctrine was new to the lords, and contrary The pre -
to the usage and custom of all times; and seemed
to them? a great diminution of that regal power, jj

66
66
66

which was necessary for the preservation of his own commons,
subjects, and assistance of his allies ; which in many against in
cases he was bound to yield. And the attorney ge- f 6
neral took the courage " to desire the lords," (as he
should often have done in other cases,) "that he
" might be heard on the king s behalf, before they
" consented to a clause so prejudicial to the king s
" prerogative." This necessary stop was no sooner

k the commons,] the com- n disable] disenable

mons house, the] in the

1 to bring] to gather P to them] Not in MS.
m pressing] impressing

F 3

70 THE HISTORY

BOOK made, than the commons laid aside the considera-
! tion of Ireland ; ordered their committee " to meet

J641. ( ( no more about that business;" the levies, which
were then making of volunteers, stood still; and
they declared, "that the loss of Ireland must be
" imputed to the lords." On the other side, the
lords too well understood that logic, to be moved by
it ; and were rather sensible of the inconveniences
they had incurred by their former compliance, than
inclined to repeat the same error.

In the mean time, letters came every day from
Ireland, passionately bemoaning their condition ;
and multitudes of men, women, and children, who
were despoiled of their estates, and forced into this
kingdom for want of bread, spoke ^ more lament
ably than the letters. In this strait, they knew not
what to do ; for whatever discourse they pleased
themselves with, concerning the lords, it was evi
dent the fault would lie at their own doors ; besides
that, his majesty might make use of r that occasion,
to take the whole business out of their hands, and
manage it himself by his council ; which would both
lessen their reputation and interest, and indeed de
feat much of what s they had projected.
Saint-John Hereupon, Mr. Saint-John, the king s solicitor, (a

1 * 4-\ t-^

to man that might be trusted in any 1 company,) went
privately to his majesty; and seemed to him much
troubled "at the interruption given by the com-
" mons ; and to grant, 11 that the preamble was un-
" reasonable, and ought to be insisted against x by

( i spoke] spake * in any] in every

r might make use of] might u grant,] consent,

take x insisted against] insisted on
8 much of what] much that

OF THE REBELLION. 71

" the lords, on the behalf of his majesty s preroga- BOOK
" tive : however, he told him, since he thought it

6(
t(

" impossible to rectify the commons in their under-
" standings, it would be a great blessing to his ma-
" jesty, if he could offer an expedient to remove
" that rub, which must prove fatal to Ireland in a
" short time ; and might grow to such a disunion
between the two houses, as might much cloud the
happiness of this kingdom; and, undoubtedly,
" could not but have a very popular influence upon
" both, when both sides would be forwarder to ac-
" knowledge his majesty s great wisdom and piety,
" than they could be now made to retract any thing
" that was erroneous in themselves :" and then " ad-
" vised him to come to the houses ; and to express
" his princely zeal for the relief of Ireland ; and
" taking notice of the bill for pressing, depending
" with the lords, and the dispute raised, concerning
" that ancient and undoubted prerogative, to avoid
" further debate, to offer, that the bill should pass
" with a salvo jure, both for the king and people ;
" leaving such debates to a time that might better
" bear it."

Which advice his majesty followed ; and coming The king
to the house, said the very words he had proposed practice,
to him. But now their business was done, (which
truly, I think, no other way could have been com
passed,) the divided lords and commons presently
unite themselves in a petition to the king ; " acknow- The lor <k

and com-

" ledging his royal favour and protection to be a mons de-
" great blessing and security to them, for the enjoy- toTe

"

"

ing and preserving all those private and public li- p a ^ f
berties and privileges which belong unto them ; in a P eti -

tion to the

" and whensoever any of those liberties or privileges

F 4

66
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66
66

72 THE HISTORY

BOOK " should be invaded, they were bound, with humility
__1__ " and confidence, to resort to his princely justice for
1641. "redress and satisfaction; because the rights and
privileges of parliament were the birthright and
inheritance, not only of themselves, but of the
whole kingdom, wherein every one of his subjects
was interested : that amongst the privileges of par-
" liament, it was their ancient and undoubted right,
" that his majesty ought not to take notice of any
" matter in agitation and debate, in either house ?
" of parliament, but by their information and agree-
" ment ; and that his majesty ought not to propound
" any condition, provision, or limitation, to any bill,
" or act, in debate or preparation, in either house z
" of parliament ; or to declare his consent or dissent,
" his approbation or dislike, of the same, before it
" be presented to him in due course of parliament.
" They declared, that all those privileges had been
lately broken, to their great sorrow and grief, in
that speech which his majesty had made to them ;
" wherein he took notice of a bill for pressing of sol-
" diers, not yet agreed upon ; and offered a salvo
"jure, and provisional clause, to be added to it, be-
" fore it was presented to him : and therefore they
" besought him, by his royal power to protect them,
" in those and the other privileges of his high court
" of parliament ; and that he would not, for the time
" to come, break or interrupt them ; and that, for
the reparation of them in that their grievance and
complaint, he would declare and make known the
name of such person, by whose misinformation, and
evil counsel, his majesty was induced to the same,

> house] houses 7 house] houses

66
66

66
66
(

66

OF THE REBELLION. 73

" that he might receive condign punishment. And BOOK

A V

"

this they did desire, and, as his greatest and most .

faithful council, did advise his majesty to perform,

as a great advantage to him, by procuring and con-
" firming a confidence and unity betwixt his majesty
" and his people, &c."

And having delivered this petition, they no more
considered Ireland, till this manifest breach should
be repaired ; which they resolved nothing should do,
but the passing the bill : and therefore, when the
king offered, a by a message sent by the earl of Es
sex, " that he would take care, by commissions which
" he would grant, that ten thousand English volun-
" teers should be speedily raised for the service of
" Ireland, if the houses would declare that they
" would pay them ;" the overture was wholly reject
ed ; they neither being willing that such a body of
men should be raised by the king s direction, (which
would probably be more at his devotion than they
desired,) nor in any other way than they proposed :

and so in the end (after other ill accidents interven- whereupon

ceri!ing C

ing, which will be remembered in order) he was com- COn "

pelled to pass the bill concerning b pressing, which
they had prepared.

However, for all this, and the better, it may be,
for all this, the king, upon his arrival at Whitehall,
found both his houses of parliament of a much bet
ter temper than they had been ; many having great
indignation to see his majesty so ill treated by his
own servants, and those who were most obliged to
his bounty and magnificence ; and likewise to dis
cern how much ambition and private interest was

a offered,] offered them, b concerning] for

74 THE HISTORY

BOOK covered under public pretences. They who were in
truth zealous for the preservation of the laws, c the

* religion, and true interest of the nation, were soli
citous to preserve the king s honour from any indig
nity, and his regal power from violation ; and so al
ways opposed those who intrenched d upon either,
and who could compass their ends by no other means
than by trampling upon both. So that, in truth,
that which was called the king s party, in both
houses, was made up of persons who were strangers,
or without any obligation, to the court ; of the best
fortunes, and the best reputation, in their several
countries where they were known ; as having always
appeared very zealous in the maintenance of their
just rights, and opposed, as much as in them lay, all
illegal and grievous impositions : whilst his own
privy-council, (two or three only excepted,) and
much the greater number of all his own servants,
either publicly opposed, or privately betrayed him ;
and so much the more virulently abhorred all those
who now appeared to carry on his service, because
they presumed to undertake, at least endeavour, 6
(for they undertook nothing, nor looked for any
thanks for their labour,) to do that which themselves f
ought to have done ; and so they were upon this dis
advantage, that whenever they pressed any thing in
the house, which seemed immediately to advance the
king s power and authority, some of the king s coun
cil, or his servants, most opposed it, under the notion
* of being prejudicial to the king s interest :" whilst
they who had used to govern and impose upon the

c laws,] law, e endeavour,] to endeavour,

d intrenched] trenched f themselves] they

OF THE REBELLION. 75

house, made a show of being more modest, and yet BOOK

were more insolent ; h and endeavoured, by setting 1_

new counsels on foot, to entangle, and engage, and
indeed to overreach the house ; by cozening them
into opinions which might hereafter be applicable to
their ends, rather than to pursue their old designs,
in hope to obtain in the end a success by their au
thority. The night of the remonstrance had hum
bled them in that point : and from that time, they
rather contrived ways to silence those who opposed
them, by traducing them abroad, or taking 1 advan
tage against them in the house, for any expressions
they used in debate which might be misinterpreted ;
and so calling them to the bar, or committing them
to the Tower : which did in truth strike such a ter
ror into the minds of many, that they forbore to
come to the house, rather than expose themselves to
many uneasinesses there. k

& a] Not in MS. differing from the former, than

h yet were more insolent ;] it was shorter. It was opposed

were more silent ; by many, that it should be re-

1 or taking] and taking any ceived or read ; for it was a

k to many uneasinesses there.] known rule of the house, that a

to so many uneasinesses there, bill rejected could not be brought

The following paragraph, from again into the house during the

MS. B. is omitted. They found same session, which was an or-

that they were so far from having der that had never been known

gotten credit by their angry bill to be violated, which Mr. Pym

against the church for the ex- confessed; but said, that our

tirpation of bishops, that they orders were not like the laws of

had lost ground in the attempt, the Medes and Persians, not to

and therefore they seemed to be altered, but that they were

decline any farther thought of in our own power, and that the

such a violent proceeding, and receiving this bill, since it was

to have more moderate inclina- in our power, would be very ne*

tions ; and so one morning they cessary, and would quiet the

brought in and desired to have minds of many, who, it may be,

a bill read for the taking away would be contented with the

the votes of the bishops out of passing this bill, who would

the house of peers, no otherwise otherwise be importunate for

76 THE HISTORY

BOOK There was at this time, or thereabout, a debate
lv> started in the house, as if by mere chance, which

1641. produced many inconveniences after; and, if there
in the 1 * had n t Deen too many concurrent causes, might be

house of

commons

thought the sole cause and ground of all the mis-
for a com- chiefs which ensued. Upon some report, or discourse

xnittee to

consider of of some accident, which had happened upon or in

the present ,,.,-,. , , -,

state and the disbanding the late army, an obscure member
, moved, " That the house would enter upon the con-
" sideration, whether the militia of the kingdom was
" so settled by law, that a sudden force, or army,
" could be drawn together, for the defence of the
" kingdom, if it should be invaded, or to suppress
" any ] insurrection or rebellion, if it should be at-
" tempted." ;-:-/-

The house kept a long silence after the motion,
the newness of it amusing m most men, and few in
truth understanding the meaning of it ; until one and

more violent remedies, and that lord Falkland then concurring
there was reason to believe, that with his friend Mr. Hyde in
the lords who had rejected the the opposing it, Mr. Hambden
former bill were very sorry for said, that he was sorry to find a
it, and would give this a better noble lord had changed his opi-
reception ; and if they did not, nion, since the time the last bill
it would meet with the same to this purpose had passed the
fate the other had done, and we house ; for he then thought it a
should have the satisfaction of good bill, but now he thought
having discharged our own con- this an ill one. To which the
sciences. The content many lord Falkland presently replied,
men had, to see the former vio- that he had been persuaded at
lence declined, and more mode- that time, by that worthy gen-
rate counsels pursued, prevailed tleman, to believe many things,
so far, that the bill was received, which he had since found to be
and read ; and the same reasons, untrue ; and therefore he had
with some subsequent actions changed his opinion in many
and accidents, prevailed after- particulars, as well as to things
wards for the passing it in the as persons,
house of commons, though it re- l any] an
ceived a greater opposition than m amusing] amazing
it had done formerly. And the

OF THE REBELLION. 77

another of the members, who were least taken notice BOOK
of, seeming to be moved by the weight of what had

been said, enlarged upon the same argument : and
in the end it was proposed, " That a committee might
" be appointed, to consider of the present state of
" the militia, and the power of it ; and to prepare
" such a bill for the settling it, as might provide for
" the public peace, and for the suppressing any fo-
" reign enemy, or domestic insurrection."

Hereupon n they were inclined to nominate a com- This de-
mittee, to prepare such a bill as should be thought
necessary : upon which Mr. Hyde spoke against the
making any such committee ; said, " There could be
" no doubt, that the power of the militia resided in
the king, in whom the right of making war and
peace was invested ; that there had never yet ap
peared any defect of power, by which the kingdom
had been in danger, and we might reasonably ex
pect the same security for the future." With
which the house seemed well satisfied and composed,
and inclined to go on upon P some other debate, un
til Saint-John, the king s solicitor, ^ and the only man
in the house of his learned council, stood up, and
said, " He would r not suffer that debate, in which And soi.
" there had been so many weighty particulars s men-fohn de-
" tioned, to be discontinued without some resolution :
" that he would be very glad there were that power
" in the king, (whose rights he was bound to defend,)
" as the gentleman who spoke * last seemed to ima-
" gine ; which, for his part, he knew there was not ;

n Hereupon] And hereupon was then the king s solicitor,
spoke] spake r would] could

P go on upon] resume 9 particulars] particularities

q the king s solicitor,] who * spoke] spake

66

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66

78 THE HISTORY

BOOK "that the question was not about taking away u
- " power from the king, which was vested in him,

a

(6
(6

a

66
66

(which was his duty always to oppose,) but to in
quire, whether there be such a power in him, or
any where else, as is necessary for the preserva-
" tion of the king and the people, in many cases that
" may fall out ; and if there be not, then to supply
" him with that power and authority ;" and said, x
" he did take upon him with confidence to affirm, y
" that there was a defect of such power and autho-
" rity :" he put them in mind, " how that power had
" been executed in the age in which we live ; that
the crown had granted commissions to great men,
to be lord lieutenants of counties ; and they to gen
tlemen of quality, to be their deputy lieutenants ;
" and to colonels, and other officers, to conduct and
" list soldiers ; and then he wished them to consider,
what votes they had passed, of the illegality of all
those commissions, and of z the unjustifiableness of
all the proceedings which had been a by virtue of
" those commissions ; so that let the occasion or ne-
" cessity be what it would, he did presume, no man
" would hereafter execute any such commission ; and
" if there were any man b so hardy, that no body
" would obey them ; and therefore desired them to
" consider, whether there be not a defect of power,
" and whether it ought not to be supplied."

It was now evident enough, that the debate was
not c begun by chance, but had been fully delibe
rated ; and what use they would make, upon occa-

u away] any a been] Not in MS.

x and said,] and he said, b man] men

y to affirm,] to say, c was not] had not
z of] Not in MS.

66
66
66

OF THE REBELLION. 79

sions, of those volumes of votes, they had often pour- BOOK
ed out upon all accidental debates; and no man

M.

durst take upon him to answer all that had been al
leged, by saying, all those votes were of no validity ;
and that the king s right was, and would be, judged
the same it had been before, notwithstanding those
votes ; which is very true : but this being urged by
the king s own solicitor, they appointed him " to He is a P -
" bring in and prepare such a bill as he thought ne- bring^n a
" cessary ;" few men imagining that such a sworn tiat^at-
officer would not be very careful and tender of all ter >
his master s prerogatives, which he was expressly
sworn to defend.

Within few days after, he brought in a very short which he

QOGS

bill, in which was mentioned by way of preface,
" That the power over the militia of the kingdom
" was not settled in any such manner, that the se
curity of the kingdom was provided for, in case of
invasion or insurrection, or any sudden d accidents;"
and then an enacting clause, " That henceforward
" the militia, and all the power thereof, should be
" vested in &c." and then a large blank left for in
serting names ; and afterwards, " the absolute au-
" thority to execute &c." The ill meaning whereof
was easily understood ; and with some warmth press
ed, " That by this bill all the power would be taken
out of the crown, and put into the hands of com
missioners." To which the solicitor made answer,
" That the bill took no power from any body who
" had it, but provided e to give power where it was
" not ; nor was there mention of any commission-
" ers ; but a blank was therefore left, that the house

d any sudden] such like e provided] was provided

f(
ft

ff
ft

80 THE HISTORY

BOOK " might fill it up as they thought fit, and put the

- " power into such hands as they thought proper ;

* " which, for aught he knew, might be the king s;

" and he hoped it would be so."

The bin re- And with this answer the bill was received, not
withstanding all opposition, and read ; all those per
sons who had been formerly f deputy lieutenants, and
lay under the terror of that vote, presuming, that
this settlement would provide for the indemnity of
all that had passed before ; and the rest, who might
still be exposed to the same hazards, if they should
be required to act upon the like occasions, concurring
in the desire, that somewhat might be done for a ge
neral security ; and they who had contrived it, were
well enough contented that it was once read ; not
desiring to prosecute it, till some more favourable
conjuncture should be offered : and so it rested. %
The king About this time, the king not being well satisfied
in the affection or fidelity of sir William Balfour,

whom he had some years before, to the great and
g enera l scandal, and offence of the English nation,
the Tower, made lieutenant of the Tower ; and finding that the
seditious preachers every day prevailed in the city of
London, and corrupted the affections and loyalty of
the meaner people towards the government of the h

f been formerly] formerly been tons upon that against the bi-

g and so it rested.] and so shops ; in which they still found

those two great bills, the one great opposition ; and did very

against the bishops sitting in the visibly lose ground in the house

house of peers, and the other of commons, as the king s

for the militia, were the sub- friends grew daily stronger in the

ject of the present designs in house of peers. For the continu-

the house of commons, and ation of this part of the history,

called upon as any thing fell according to MS. B. see the Ap-

out which might advance ei- pendix, H.

ther ; but for the present they h the] Not in MS.
seemed most intent and <solici-

OF THE REBELLION. 81

church and state; resolved to put that place (which BOOK

some men fancied to be 1 a bridle upon the city)

into the hands of such a man as he might rely 1641>
upon : k and yet, he was willing to be quit of the
other, without any act of disobligation upon him ;
and therefore gave him three thousand pounds, ready
money, which was raised by the sale of some of the
queen s own jewels : and immediately caused colonel colonel

_ 1 i i i? i_ Lunsford

Lunsford to be sworn in his place, lieutenant or the pu t in his
Tower. place

This was no sooner known, than the house of com
mons found themselves concerned in it; and upon
pretence " that so excellent a person as sir William
" Balfour" (who in truth was very gracious to them,
for the safe keeping the earl of Strafford) " could not
66 be removed from that charge, but upon some emi
nent design against the city and the kingdom ; and
that the man who was appointed for his successor
" was a person of great licence, and known only by
some desperate acts ; for which he had been for
merly imprisoned by the state, and having made
his escape, fled the kingdom : they desired the
lords to join with them in a petition to the king,
" to put the Tower into better hands ;" making such
arguments against the person of the man, as before
spoken of. The lords replied to them, " That it was
an argument of that nature, they thought not
themselves competent advisers in it ; the custody
of the Tower being solely at the king s disposal,
who was only to judge of the fitness of the person
for such a charge." But at the same time that
they refused to join in a public desire to the king,

1 some men fancied to be] k as he might rely upon :]
was looked upon as upon whom he might rely :

VOL, II. G

66
66

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66
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it
((
66

66
66

82 THE HISTORY

BOOK they intimated privately their advice to him, l " that
," he should make choice of a fitter person, against

1641. a wnom no exceptions could be made." For indeed

sir Thomas Lunsford was not then known enough,

and of reputation equal to so envious a province ;

The co- a nd thereupon, within two or three days at most,

lonel re- J

signs, and he resigned the place, and the kino; gave it sir John

sir John

Byron is Byron. r

This gave them no satisfaction in the change,
since it had no reference to their recommendation ;
which they only looked after: but it gave them
great delight, to see that the king s counsels were
not so fixed, but their clamour might alter them ;
and that doing hurt, being as desirable a degree of
power to some men n as doing good, and likely to
gain them more proselytes, they had marred a man,
though they could not make one. And without
doubt, it was of great disadvantage to the king,
that that counsel had not been formed with such
deliberation, that there would need no alteration ;
which could not be made, without a kind of recog
nition.

Touching All this time the bill depended in the lords house,

the bill

against the for the taking away the votes of bishops, and re-
votesfde- " moving them from the house of peers ;" which
the house" was not tike ^0 make a more prosperous progress
of peers, there, than it had six months before ; it being evi
dent, that the jurisdiction of the peerage was in
vaded by the commons ; and therefore, that it was
not reasonable to part with any of their supporters.

they intimated privately m gave it sir John Byron.]

their advice to him,] they caused constituted sir John Byron in

privately advice to be given to the place,

him, n to some men] Not in MS.

OF THE REBELLION. 83

But the virulence against them still increased; and BOOK

no churches frequented, but where they were preached .

against, as antichristian ; the presses swelled with
the most virulent invectives against them ; and a
sermon was preached at Westminster, and after
wards printed, under the title of The Protestation
Protested, by the infamous Burton, wherein he
declared, " That all men were obliged by their late
" protestation, by what means soever, to remove
" both bishops and the common prayer book out of
" the church of England, as impious and papistical :"
whilst all the learned and orthodox divines of Eng
land were looked upon under the notion of scandal
ous ministers ; and if the meanest and most vicious
parishioner they had could be brought to prefer a
petition against either of them to the house of com
mons, (how false soever,) he was sure to be prose
cuted as such.

In the end, a petition was published, in the name A petition
" of the apprentices, and those whose apprentice- F^ the "
ships were lately expired," in and about the city p a n 5 the
of London ; and directed, " To the king s most ex- tices >

against pa-

" cellent majesty in the parliament now assembled ; P ist * and

\\ i*i-*] *~if f*s

" shewing, That they found by experience, both by

" their own and masters tradings, the beginning of
great mischiefs coming upon them, to nip them in
the bud, when they were first entering into the

" world ; the cause of which they could attribute to
no others but the papists, and the prelates, and
that malignant party which adhered to them : that
they stood solemnly engaged, with the P utmost of

" their lives and fortunes, to defend his sacred ma-

s

wherein] whereby P the] their

G 2

a
a

66
66

66

84 THE HISTORY

BOOK " jesty and royal issue, together with the rights and
" liberties of parliaments, against papists, and popish

1641. (6 innovators ; such as archbishops, bishops, and their
" dependents, appear to be. They desired his ma-

cc

..

jesty in parliament to take notice, that notwith
standing the much unwearied pains and industry
" of the house of commons, to subdue popery, and
" popish innovators ; neither is popery yet subdued,
" nor prelates are yet removed ; whereby many had
" taken encouragements desperately to plot against
" the peace and safety of his dominions : witness
46 the most barbarous and inhuman cruelties perpe-
" t rated by the papists in Ireland ; from whence
" (they said) a new spring of fears and jealousies
" arose in them : and therefore they desired, that
" the popish lords, and other eminent and dangerous
" papists, in all the <i parts of the kingdom, might
" be looked unto, and secured ; the laws against
" priests and Jesuits fully executed ; and the prelacy
" rooted up : that so the work of reformation might
" be prosperously carried on ; their distracting fears
" removed; that the freedom of commerce and trade
" might pass on more cheerfully, for the encourage-
" ment of the petitioners, &c."

This, and such stuff, being printed, and scattered
amongst the people ; multitudes of mean persons r
flocked to Westminster-hall, and about the lords
house ; crying, as they went up and down, No bi
shops, no bishops, " that so they might carry on the
" reformation."

I said before, that upon the king s return from
Scotland, he discharged the guards that attended

i the] Not in MS. r persons] people

OF THE REBELLION. 85

upon the houses. Whereupon the house of com- BOOK
mons (for the lords refused to join with them) peti
tioned the king, " in regard of the fears they had of

The com-

" some design from the papists, that they might mons P eti-
" continue such a guard about them as they thought^ for a

(6 S Uard

66
66

To which his majesty answered, " That he was His ma-

TPQ f v c

icoi^y 3

" confident they had no just cause of fear ; and that answer.
" they were as safe as himself and his children :

but, since they did avow such an apprehension of

danger, that he would appoint a sufficient guard
" for them." And thereupon directed the s train
bands of Westminster and Middlesex (which con
sisted of the most substantial householders, and were
under known officers) in fit numbers to attend.

This security was not liked ; and it was asked,

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes ? And when the

disorderly rabble, spoke * of now, first came down,
they resisted them, and would not suffer them to
disturb the houses ; and some of them, with great
rudeness, pressing to the door of the house of peers,
their lordships appointed the guard to be called up
to remove them ; and the earl of Dorset, being then
lord lieutenant of Middlesex, (the crowd oppressing
him, and refusing to leave the room,) in some pas
sion, called upon the guard " to give fire upon
" them ;" whereupon the rabble, frighted, left the
place, and hasted away.

The house of commons, incensed u that their
friends should be so used, much inveighed against
the earl of Dorset ; and talked " of accusing him of
" high treason ;" at least, " of drawing up some im-

8 directed the] directed that l spoke] spake
the u incensed] much incensed

G S

86 THE HISTORY

BOOK " peachment against him;" for some judgment he
___J_had been party to in the star-chamber, or council-

table : and so giving these hints of their displeasure,
that he might have the more care how he carried
himself ; x they concluded, that since they could not
have such a guard as pleased them, they would have
none at all : and so sent to the lords " for the dis-
" charge of the train-bands that attended :" who
willingly consented to it ; and it was y done accord
ingly : the house of commons declaring, " That it
" should be lawful for every member to bring his
" own servant, z to attend at the door, armed with
" such weapons as they thought fit."
Great tu- Jt was quickly understood abroad, that the com-

mults about

the house mons liked well the visits a of their neighbours : so
that the people assembled in greater numbers than
before, about the house of peers ; calling still out
with one voice, No bishops, no popish lords;
crowded and affronted such lords as came near
them, who they knew b affected not their ends, call
ing them, rotten-hearted lords.

Hereupon the house of peers desired a conference
with the commons ; at which they complained of
those c tumults ; and told them, " that such disor-
" ders would be an imputation upon the parliament,
" and make it be doubted, whether they had free-
" dom ; and so might happily become a blemish to
" those many good laws they had already passed, as
" well as prevent the making more : and therefore
" desired them, that they would, for the dignity of

* how he carried himself;] a visits] visitation
hereafter to carry himself ; b who they knew] and whom

y and it was] which was they knew
2 servant,] servants, c those] these

OF THE REBELLION. 87

" parliaments, join with them in a declaration, for BOOK
" the suppressing such tumults." This was reported ...

to the commons ; and as soon laid aside, " for the
" handling of other matters of more importance."

The tumults continued; and their insolences in
creased; insomuch, as many dissolute and profane
people went into the abbey at Westminster, and
would have pulled down the organs, and some orna
ments of the church; but being resisted, and by
force driven out, they threatened, " they would
" come with greater numbers, and pull down the
" church."

Hereupon the lords send again d to the house of
commons, to join with them in their declaration;
and many members of that house complained, " that
" they could not come with safety to the house ;
" and that some of them had been assaulted, and
" very ill entertained, 6 by those people that crowded
" about the door. f " But this conference & could
not be procured ; the debate being still put off to
some other time ; after several speeches had been
made in justification of them, and commendation of
their affections : some saying, " they must not dis-
" courage their friends, this being a time they must
" make use of all friends ;" Mr. Pyrn himself saying,
" God forbid the house of commons should proceed,
" in any way, to dishearten people to obtain their
" just desires in such a way."

In the end, the lords required the advice of the The lords

i * i-

judges, "what course was legally to be taken, tojnttobe
" suppress and prevent those disorders ;" and there- J. s o s u ^^
upon directed the lord keeper of the great seal, " to watches.

d send again] again sent f the door.] that door.

e entertained,] entreated, % conference] Not in MS.

G 4

88 THE HISTORY

BOOK " issue out a writ, upon the statute of Northamp-
" ton, to the sheriff and justices, to appoint strong
1 " watches in such places as they judged most con-
" venient, to hinder that unlawful conflux of people
" to Westminster, to the disturbance of their con-
" sultations." Which writ issuing accordingly, the
justices of the peace, in obedience thereunto, ap
pointed the constables to attend at the water side,
and places near about Westminster, with good
watches, to hinder that tumultuous resort.
The house This was no sooner done, than the constables

of com-

mons dis- were sent for by the house of commons", and, after
them. 68 the view of their warrants, required to discharge
their watches. And then the justices were 1 con
vened, and examined ; and albeit it appeared, that
what they had done was in pursuance of a legal
writ, directed to them under the great seal of Eng
land, by the advice of the lords in parliament, with
out so much as conferring with the lords upon that
act of theirs, the setting such a watch was voted to
be " a breach of privilege :" and one of the justices
of the peace, who, according to his oath, had exe
cuted that writ, was committed to the Tower for
that offence.

Upon this encouragement, all the factious and
schismatical people about the city and suburbs as
sembled themselves together with great licence;
and would frequently, as well in the night as the
day, convene themselves, by the sound of a bell, or
other token, in the fields, or some convenient place,
to consult, and receive orders from those by whom
they were to be disposed. A meeting of this kind

ni by the house of commons] j were] Not in MS.

Not in MS.

OF THE REBELLION. 89

being about the time we speak of in Southwark, in BOOK

a place where their arms and magazine for that bo- !_

rough was kept ; the constable, being a sober man,
and known to be an enemy to those acts of sedition,
went among k them, to observe what they did : he
was no sooner espied, but he was reproached with
disdainful words, beaten and dragged in so barba
rous a manner, that he hardly escaped with his life.
Complaint was made to the next justices ; and oath
of the truth of the complaint made : whereupon a
writ was directed to the sheriff, to impannel a jury,
according to law, 1 for the inquisition and examina
tion of that riot.

This was complained of in the house of com
mons, as an act that concerned their privileges : for
that it was pretended, " that meeting in Southwark
" had been made m by godly and well affected men,
only to draw up and prepare a petition against bi
shops ; and that the constable, being a friend to
bishops, came amongst them to cross them, and
" to hinder men from subscribing that wholesome
" petition." Upon n this discourse, without any fur
ther examination, an order was made by that house,
" that the under-sheriff of Surrey should be en-
" joined, not to suffer any proceedings to be made
" upon any inquisition, that might concern any per-
" sons who met together to subscribe a petition to
" be preferred to that house."

By this, and other means, all obstacles of the law
being removed, and the people taught a way to as
semble lawfully together, in how tumultuous a man
ner soever, and the Christmas holy days giving more

k among] amongst m made] Not in MS.

1 to law,] to the law, " Upon] And upon

(C

f(

it

90 THE HISTORY

BOOK leave and licence to all kind of people, the con-
, course grew more numerous about Westminster;

l - the rabble sometimes, in their passage between the

The tu
mults in- city and Westminster, making a stand before White-

hall, and crying out, No bishops, no bishops, no
popish lords, would say aloud, " that they would
minster. have no more porter s lodge, but would speak
" with the king when they pleased :" and, when P
they came near the two houses, took papers out of ^
their pockets, and getting upon some place higher
than the rest, would read the names of several per
sons, under the title of disaffected members of the
house of commons ; and called many lords, false,
evil, and rotten-hearted lords. But their rage and
fury against the bishops grew so high, that they
threatened to pull down the lodgings where they
lay ; offered to force the doors of the abbey at West
minster, which were kept locked many days, and
defended by a continual guard within ; and assaulted
the persons of some of the bishops in their coaches ;
and laid hands on the archbishop of York, in that
manner, that, if he had not been seasonably rescued,
whereupon it was believed they would have murdered him : so
bishops that all the bishops, and many other members, of
of bdth" b tn houses, withdrew themselves from attending in

houses

lrew the houses, out of a real apprehension of endanger-
from their ing their lives.

attendance.

1 hese insurrections by this means were so coun
tenanced, that no industry or dexterity of the lord
mayor of London, sir Richard Gourney, could give
any check to them ; r but, instead thereof, himself

3 rabble] people out papers from

p when] where r to them ;] to it;

( J took papers out of] took

OF THE REBELLION. 91

(with great and very notable courage opposing all BOOK
their fanatic humours, both in the court of alder-
men, and at the common council) grew to be reck
oned in the first form of the malignants, (which
was the term they imposed upon all those they
meant to render odious to the people,) insomuch, as
his house was no less threatened and disquieted by
the tumults, than the house of lords : and when he
apprehended some of those who were most notorious
in the riot, and committed them to the custody of
both the sheriffs of London in person, to be carried
to Newgate, they were, by the power and strength
of their companions, rescued from them in Cheap-
side, and the two sheriffs compelled to shift for their
own safety. And when it was offered to be proved,
by a member in the house of commons, that the
wife of captain Venn, (having received a letter from
her husband to that purpose,) who was one of the
citizens that served 8 for London, and was known
himself to lead those men, that came tumultuously
down to Westminster, and Whitehall, at the time
of the passing the bill of attainder of the earl of
Strafford, had with great industry solicited many
people to go down with their arms to Westminster,
upon a day, (that w r as named,) when, she said, her
husband had sent her word, that in the house of
commons they were together by the ears, and that
the worser party was like to get the better of the
good party ; and therefore her husband desired his
friends to come with their arms to Westminster, to
help the good party , and that thereupon many t in
a short time went thither: they, who offered to

8 citizens that served] burgesses 4 many] very many

92 THE HISTORY

BOOK make proof of the same, were appointed to attend
. many days ; but, notwithstanding all the importu
nity that could be used, were never admitted to be
heard.

All this time the king (who had been with great
solemnity invited by u the city of London, and de
sired to make his residence nearer to them than
Hampton-court) was at Whitehall, where, besides
his ordinary retinue, and menial servants, many
officers of the late disbanded army, who solicited
their remainder of pay from the two houses, which
was secured to them by act of parliament, and ex
pected some farther employment in the war with
Ireland, upon observation, and view of the insolence
of the tumults, and the danger, that they might
possibly bring to the court, offered themselves for a
guard to his majesty s person ; and were with more
formality and ceremony entertained by him, than,
upon a just computation of all distempers, was by
some offi- many conceived seasonable. And from these officers,

ccrs repel

the rabble warm with indignation at the insolences of that vile
Whitehall, rabble, which every day passed by the court, first
words of great contempt, and then, those words
commonly finding a return of equal scorn, blows
were fastened upon some of the most pragmatical
of the crew. This was looked upon by the house
of commons like a levying war by the king, and
much pity expressed by them, that the poor people
should be so used, who came to them with petitions,
(for some few of them had received some cuts and
slashes, that had drawn blood,) and that made a
great argument for reinforcing their numbers. And

u by] from

OF THE REBELLION. 93

from those contestations, the two terms of round- BOOK
head and cavalier grew to be received in discourse,

and were afterwards continued for the most suc-

. . //* i Hence the

cmct distinction 01 affections throughout the quar- terms of
rel : they who were looked upon as servants to the ead and
king being then called cavaliers ; and the other of cavaher -
the rabble contemned, and despised, under the
names of roundheads.

The house of commons being at this time without
any member, who, having relation to the king s ser
vice, would express any zeal for it, and could take
upon him to say to others, whom he would trust,
what the king desired, or to whom they who wished
well could resort for advice and direction ; so that
whilst there was a strong conjunction and combina
tion to disturb the government by depraving it,
whatever was said or done to support it, was as if
it were done by chance, and by the private dictates
of the reason of private men ; the king resolved x to The lord
call the lord Falkland, and sir John Colepepper, who made ^
was knight of the shire for Kent, to his council ; ^te^and
and to make the former secretary of state in the sirjolm

Colepepper

place of Vane, that had been kept vacant ; and the chancellor

f 4-Vk

latter chancellor of the exchequer, which office the
lord Cottington had resigned, that Mr. Pym might
be put into it/ when the earl of Bedford z should
have been treasurer, as is mentioned before. They
were both of great authority in the house ; neither
of them of any relation to the court ; and therefore
what they said made the more impression ; and they

x the king resolved] Origi- v into it,] into that office,

nally in MS. B. Mr. Hyde z the earl of Bedford] the

wished the lord Digby to ad- lord Bedford
vise the king

94 THE HISTORY

BOOK were frequent speakers. The lord Falkland was
.wonderfully beloved by all who knew him, as a man

[641< of excellent parts, of a wit so sharp, and a nature so
sincere, that nothing could be more lovely. The
other was generally esteemed as a good speaker,
being a man of an universal understanding, a quick
comprehension, a wonderful memory, who commonly
spoke a at the end of the debate; when he would
recollect all that had been said of weight on all
sides with great exactness, and express his own
sense with much clearness, and such an application
to the house, that no man more gathered a general
concurrence to his opinion than he ; which was the
more notable, because his person, and manner of
speaking, were ungracious enough ; so that he pre
vailed only by the strength of his reason, which was
enforced with confidence enough. b

The king knew them to be of good esteem in the
house, and good affections to his service, and the
quiet of the kingdom ; and was more easily per
suaded to bestow those preferments upon them, than
the lord Falkland was to accept that which was de
signed to him. No man could be more surprised
than he was, when the first intimation c was made
to him of the king s purpose: he had never pro
posed any such thing to himself, nor had any vene
ration for the court, but only such a loyalty to the
king d as the law required from him. And he had
naturally a wonderful reverence for parliaments, as
believing them most solicitous for justice, the viola-

a spoke] spake his most intimate conversation.

b confidence enough.] MS. c intimation] insinuation
adds: His infirmities were known d the king] the person of the

only to his nearest friends, or king
those who were admitted into

OF THE REBELLION. 95

tion whereof, in the least degree, he could not for- BOOK
give any mortal power : and it was only his obser- _
vation of the disingenuity e and want of integrity in
this parliament f , which lessened that reverence to
it, and had s disposed him to cross and oppose their
designs : he was so totally unacquainted with busi
ness, and the forms of it, that he did believe really
he could not execute the office with any sufficiency.
But there were two considerations that made most
impression upon him ; the one, lest the world should
believe, that his own ambition had procured this
promotion ; and that he had therefore appeared sig
nally in the house to oppose those proceedings, that
he might thereby render himself gracious to the
court : the other, lest the king should expect such
a submission, and resignation of himself, and his
own reason, and judgment, to his commands, as he
should never give, or pretend to give ; for he was
so severe an adorer of truth, that he could as easily
have given himself leave to steal as to dissemble ;
or to suffer any man to think that he would do any
thing, which he resolved not to do; which he
thought a more mischievous kind of lying, than a
positive averring what could be most easily contra
dicted.

It was a very difficult task to Mr. Hyde, who had
most credit with him, to persuade him to submit to
this purpose of the king s h cheerfully, and with a just
sense of the obligation, by promising, that in those
parts of the office, which required most drudgery, he
would help him the best he could 1 . But, above all,

e disingenuity] uningenuity he could] MS. adds: and

f parliament] Not in MS. would quickly inform him of all

* had] which had the necessary forms.
h the king s] the king

96 THE HISTORY

BOOK he prevailed with him, by enforcing the ill conse
quence of his refusal to take the office, which would

* be interpreted to his dislike of the court, and his
opinion, that more would be required from him than
he could honestly comply with, which would bring
great prejudice to the king : on the other hand, the
great benefit that probably would redound to the
king, and the kingdom, by his accepting such a
trust in such a general defection, by which he would
have opportunity to give the king a truer informa
tion of his own condition, and the state of the king
dom, than it might be presumed had been given to
him, and to prevent any counsels, or practice, which
might more alienate the affections of the people
from the government ; and then, that by this rela
tion he would be more able to do the king service
in the house, where he was too well known to have
it believed, that he attained to it by any unworthy
means or application. In k the end, he was per
suaded to submit to the king s good pleasure, though
he could not be prevailed with to accept it l with so
good a grace, as might raise in the king any notable
expectation of his departing from the severity of his
own nature.

Thus he and Colepepper were m both invested in
those offices, to the no small displeasure of the go
verning party, which could not dissemble their in
dignation, that any of their members should pre
sume to receive those preferments, which they had
designed otherwise to have disposed of. They took
all opportunities to express their dislike of them,

k In] And in m Thus he and Colepepper

1 be prevailed with to accept were] And so they were
it] prevail upon himself to do it

OF THE REBELLION. 97

and to oppose any thing they proposed to them. BOOK
And within few days there came a letter out in

..

6t
66
66

print, pretended to be intercepted, as written from
a Roman catholic to another of the same profession,
in which he gives an account, " That they had at
last, by the interest of their friends, procured those
two honourable "persons" (before mentioned) "tobe
preferred to those offices, and that they were well
assured that they would be ready to do them, and
" all their friends, all good offices." Sir John Cole-
pepper thought fit to take notice of it in the house,
and to make those professions of his religion, which
he thought necessary. But the lord Falkland chose
rather to contemn it, without taking notice P of the
libel, well knowing that he was superior to those
calumnies, as indeed he was ; all of that profession
knowing that he was most irreconcileable to their
doctrine, though he was always civil to their per
sons. However grievous this preferment was to the
angry part of the house, it was very grateful to all
those, both within and without the house, who wish
ed well to the king and the kingdom.

The king at the same time resolved to remove
another officer, who did disserve him notoriously,
and to prefer Mr. Hyde to that place ; with which
his gracious intentions his majesty acquainted him ;
but he positively refused it, and assured him, " That
" he should be able to do much more service in the
" condition he was in, than he should be, if that
were improved by any preferment, that could be
conferred upon him at that time ;" and he added,
that he had the honour to have much friendship

n honourable] noble mentioned before

before mentioned] who are P notice] any notice

VOL. II. H

66
66
66

(6

66
(6

66
(6

(6

66

98 THE HISTORY

BOOK " with the two persons, who were very seasonably

! " advanced by his majesty, when his majesty s ser-

" vice in the house of commons did, in truth, want
" some countenance and support ; and by his con-
" versation with them, he should be so well in
structed by them, that he should be more useful
to his majesty, than if he were under a nearer re
lation and dependence." The king, with a very
gracious countenance, told him, " that he perceived
he must, for some time, defer the laying any ob
ligation upon him : but bid r him be assured he
" would find both a proper time, and a suitable pre-
" ferment for him, which he should not refuse. In
th emean time, he said, he knew well the friend
ship between s the two persons, whom he had
" taken to his council, and him ; which was not the
" least motive to him to make that choice ; and that
" he would depend as much upon l his advice, as
" upon either of theirs ; and therefore wished that
" all three would confer together, how to conduct
" his service in the house, and to advise his friends
how to carry themselves most to the advantage of
it, and to give him constant advertisement of what
had passed, and counsel when it was fit for him to
" do any thing ; and declared, that he would do no-
" thing, that in any degree concerned, or related to,
" his service in the house of commons, without their
" joint advice, and exact communication to them of
" all his own conceptions ;" which, without doubt,
his majesty did at that time steadfastly resolve,
though in very few days he did very fatally swerve
from it u .

r bid] bade l upon] at least upon

8 between] that was between u swerve from it] MS. adds:

66

66
66

OF THE REBELLION. 99

By what hatli been said before, it appears, that BOOK

the lord Digby was much trusted by the king, and L.

he was of great familiarity and friendship with the
other three, at least with two of them ; for he was
not a man of that exactness, as to be in the entire
confidence of the lord Falkland, who looked upon
his infirmities with more severity than the other two
did ; and he lived with more frankness towards those
two, than he did towards the other : yet even be
tween those two x there was a free conversation and
kindness to each other. The lord Digby was^ a
man of very extraordinary parts by nature and art,
and had surely as good and excellent an education
as any man of that age in any country : a graceful
and beautiful person ; of great eloquence and be-
comingness in his discourse, (save that sometimes
he seemed a little affected,) and of so universal a
knowledge, that he never wanted subject for a dis
course: he was equal to a very good part in the
greatest affairs, 2 but the unfittest man alive to con
duct them, a having an ambition and vanity superior
to all his other parts, and a confidence in himself, b
which sometimes intoxicated, and transported, and
exposed him. He had from his youth, by the dis-
obligations his family had undergone from the duke
of Buckingham, and the great men who succeeded
him, and some sharp reprehension himself had met
with, which obliged him to a country life, contracted

and so giving him the liberty to y The lord Digby was] He

repair to either of their majes- was

ties in the same place, when- z affairs,] affair,

ever he thought fit, he was very a them,] it,

graciously dismissed. b in himself,] peculiar to him-

x even between those two] self,
between them two

H 2

100 THE HISTORY

BOOK a prejudice and ill-will to the court; and so had in

. the beginning of the parliament engaged himself

with that party which discovered most aversion from
it, with a passion and animosity equal to theirs/ and
therefore very acceptable to them. But when he
was weary of their violent counsels, and withdrew
himself from them with some circumstances which
enough provoked them, and made a reconciliation,
and mutual confidence in each other for the future,
manifestly impossible amongst them d ; he made pri
vate and secret offers of his service to the king, to
whom, in so general a defection of his servants, it
could not but be very agreeable : and so his majesty
being satisfied, both in the discoveries he made of
what had passed, and in his professions for the fu
ture, removed him from the house of commons, where
he had rendered himself marvellously ungracious,
and called him by writ to the house of peers, where
he did visibly advance the king s service, and quick
ly rendered himself grateful to all those who had not
thought too well of him before, when he deserved
less; and men were not only pleased with the as
sistance he gave upon all debates, by his judgment

and vivacity, but looked upon him as one, who could

f

derive the king s pleasure to them, and make a lively
representation of their good demeanour to the king,
which he was very luxuriant in promising to do, and
officious enough in doing as much as was just.

He had been instrumental in promoting the three
persons above mentioned to the king s favour ; and
had himself, in truth, so great an esteem of them,
that he did very frequently, upon conference toge-

c theirs,] their own, d amongst them] Not in MS.

OF THE REBELLION. 101

ther, depart from his own inclinations and opinions, BOOK

IV

and concurred in theirs; and very few men of so

great parts were, 6 upon all occasions, more counsel-
lable than he ; so that he would seldom be in danger
of running into great errors, if he would communi
cate and expose all his own thoughts and inclina
tions to such a disquisition ; nor was f he uninclin-
able in his nature to such an entire communication
in all things which he conceived to be difficult. But
his fatal infirmity was, that he too often thought 11
difficult things very easy ; and considered not i pos
sible consequences, when the proposition administer
ed somewhat that was k delightful to his fancy, by l
pursuing whereof he imagined he should m reap some
glory to himself, of which he was n immoderately
ambitious ; so that, if the consultation were upon
any action to be done, no man more implicitly en
tered P into that debate, or more cheerfully resigned <i
his own conceptions to a joint determination : but
when it was r once affirmatively resolved, (besides
that he might 8 possibly reserve some impertinent
circumstance, as he thought, 1 the imparting whereof
would change the nature of the thing,) if his fancy
suggested u to him any particular, which himself
might perform in that action, upon the imagination
that every body would approve it, if it were pro-

e were,] are, gines he shall

f was] is n was] is

% was,] is, were] be

h thought] thinks P entered] enters

1 considered not] doth not 1 resigned] resigns

consider r was] is

k was] is 8 might] may

1 by] and by * thought,] thinks,
m imagined he should] ima- u suggested] suggests

H 3

102 THE HISTORY

BOOK posed to them, he chose x rather to do it, than com-

IV

mimicate it,? that he might 7 - have some signal part

* to himself in the transaction, in which no other per
son might a claim a share.

By this unhappy temper he did often involve him
self in very unprosperous attempts. The king him
self was the unfittest person alive to be served by
such a counsellor, being too easily inclined to sudden
enterprises, and as easily startled b when they were
entered upon. And from this unhappy composition
in the one, and the other, a very unhappy counsel
was proposed, 6 and resolution taken, without the
least communication with either of the three, who a
had been so lately admitted to an entire trust.

The bishops, who had been, in the manner before
spoken of, e driven and kept from the house of peers,
and not very secure in their own, could not have
the patience to attend the dissolution of this storm,
which in wisdom they ought to have done : but con
sidering right and reason too abstractly, and what
in justice was due, not what in prudence was to be
expected, suffered themselves implicitly to be guided
by the archbishop of York, who was of a restless
and overweening spirit/ to such an act of indiscre
tion, and disadvantage to themselves, that all their
enemies could not have brought upon them. This
bishop, & as is said, was a man of a very imperious

x chose] chooses e who had been, in the manner

y communicate it,] to com- before spoken of,] who were in

municate, this manner

z might] may f restless and overweening

a might] can spirit,] proud, restless, over-

b startled] amazed weening spirit,

c proposed,] entered upon, % This bishop,] The follow-

d who] Avhich ing paragraph immediately pre-

OF THE REBELLION. 103

and fiery temper, Dr. Williams, who had been bi- BOOK

shop of Lincoln, and keeper of the great seal of

1641.

cedes this in the MS. : The bill, ed in great multitudes about
which had been so irregularly the house of peers, crying out
brought into the house of com- even at the doors of the house,
mons, for the putting the bi- that they would have no bi
shops out of the house of peers, shops ; and as the bishops pass-
was carried in that house by ed towards the house, to per-
being called upon in thin form their duty, they stopped
houses, and the fatal negligence their passage, and would not
of those, who could never be suffer them to go in ; and as-
induced to attend the service in saulted the persons of others,
which their country had trusted and pulled and tore their ha-
them, and to which in truth all bits from their backs ; treating
the calamities that afterwards likewise some members of the
befell the kingdom are to be house of commons very rudely,
imputed ; the number of those as they passed upon messages
who disliked, and, when they and conferences between the
were present, opposed those se- two houses ; when they used
ditious proceedings, being much those of the members who were
superior to the other ; who, by grateful to them with great re-
their artifices in the continuing spect and observance ; and those
and prosecuting their ill de- with whom they were displeas-
signs, but especially by their ed, when they could sever them
indefatigable industry, prevailed from the rest, they crowded, and
in what they went about. But pressed, and trod upon ; and
when it came into the house had several papera in their
of peers, it found no reception hands, which they read with a
answerable to their expecta- loud voice, standing upon the
tion ; it was permitted to be table, and in other places of the
read, with great opposition; court of requests, in which they
and, being once read, the num- read the names of several per-
ber of those who opposed it sons, under the style of persons
was so much greater than the disaffected to the kingdom ; a-
other which favoured and ad- mongst which, sir John Strange-
vanced it, that they could have ways was the first, and Mr.
no reasonable hope of ever being Hyde was the second, and then
able to get it passed there ; and the lord Falkland, and sir John
this opposition put them to their Colepepper ; and the next who
wits ends : so that, being with- were most troublesome to them,
out any other hope, they re- were likewise nominated. And
sorted to their last remedy, when complaint was made to
which had once before served the house of commons for this
their turn in the destruction of disorder and breach of privi-
the earl of Strafford. And the lege, it was turned into mirth,
rabble of apprentices, and in- and the names of the persons
ferior persons of the city, flock- required of those who com-

H 4

104

THE HISTORY

BOOK England in the time of king James. After his re-

IV.

. moval from that charge, he had lived splendidly in

1/7/41

his diocese, and made himself very popular amongst
those who had no reverence for the court ; of which
he would frequently, and in the presence of many,
speak with too much freedom, and tell many stories
of things and persons upon his own former expe
rience; in which, being a man of great pride and
vanity, he did not always confine himself to a pre
cise veracity ; and did often presume, in those un
wary discourses, to mention the person of the king
with too little reverence. He did affect to be
thought an enemy to the archbishop of Canterbury ;
whose person he seemed exceedingly to contemn,
and to be much displeased with those ceremonies
and innovations, as they were then called, which
were countenanced by the other ; and had himself
published, by his own authority, 1 a book against
the using those ceremonies, in which there was
much good learning, and too little gravity for a bi
shop. His passion and his levity gave every day
great advantages to those who did not love him ;

plained, and who could not be
supposed to know any of that
rabble ; which made very many
of the members of the house
forbear to give their attendance
there, out of real apprehension
of danger to their persons. It
was in the time of the Christ
mas holydays, which gave the
greater opportunity to the tu
mults ; and in which parlia
ments had never used to sit ;
and when very many of the
house of commons had, accord
ing to their custom, retired into

the country, to keep the Christ
mas with their neighbours, ac
cording to the good old fashion
of England.

There was among the bishops
one of a very imperious and
fiery temper, Dr. Williams, who
had been keeper of the great
seal of England, and bishop of
Lincoln ; after his removal from
that church, he had lived, &c.

1 published, by his own au
thority,] written and published
in his own name, and by his
own authority,

OF THE REBELLION. 105

and he provoked too many, not to have those ad- BOOK

vantages made use of: so that, after several infor- L-

mations against him in the star-chamber, he was
sentenced, k and fined in a great sum of money to
the king, and committed prisoner to the Tower,
without the pity or compassion of any, but those,
who, out of hatred to the government, were sorry
that they were without so useful a champion ; for
he appeared to be a man of a very corrupt nature,
whose passions could have transported him into the
most unjustifiable actions.

He had a faculty of making relations of things
done in his own presence, and discourses made to
himself, or in his own hearing, with all the circum
stances of answers and replies, and upon arguments
of great moment ; all which, upon examination, were
still found to have nothing in them that was real,
but to be the pure effect of his own invention. After
he was sentenced in the star-chamber, some of his
friends resorted to him, to lament and condole with
him for his misfortune ; and some of them seemed to
wonder that, in an affair of such a nature, he had
not found means to have made some submission and
composition, that might have prevented the public
hearing, which proved so much to his prejudice in
point of reputation, as well as profit. He answered
them with all the formality imaginable, " that they
" had reason indeed to wonder at him upon the
" event ; but when they should know how he had
" governed himself, he believed they would cease to
" think him worthy of blame." And then related to

k he was sentenced,] Thus in less crimes than for perjury and
MS. : he was sentenced for no subornation of perjury,

106 THE HISTORY

BOOK them, "that as soon as publication had passed in
" his cause, and the books were taken out, he had

(f
66

34 ] - " desired his council (who were all able men, and
" some of them very eminent) in the vacation time,
" and they at most leisure, to meet together, and
" carefully to look over, and peruse all the evidence
" that was taken on both sides ; and that then they
" would attend 1 him such a morning, which he ap
pointed, upon their consent, at his own house at
Westminster : that they came at the time appoint-
" ed ; and being then shut up in a room together, he
" asked them, whether they had sufficiently perused
" all the books, and were throughly informed of his
" case ? To which they all answered, that they had
" not only read them all over together, but had
" severally, every man by himself, perused them m
" again, and they believed they were all well in-
" formed of the whole. That he then told them, he
" had desired this conference with them, not only
" as his council, by whose opinion he meant to go-
" vern himself, but as his particular friends, who, he
" was sure, would give him their best advice, and
persuade him to do every thing as they would do
themselves, if they were in his condition. That
" he was now offered to make his peace at court, by
" such an humble submission to the king, as he was
" most inclined and ready to make ; and which he
" would make the next day after his cause was
" heard, though he should be declared to be inno-
" cent, of which he could make no doubt : but that
" which troubled him for the present was, that the
" infamousness of the charge against him, which had

1 attend] all attend m them] Not in MS.

66
66

OF THE REBELLION. 107

" been often exposed, and enlarged upon in several BOOK

" motions, had been so much taken notice of through L_

" the kingdom, that it could not consist with his ho-
" nour to divert the hearing, which would be im-
" puted to his want of confidence in his innocence,
" since men did not suspect his courage, if he durst
" rely upon the other ; but that he was resolved, as
" he said before, the next day after he should be vin-
" dicated from those odious aspersions, he would cast
" himself at the king s feet, with all the humility
" and submission, which the most guilty man could
" make profession of. It was in this point he de-
" sired their advice, to which he would, without ad-
" hering to his own inclination, entirely conform
himself; and therefore desired them, singly in or
der, to give him their advice. He repeated the
" several and distinct discourse every man had made,
in which he was so punctual, that he applied those
phrases, and expressions, and manner of speech to
" the several men, which they were all taken notice
of frequently to use ; as many men have some pe
culiar words in discourse, which they are most de
lighted with, or by custom most addicted to : and
in conclusion, that they were unanimous in their
" judgments, that he could not, with the preserva
tion of his honour, and the opinion of his integrity,
decline the public hearing ; where he must be un
questionably declared innocent ; there being no
crime or misdemeanour proved against him in
such a manner, as could make him liable to cen
sure : they all commended his resolution of sub
mitting to the king, as soon as he had made his
innocence to appear ; and they all advised him to
pursue that method. This, he said, had swayed

66

66

66
66

66
66
66
66

66

66

66

66

66

66

66

(6

66

108 THE HISTORY

BOOK him; and made him decline the other expedient,
that had been proposed to him."

I /? A -t

This relation wrought upon those to whom it was
made, to raise a prejudice in them against the jus
tice of the cause, or the reputation of the council, as
they were most inclined ; whereas there was not in
deed the least shadow of truth in the whole relation ;
except that there was such a meeting and confer
ence, as was mentioned, and which had been con
sented to by the bishop, upon the joint desire and
importunity of all the council ; who, at that confer
ence, unanimously advised and desired him, " to use
" all the means and friends he could, that the cause
" might not be brought to hearing ; but that he
" should purchase his peace at any price ; for that, if
" it were heard, he would be sentenced very griev
ously, and that there were many things proved
against him, which would so much reflect upon
" his honour and reputation, and the more for being
a bishop, that all his friends would abandon him,
and be for ever 11 after ashamed to appear on his
" behalf." Which advice, with great passion and
reproaches upon the several persons for their pre
sumption and ignorance in matters so much above
them, he utterly and scornfully rejected. Nor in
deed was it possible, at that time, for him to have
made his peace ; for though, upon some former ad
dresses and importunity on his behalf, by some per
sons of power, and place in the court, in which the
queen herself had endeavoured to have done him
good offices, the king was inclined to have saved
him, being a bishop, from the infamy he must un-

n for ever after] ever after

66
66

66
66

OF THE REBELLION. 109

dergo by a public trial; yet the bishop s vanity had, BOOK
in those conjunctures, so far transported him, that

a

a

a

he had done all he could to have insinuated, " that 164L
" the court was ashamed of what they had done ; and
" had prevailed with some of his powerful friends to
" persuade him to that composition :" upon which
the king would never hear more any person, who
moved on his behalf.

It had been once mentioned to him, whether by
authority, or no, was not known, " that his peace
" should be made, if he would resign his bishopric,
" and deanery of Westminster," (for he had? that in
commendam,} " and take a good bishopric in Ire
land ;" which he positively refused ; and said, " he
had much to do to defend himself against the arch
bishop here : but if he wasi in Ireland, there was
a man (meaning the earl of StrafFord) who would
" cut off his head within one month."

This bishop had been for some years in the Tower,
by the sentence of the star-chamber, before this par
liament met ; when the lords, who were the most
active and powerful, presently resolved to have him
at liberty. Some had much kindness for him, not
only as a known enemy to the archbishop of Canter
bury, but as a supporter of those opinions, and those
persons, which were against the church itself. And
he was no sooner at liberty, and brought into r the
house, but, as has been before mentioned, 8 he de
fended and seconded the lord Say, when he made an
invective, with all the malice and bitterness ima
ginable, against the archbishop, then in prison ; and

have] have it r into ] in

r he had] he held s as has been before mention-

1 he was] he were ed,] Not in MS.

110 THE HISTORY

BOOK when he had concluded, that bishop said, "that he

IV.

" had long known that noble lord, and had always

(C

a
66

66
66

l - " believed him to be as well affected to the church
" as himself;" and so he continued to make all his
address to that lord, and those of the same party.
Being now in full liberty, and in some credit and re
putation, he applied himself to the king ; and made
all possible professions of duty to his majesty, and
zeal to the church ; protesting " to have a perfect
" detestation of those persons, who appeared to have
no affection or duty towards his majesty, and of*
all evil intentions against the religion established ;
and that the civility" he had expressed towards
them was only out of gratitude for the good-will
they had shewed to him ; and especially that he
" might the better promote his majesty s service."
And it being his turn shortly after, as dean of West
minster, to preach before the king, he took occasion
to speak of the factions x in religion ; and mention
ing the presbyterian discipline,? he said, " it was a
" government only fit for tailors and shoemakers,
" and the like, not 2 for noblemen and gentlemen :"
which gave great scandal and offence to his great
patrons ; to whom he easily reconciled himself, by
making them as merry with some sharp sayings of
the court, and by performing more substantial offices
for them.

When, upon the trial of the earl of Strafford, it
was resolved to decline the judgment of the house
of peers a , and to proceed by bill of attainder; and

1 of] Not in MS. presbyterians,

u civility] civilities z not] and not

x factions] factious a of peers] Not in MS.

y presbyterian discipline,]

OF THE REBELLION. Ill

thereupon it was very unreasonably moved, " that BOOK

" the bishops might have no vote in the passing that

" act of parliament ; because they pretended it was
" to have their hand in blood, which was against an
" old canon ;" this bishop, without communicating
with any of his brethren, very frankly declared his
opinion, " that they ought not to be present ;" and
offered, not only in his own name, but for the rest of
the bishops, " to withdraw always when that busi-
" ness was entered upon :" and so betrayed a funda
mental right of the whole order ; to the great pre
judice of the king, and to the taking away the life of
that person, who could not otherwise have suffered.
And shortly after, when the king declared, that
he neither would, nor could in conscience, give his
royal assent to that act of attainder ; when the tu
mults came about the court with noise and clamour
for justice ; the lord Say desired the king to confer
with his bishops for the satisfaction of his conscience;
and desired him to speak with that bishop in the
point. After much discourse together, and the king
insisting upon many particulars, which might induce
others to consent, 1 * but were known to himself to be
false; and therefore he could never in conscience
give his own consent to them ; the bishop, as hath
been mentioned before, amongst other arguments,
told him, " that he must consider, that as he had a
" private capacity, and a public, so he had a public
" conscience, as well as a private ; that though his
" private conscience, as a man, would not permit
" him to do an act contrary to his own understand-

b consent,] consent to, fore,] Not in MS.

c as hath been mentioned be

THE HISTORY

BOOK " ing, judgment, and conscience; yet his public con-

" science, as a king, which obliged him to do all

" things for the good of his people, and to preserve
" his kingdom in peace for himself and his posterity , d
" would not only permit him to do that, but even
" oblige, and require him. That he saw in what
" commotion the people were ; that his own life, and
" that of the queen s, and the royal issue, might pro-
" bably be sacrificed to that fury ; and it would be
" very strange, if his conscience should prefer the
" life of one single private person, how innocent so-
" ever, before all those other lives, and the preserva-
" tion of the kingdom."

This was the argumentation of that unhappy ca
suist, who truly, it may be, did believe himself; for
towards the end of the war, and when the king s
power declined, he, being then an archbishop, did in
person assist the rebels e to take a castle of the king s ;
in which there was a garrison, and which was taken f
by a long siege; because he might thereby the
better enjoy the profits of his own estate, which lay
thereabouts.

Upon h all these great services he had performed
for the party, 1 he grew every day more imperious;
and after the king thought it necessary to make him
archbishop of York, which, as the time then was,
could not qualify him to do more harm, and might
possibly dispose and oblige him to do some good ; k
he carried himself so insolently, in the house and out

d posterity,] prosperity, * thereby] MS. adds: and by

e did in person assist the re- being himself governor there
bels] took a commission from h Upon] Notwithstanding
the rebels 5 the party,] them,

f was taken] he did take k some good ;] more good ;

OF THE REBELLION. 113

of the house, to all persons, that he became much BOOK
more odious universally, than ever the other arch

bishop had been; having sure more enemies than
he, and few or 1 no friends, of which the other had
abundance. And the great hatred of this man s per
son and behaviour, was the greatest invitation to the
house of commons so irregularly to revive that bill
to remove the bishops; and was their chief 11 en
couragement to hope, that the lords, who had re
jected the former, would now pass, and consent to
this second bill.

This was one of the bishops, who was most rudely
treated by the rabble ; who gathered themselves to
gether about the house of peers, crying out, A r o bi
shops 9 no bishops : and his person was assaulted,
and robes torn from his back ; upon which, in very
just displeasure, he returned to his house, the deanery
at Westminster ; and sent for all the bishops who
were then in the town, (it being within very few
days of Christmas,) of which there were twelve or
thirteen ; and, in much passion, and with his natural
indignation, he proposed, as absolutely necessary,
" that they might unanimously and presently pre-
" pare a protestation, to send to the house, against
" the force that was used upon them ; and against
" all the acts, which were, or should be done during
the time that they should by force be kept from
doing their duties in the house." And immedi
ately, having pen and ink ready, himself prepared a
protestation ; which, being read to them, they all ap
proved ; depending upon his great experience in the

1 few or] Not in MS. n chief] only

m revive] receive his person] whose person

VOL. II. I

ft

(t

THE HISTORY

BOOK rules of the house, where he had sat so many years,
______ and in some parliaments in the place of speaker,

164J. w hilst he was keeper of the great seal; and so pre
suming that he could commit no error in matter or
form : and without further communication and ad
vice, which both the importance of the subject, and
the distemper of the time, did require ; and that it
might have been considered as well what was fit, as
what was right ; without further delay, than what
was necessary for the fair writing, and engrossing
the instrument they had prepared ; they all set their
hands to it. Then? the archbishop went to White
hall to the king, and presented the protestation to
him ; it being directed to his majesty, with an hum
ble desire, that he would send it to the house of
peers, since they could not present it themselves ;
and that he would command that it should be en
tered in the journal of the house. His majesty <i
casting his eye perfunctorily upon it, and believing
it had been drawn by mature advice, no sooner re
ceived it, than he delivered r it to the lord keeper,
who unfortunately happened to be likewise present,
with his command that he should deliver it to the
house as soon as it met ; which was to be within two
hours after. The petition 8 contained these words :

The peti- To the king s most excellent majesty; and the lords

and peers now assembled in parliament.

of the bi

shops to the* The humble petition and protestation of all the

how of " bishops and prelates, now called by his ma-

" jesty s writs to attend the parliament, and

P Then] And then r delivered] did deliver

* His majesty] And his majesty s The petition] Which petition

OF THE REBELLION. 115

"present about London and Westminster, for BOOK
" that service.

66
66
66

66

66

66
66

" That, whereas the petitioners are called up by 164K
" several and respective writs, and under great pe-
" nalties, to attend in parliament ; and have a clear
" and indubitable right to vote in bills, and other
" matters whatsoever debatable in parliament, by
" the ancient customs, laws, and statutes of this
realm; and ought to be protected by your ma
jesty, quietly to attend, and prosecute that great
service :

They humbly remonstrate, and protest before
" God, your majesty, and the noble lords and peers
now assembled in parliament ; that as they have
" an indubitable right to sit and vote in the house
" of lords, so are they (if they may be protected from
force and violence) most ready and willing to per
form their duties accordingly ; and that they do
" abominate all actions or opinions tending to popery,
" and the maintenance thereof; as also all propen-
" sion and inclination to any malignant party, or any
" other side or party whatsoever, to the which their
" own reasons and consciences shall not move them
" to adhere.

" But, whereas they have been at several times
" violently menaced, affronted, and assaulted by mul
titudes of people, in their coming to perform their
services in that honourable house ; and lately chased
away, and put in danger of their lives, and can find
no redress, or protection, upon sundry complaints
" made to both houses in these particulars :

They likewise humbly protest before your ma
jesty, and the noble house of peers, that, saving to
" themselves all their rights and interests of sitting

T ^

66
66
66
66

66
66

116 THE HISTORY

BOOK " and voting in that house at other times, they dare
" not sit, or vote in the house of peers, until your

I /> A | *

" majesty shall further secure them from all affronts,
" indignities, and dangers in the premises.

" Lastly, whereas their fears are not built upon
" fantasies and conceits, but upon such grounds and
" objects as may well terrify men of good resolu-
" tions, and much constancy ; they do in all duty
" and humility protest, before your majesty, and the
" peers of that most honourable house of parliament,
" against all laws, orders, votes, resolutions, and de-
" terminations, as in themselves null, and of none
" effect, which in their absence, since the seven and
" twentieth of this instant month of December, 1641,
" have already passed ; as likewise against all such,
" as shall hereafter pass in that most honourable
" house, during the time of this their forced and vio-
" lent absence from the 1 said most honourable house ;
" not denying, but if their absenting themselves were
" wilful and voluntary, that most honourable house
" might proceed in all these premises, their absence,
" or this their protestation, notwithstanding.

" And humbly beseeching your most excellent ma-
" jesty to command the clerk of the u house of peers
" to enter this their petition and protestation amongst
" the x records ;

" They will ever pray, &c."

(Signed)

Jo. Eborac. Jo.Asaphen. Ma. Ely.
Tho.Duresme. Gml.Ba.fyWells. Godfr. Glouc.
Rob. Cov. & L. Geo. Heref. Jo. Peterbur&h.

fj t/

Jo. Norwich. Rob.Oxon. Mor.Llandaff.

1 the] their " the] that x the] his

OF THE REBELLION. 117

It was great pity, that, though the archbishop s BOOK

passion transported him, as it usually did; and his

authority imposed upon the rest, who had no affec
tion to his person, or reverence for his wisdom ; his
majesty did not take a little time to consider of it,
before he put it out of his power to alter it, by put
ting it out of his hands. For it might easily have
been discerned by those who were well acquainted
with the humour, as well as the temper, of both
houses, that some advantage and ill use would have
been made of some expressions contained in it ; and
that it could produce no good effect. But the same
motive and apprehension, that had precipitated the
bishops to so hasty a resolution, (which was, that the
house of peers would have made that use of the bi
shops being kept from the house, that they would
in that time have passed the bill itself for taking
away their votes,) had its effects y likewise with the
king ; who had the same imagination, and therefore
would lose no time in the transmission of it to the
house. Whereas it is more probable 2 , the lords would
never have made use of that very season, whilst the
tumults still continued, for the passing an act of that
importance ; and the scandal, if not invalidity of it,
would have been an unanswerable ground for the
king to have refused his royal assent to it.

As soon as this protestation, a which, no doubt, in
the time before the house was to meet, had been
communicated to those who were prepared to speak
upon it, was delivered by the lord keeper, with his
majesty s command, and read; the governing lords

y effects] effect a this protestation,] the pro-

z it is more probable] Not in testation,
MS.

13

118 THE HISTORY

BOOK manifested a great satisfaction in it; some of them
saying, " that there was dlgltus Dei to bring that

IV

1641. (t { p asSj which they could not otherwise have com-
" passed ;" and without ever declaring any judgment
or opinion of their own upon it, which they ought to
have done, the matter only having relation to them
selves, and concerning their own members ; they sent
to desire a conference presently with the house of
The protes- commons, upon a business of importance : and, at
by the conference, only read and delivered the protesta-

the lords
to the ho
of commons

tol henhouse tion of the bishops to them ; which, the lord keeper

- IS told them, he had received from the king s own hand,

in a confer
ence, with a command to present it to the house of peers b .

The com- The house of commons took very little time to con-
cuse the bi- sider of the matter ; but, within half an hour, they

* tf

subscribed sen ^ U P ^ the lords ; and, without further examina-

it of high ^ion. accusec i them all, who had subscribed the pro-
treason,

and they testation, of high treason ; and, by this means, they

are com- * .

mittedto were all, the whole twelve of them, committed to
prison ; and remained in the Tower till the bill for
the putting them out of the house was passed, which
was not till many months after.

When the passion, rage, and fury of this time
shall be forgotten, and posterity shall find, amongst
the records of the supreme court of judicature, so
many orders and resolutions in vindication of the
liberty of the subject, against the imprisoning of any
man, though by the king himself, without assigning
such a crime as the law hath determined to be worthy
of imprisonment ; and in the same year, by this high
court, shall find twelve bishops, members of this
court, committed to prison for high treason, for the

h of peers] Not in MS.

OF THE REBELLION. 119

presenting this protestation ; men will surely wonder BOOK

at the spirit of that reformation: and even that !

clause of declaring all acts null, which had been, or
should be, done in their absence, in defence of which
no man then durst open his mouth, will be thought
good law c and good logic ; not that the presence of
the bishops in that time was so essential, that no
act should pass without them ; which had given them
a voice, upon the matter, as negative as the king s ;
and themselves, in their instrument, disclaimed the
least pretence to such a qualification ; but because a
violence offered to the freedom of any one member,
is a violation to all the rest : as if a council consist of
threescore, and the door to that council be kept by
armed men, and all such, whose opinions are not
liked, kept out by force ; no doubt the freedom of
those within is infringed, and all their acts as void
and null, as if they were locked in, and kept without
meat till they altered their judgments.

And therefore you shall find in the journals of
the most sober parliaments, that, upon any eminent
breach of their privileges, as always upon the com
mitment of any member for any thing said or done
in the house, sometimes upon less occasions, that
house, which apprehended the trespass, would sit
mute, without debating, or handling any business,
and then adjourn ; and this hath been practised many
days together, till they had redress or reparation.
And their reason was, because their body was lame ;
and what was befallen one member, threatened the
rest ; and the consequence of one act might extend
itself to many other, which were not in view ; and

c good law] both good law
14

120 THE HISTORY

BOOK this made their privileges of so tender and nice a
temper, that they were not to be touched, or in

* the least degree trenched upon ; and therefore that
in so apparent an act of violence, where d it is not
more clear that they were committed to prison, than
that they durst not then sit in the house, and when
it was lawful in the house of peers 6 for every dissenter
in the most trivial debate, to enter his protesta
tion against that sense he liked not, though he were
single in his opinion ; that it should not be lawful
for those, who could not enter it themselves, to pre
sent this protestation to the king, to whom they were
accountable under a penalty for their absence ; and
unlawful to that degree, that it should render them
culpable of high treason ; and so forfeit their honour, f
their lives, their fortunes, expose their names to per
petual infamy, and their wives and children to pe
nury, and want of bread ; will be looked upon as a
determination of that injustice, impiety, and horror,
as could not be believed without those deep marks
and prints of confusion, that followed and attended
that resolution.

And yet the indiscretion of those bishops, swayed
by the pride and passion % of that archbishop, h in
applying that remedy at a time, when they saw all
forms and rules of judgment impetuously declined;
and the power of their adversaries so great, that the
laws themselves submitted to their oppression ; that
they should, in such a storm, when the best pilot
was at his prayers, and the card and compass lost,

d where] when g passion] insolence

e in the house of peers] Not h that archbishop,] that anti-

in MS. prelatical archbishop,
f honour,] honours,

OF THE REBELLION.

without the advice of one mariner, put themselves in BOOK
such a cockboat, and to be severed from the good

ship, gave that scandal and offence to all those who
passionately desired to preserve their function, that
they had no compassion, or regard of their persons,
or what became of them ; insomuch as in the whole
debate in the house of commons, there was only one
gentleman, who spoke 1 on their behalf, and said,
" he did not believe they were guilty of high trea-
" son, but that they were stark mad ; and therefore
" desired they might be sent to Bedlam."

This high and extravagant way of proceeding
brought no prejudice to the king; and though it
made their tribunal more terrible to men who la
boured under any guilt, yet it exceedingly lessened
the reverence and veneration that formerly had been k
entertained for parliaments : and this last accusation
and commitment of so many bishops at once, was
looked upon by all sober men with indignation. For
whatever indiscretion might be in the thing itself,
though some expressions in the matter might be un
skilful and unwarrantable, and the form of present
ing and transmitting it irregular and unjustifiable,
(for all which the house of peers might punish their
own members, according to their discretion,) yet
every man knew there could be no treason in it ;
and therefore the end of their commitment, and the
use all men saw would be made of it, made it the
more odious; and the members who were absent
from both houses, which were three parts of four,
and many of those who had been present, abhorred
the proceedings, and l attended the houses more di-

1 spoke] spake that generally was

k that formerly had been] l and] Not in MS.

THE HISTORY

BOOK ligently ; so that the angry party, who were no more
, treated with, to abate their fury, would have been
compelled to have given over all their designs for
the alteration of the government both in church and
state ; if the volatile and unquiet spirit of the lord
Digby had not prevailed with the king, contrary to
his resolution, to have given them some new m advan
tage ; and to depart from his purpose of doing no
thing, without very mature deliberation n .

Though sir William Balfour, who is already men
tioned, had, from the beginning of this parliament,
forgot P all his obligations to the king ; and had made
himself very gracious to those people, whose glory
it was to be thought enemies to the court ; and,
whilst the earl of StrafFord was his prisoner, did
many offices not becoming the trust he had from the
king, and contributed much to <i the jealousy, which
that party r had of his majesty ; upon which there
had been a long resolution to remove him from that
charge; but to do it with his own consent, that
there might be no manifestation of displeasure ; yet
it was a very unseasonable conjuncture, which was
taken to execute it in ; s and this whole transaction
was so secretly carried, that there was neither notice
nor l suspicion of it, till it was heard, that sir Thomas
Lunsford was sworn lieutenant of the Tower; a man,
who, u though of an ancient family in Sussex, was of

m new] Not in MS. ministered much of

n without very mature delibe- r that party] they

ration] Not in MS. s execute it in;] MS. adds:

already mentioned,] men- paying him such a considerable
tioned before, sum of money as well pleased

P forgot] (according to the him ;

natural custom of his country) * nor] or

forgot " who,] Not in MS.

1 contributed much to] ad-

OF THE REBELLION.

a very small and decayed fortune, and of no good BOOK
education ; having been few years before compelled
to fly the kingdom, to avoid the hand of justice for
some riotous misdemeanour ; by reason whereof he
spent some time in the service of the king of France,
where he got the reputation of a man of courage,
and a good officer of foot ; and in the beginning of
the troubles here had some command in the king s
army ; but so much inferior to many others, and was
so little known, except upon the disadvantage of an
ill character, that, in the most dutiful time, the pro
motion would have appeared very ungrateful. x He
was utterly a stranger to the king, and therefore it
was quickly understood to proceed from the single
election of the lord Digby, to whom he was likewise
very little known ; who had in truth designed that
office to his brother sir Lewis Dives, against whom
there could have been no exception, but his relation :
but he being not at that time in town, and the other
having some secret reason y to fill that place in the
instant with a man who might be trusted ; he sud
denly resolved upon this gentleman, as one who
would be faithful to him for the obligation, and exe
cute any thing he should desire or direct ; which
was a reason, he might easily have foreseen, would
provoke more powerful opposition ; which error, as is
said before, was repaired by the sudden change, and
putting in sir John Byron ; though it gave little sa
tisfaction, and the less, by reason of another more
inconvenient action, which changed the whole face
of affairs, and caused this to be more z reflected
upon.

x ungrateful.] ingrateful. was not a good one)

y reason] MS. adds : (which 7 more] the more

THE HISTORY
BOOK In the afternoon of a day when the two houses

IV.

. ! sat, Herbert, the king s attorney, informed the house

; t 2 * of peers, that he had somewhat to say to them from

The attor- <*

ney general the king ; and thereupon, having a paper in his
coses in the hand, he said, that the king commanded him to ac-
lords the cuse the lord Kimbolton, a member of that house,
A gentlemen, who were all members of the

five mem- nouse o f commons, of high treason ; and that his ma-

bers of the

house of jesty had himself delivered him in writing several

commons, .

of high trea- articles, upon which he accused them; and he a
read in a paper these ensuing articles, by which the
lord Kimbolton, b Denzil Hollis, sir Arthur Haslerig,
Mr. Pym, Mr. Hambden, and Mr. Strode, stood ac
cused of high treason, for conspiring against the
king and the parliament.

The articles Articles of high treason, c and other misdemean-
them! ours, against the lord Kimbolton, Mr.

John Hambden, Denzil Hollis, sir Arthur Ha-
slerig, and William Strode, members of the house
of commons.

1. " That they have traitorously endeavoured to
" subvert the fundamental laws and government of
" this kingdom ; and deprive the king of his regal
" power ; and to place on his subjects an arbitrary
" and tyrannical power.

2. " That they have endeavoured, by many foul
" aspersions upon his majesty, and his government,
" to alienate the affections of his people, and to make
" his majesty odious to them.

a and he] and thereupon he MS. from which they are copied,

b lord Kimbolton,] lord Man- viz. MS. C. is a long introduc-

deville, . tion, on the state of the king s

c Articles of high treason,] affairs, which will be found in

Previous to these articles, in the the Appendix, L

OF THE REBELLION.

3. " That they have endeavoured to draw his ma- BOOK

. . iv.
" iesty s late army to disobedience to his majesty s -

1 f \ O

" command, and to side with them in their traitorous
design.

4. " That they have traitorously invaded, and en
couraged a foreign power to invade his majesty s
kingdom of England.

5. " That they have traitorously endeavoured to
subvert the very rights and beings of parliament.

6. " That, for the completing of their traitorous
designs, they have endeavoured, as far as in them
lay, by force and terror to compel the parliament
to join with them in their traitorous designs, and,

" to that end, have actually raised and countenanced
tumults against the king and parliament.

7. " That they have traitorously conspired to levy,
" and actually have levied, war against the king."

The house of peers was somewhat appalled at this
alarum ; but took time to consider of it, till the next
day, that they might see how their masters the com
mons would behave themselves ; the lord Kimbolton
being present in the house, and making great pro
fessions of his innocence; and no lord being so hardy to
press for his commitment on the behalf of the king.

At the same time, a sergeant at arms demanded to A sergeant

.at arms de-

be heard at the house of commons from the king ; mauds the

(f

(6
66

(S

(t
66
66
66

66

and being sent for to the bar, demanded the persons
of five of their members d to be delivered to him in ! se
his majesty s name, his majesty having accused them
of high treason. But the commons were not much
surprised with the accident ; for besides that they
quickly knew what had passed with the lords, some

<l five of their members] the five members

66
66

126 THE HISTORY

BOOK servants of the king s, by especial warrant, had vi-

! sited the lodgings of some of the accused members,

42 - and sealed up their studies and trunks ; upon infor
mation whereof, before that e sergeant came to the
house, or public notice was taken of the accusation,
an order was made by the commons ; " That if any
" person whatsoever should come to the lodgings of
" any member of that house, and there offer to seal
" the doors, trunks, or papers of such members/ or
" to seize upon their persons ; that then such mem-
" ber should require the aid of the next constable,
to keep such persons in safe custody, till the house
should give further order : that if any person what-
" soever should offer to arrest or detain any member
" of that house, without first acquainting that house
" therewith, and receiving further order from thence ;
" its should be lawful for such member to stand upon
his guard, and make resistance, and for h any per
son to assist him, according to the protestation
taken to defend the privileges of parliament." And
so, when the sergeant had delivered his message, he
was no more called in ; but a message sent to the
king, " that the members should be forthcoming as
soon as a legal charge should be preferred against
them ;" and so the house adjourned till the next
day, every one of the accused persons taking a copy
of that order, which was made for their security.
The king The next day in the afternoon, the king, attended

goes to the

house of only by his own usual 1 guard, and some few gentle-

66

66

U

it
(6

commons

them.

to demand men, who put themselves into their company in the
way, came to the house of commons ; and command-

e that] the h for] Not in MS.

f members,] member, usual] Not in MS.

e it] that it

OF THE REBELLION. 127

ing all his attendants to wait at the door, and give k BOOK
offence to no man ; himself, with his nephew, the

(6
(6

61
66

prince elector, went into the house, to the great
amazement of all : and the speaker leaving the
chair, the king went into it; and told the house,
" he was sorry for that occasion of coming to them ;
" that yesterday he had sent his sergeant at arms
" to apprehend some, that, by his command, were
" accused of high treason ; whereunto he expected
" obedience, but instead thereof he had received a
message. He declared to them, that no king of
England had been ever, or should be, more care-
" ful to maintain their privileges, than he would be ;
" but that in cases of treason no man had privilege ;
" and therefore he came to see if any of those per
sons, whom he had accused, were there ; for he
was resolved to have them, wheresoever he should
" find them : and looking then about, and asking
" the speaker whether they were in the house, and
he making no answer, he said, he perceived the
birds were all flown, but expected they should be
sent to him, as soon as they returned thither ; and
assured them in the word of a king, that he never
" intended any force, but would proceed against
" them in a fair and legal way ;" and so returned
to Whitehall.

The accused persons, upon information and intel
ligence what his majesty intended to do, how se
cretly soever it was carried at court, having with
drawn from the house about half an hour before the
king came thither ; the house, in great disorder, as
soon as the king was gone, adjourned till the next

* give] to give

66
66
66
66

128 THE HISTORY

BOOK day in the afternoon ; the lords being in so great
apprehension upon notice of the king s being at the

house of commons, that the earl of Essex expressed
a tender sense he had of the inconveniences which
were like to ensue those divisions ; and moved, " that
" the house of peers, as a work very proper for them,
" would interpose between the king and his people ;
" and mediate to his majesty on the behalf of the
" persons accused ;" for which he was reprehended by
his friends, and afterwards laughed at himself, when
he found how much a stronger defence they had, than
the best mediation could prove on their behalf.

How secretly soever this affair was carried, it was
evident that the king s resolution of coming to the
house had been discovered, y by the members with
drawing themselves, and by a composedness, which
appeared in the countenances of many, who used to
be disturbed at less surprising occurrences ; and
though the purpose of accusing the members was
only consulted between the king and the lord Digby ;
yet it was generally believed, that the king s purpose
of going to the house was communicated to z William
Murray of the bed-chamber, with whom the lord
Digby had great friendship; and that it was dis-
covered a by him. And that lord, who had promised
the king to move the house for the commitment of
the lord Kimbolton, as soon as the attorney general
should have accused him, (which if he had done would
probably have raised a very hot dispute in the house,
where many would have joined with him,) never

ytheking s resolution of com- to the house was discovered,
ing to the house had been dis- z to] with
covered,] the coming of the king a discovered] betrayed

OF THE REBELLION. 129

spoke b the least word; but, on the contrary, seemed BOOK

the most surprised and perplexed with the attorney s

impeachment ; and sitting at that time next the lord
Kimbolton, 6 with whom he pretended to live with
much friendship, he whispered him in the ear with
some commotion, (as he had a rare talent in dissi
mulation,) " that the king was very mischievously
" advised ; and that it should go very hard, but he
" would know whence that counsel proceeded ; in
" order to which, and to prevent further mischief, he
" would go immediately to his majesty ;" and so went
out of the house.

Whereas he was the only person who gave the
counsel, named the persons, and particularly the lord
Kimbolton, d (against whom less could be said, than
against many others, and who was more generally
beloved,) and undertook to prove that the said lord
Kimbolton told 6 the rabble, when they were about
the parliament-house, that they should go to White
hall. When f he found the ill success of the impeach
ment in both houses, and how unsatisfied all were
with the proceeding, he advised the king the next
morning to go to the guildhall, and to inform the
mayor and aldermen of the grounds of his proceed
ings ; which will be mentioned anon. And that
people might not believe, that there was any dejec
tion of mind, or sorrow, for what was done; the
same night, the same council caused a proclamation
to be prepared for the stopping the ports ; that the

l} spoke] spake lord Mandeville,

c next the lord Kimbolton,] e the said lord Kimbtfltou

next to the lord Mandeville, told] he bade

d particularly the lord Kim- f When] And when

bolton,] particularly named the proceedings ;] proceeding ;

VOL. II. K

130 THE HISTORY

BOOK accused persons might not escape out of the king-

_~ dom ; and to forbid all persons to receive and har-

42 * bour them : when it was well known, that they were
all together in a house in the city, without any fear
of their security. And all this was done without
the least communication with any body, but the lord
Digby, who advised it ; and, it is very true, was so
willing to take the utmost hazard upon himself, that
he did offer the king, when he knew in what house
they were together, with a select company of gentle
men, who would accompany him, whereof sir Thomas
Lunsford was one, to seize upon them, and bring
them away alive, or leave them dead in the place :
but the king liked not such enterprises.
The per- That night the persons accused removed them-

crjric OP. ^"^

cused re- selves into their strong hold, the city : not that they
thTcity. durst not venture themselves at their old lodgings,
for no man would have presumed to trouble them,
but that the city might see, that they relied upon
that place for a sanctuary of their privileges against
violence and oppression ; and so might put on an early
concernment for them. And they were not disap
pointed ; for, in spite of all the lord mayor could
do to compose their distempers, (who, like a very
wise and stout magistrate, bestirred himself,) the
city was that whole night in arms ; some people,
designed to that purpose, running from one gate to
another, and crying out, " that the cavaliers were
" coming to fire the city ;" and some saying, " that
" the king himself was in the head of them."
The king The next morning, the king, being informed of

ITOcS lllvO

the city, and much that had passed that night, according to the

the a c itizens. advice he had received, sent to the lord mayor to

call a common council immediately ; and about ten

OF THE REBELLION. 131

of the clock, himself, attended only by three or four BOOK

. iv.

lords, went to the guildhall ; and in the room, where

the people were assembled, told them, " he was very
" sorry to hear of the apprehensions they had enter-
" tained of danger ; that he was come to them, to
" shew how much he relied upon their affections for
" his security and guard, having brought no other
" with him ; that he had accused certain men of high
" treason, against whom he would proceed in a legal
" way ; and therefore he presumed they would not
" shelter them in the city." And using many other
very gracious expressions of his value of them, and
telling one of the sheriffs, (who was of the two
thought less inclined to his service,) " that he would
" dine with him," he departed without that applause
and cheerfulness, which he might have expected
from the extraordinary grace he vouchsafed to them.
And in his passage through the city, the rude people
flocked 11 together, and cried 1 out, " Privilege of par-
" liament, privilege of parliament ;" some of them
pressing very near his own coach, and amongst the
rest one calling out with a very loud voice, " To
" your tents, O Israel." However the king, though
much mortified, continued his resolution, taking little
notice of the distempers ; and, having dined at the
sheriff s, returned in the afternoon to Whitehall ; arid
published, the next day, a proclamation for the ap
prehension of all those, whom he had k accused of
high treason, forbidding any person to harbour them ;
the articles of their charge being likewise printed
and dispersed.

When the house of commons next met, none of

flocked] flocking cried] crying k had] Not in MS.

K 2

132 THE HISTORY

BOOK the accused members appearing, they had friends
- ! enough, who were well 1 instructed to aggravate the
42 - late proceedings, and to put the house into a thou
sand jealousies and apprehensions, and every slight
circumstance carried weight enough in it to disturb
their minds. They took very little notice of the ac
cusing the members ; but the king s coming to the
house, which had been never known before, and de
claring, " that he would take them wherever" 1 he
" found them, was an evidence, that he meant him-
" self to have brought a force into the house, to ap-
" prehend them, if they had been there ;" and 11 was
looked upon as the highest breach of privilege that
could possibly be imagined. They who spoke most
passionately, and probably meant as maliciously, be
haved themselves with modesty, and seemed only
concerned in what concerned them all; and con
cluded, after many lamentations, " that they did not
" think themselves safe in that house, till the minds
of men were better composed ; that the city was
full of apprehensions, and was very zealous for
their security ; and therefore wished that they
might adjourn the parliament to meet in some
place in the city." But that was found not prac
ticable; since it was not in their own power to do
it, without the consent of the peers, and the concur
rence of the king; who were both like rather to
The house choose a place more distant from the city. So, P with

of commons

adjourning more reason, in the end they concluded, that the

66
66
66
66
66

"

house should adjourn itself for two or three days,
" an( * name a committee, who** should sit both morn-

to sit in the

Clty : [ well] well enough spoke] spake

m wherever] where p So,] And,

" and] Not in MS. () who] which

OF THE REBELLION. 133

" ing and afternoon in the city ;" and all who came BOOK

IV

to have voices : and Merchant-Tailors hall was ap-
pointed for the place of their meeting ; they who
served for London undertaking, " that it should be
" ready against the next morning :" no man oppos
ing or contradicting any thing that was said ; they,
who formerly used to appear for all the rights and
authority which belonged to the king, not knowing
what to say, between 1 " grief and anger that the vio
lent party had, by these late unskilful actions of the
court, gotten great advantage, and recovered new
spirits : and the three persons before named, without
whose privity the king had promised that he would
enter upon no counsel, 8 were so much displeased and
dejected, that they were inclined never more to take
upon them the care of any thing to be transacted in
the house : finding already, that they could not avoid
being looked upon as the authors of those counsels,
to which they were so absolute strangers, and which
they so perfectly detested.

And in truth, they had then withdrawn them
selves from appearing often in the house, but upon
the abstracted consideration of their duty and con
science, and of the present ill condition the king was
in ; who likewise felt within himself the trouble and
agony which usually attends generous and magna
nimous minds, upon their having committed errors,
which expose them to censure and to damage. In
fine, the house of commons adjourned for some days,
to consult with their friends in the city ; and the The lords
house of lords held so good correspondence with adjourning
them, that they likewise adjourned to the same days saLe days.

r between] and between s no counsel,] no new counsel,

K 3

134 THE HISTORY

BOOK they knew, by some intelligence, the commons 1 in-
- - * tended to meet again. But the lords made no com-

mittee to sit in the city.
be trans- When the committee met the next morning at

actions of

the com- Merchant-Tailors hall, where all who came were to
the city, have voices, and whither all did come at first, out of
curiosity to observe what method they meant to pro
ceed in, rather than expectation that they should be
able to do any good there ; they found a guard ready
to attend them, of substantial citizens in arms, and
a committee from the common council, to bid them
welcome into the city ; and to assure them, " that
" the city would take care, that they and all their
" members should be secured from violence ; and to
" that purpose had appointed that guard to attend
" them, which should be always relieved twice a
" day, if they resolved to sit morning and after-
" noon ;" and acquainted them further, " that the
" common, council, in contemplation that they might
" stand in want of any thing, had likewise appointed
" a committee of so many aldermen, and such a
" number of the common council, which should meet
" always" at a place named, at those hours, which
" that committee should appoint to meet at ; to the
" end that, if any thing were to be required of the
" city, they might still know their pleasure, and take
" care that it should be obeyed." Thus x they had
provided for such a mutual communication and con
federacy, that they might be sure always to be of
one mind, and the one to help the other in the pro
secution of those designs and expedients, which they

* the commons] they x Thus] And thus

" meet always] always meet

OF THE REBELLION. 135

should find necessary to their common end : the com- BOOK

mittee of the city consisting of the most eminent

persons, aldermen and others, for their disaffection to
the government of church and state.

At their first sitting, the committee begun > r with
the stating the manner of the king s coming to the
house, and all he did there ; the several members
mentioning all that they would take upon them to
remember of his majesty s doing or speaking, both as
he came to the house, and after he was there ; some
of them being walking in Westminster-hall when
the king walked through, and so came to the house
with him, or near him ; others reporting what they
heard 2 some of the great men, a who attended his
majesty, say, as they passed by; every idle word
having its commentary ; and the persons, whoever
were named, being appointed to attend ; they having
power given them to send for all persons, and to ex
amine them touching that affair. Nor had any man
the courage to refuse to obey their summons ; so that
all those of the king s servants, who were sent for,
appeared punctually at the hour that was assigned
them ; and were examined upon all questions, which
any one of the committee would propose to them,
whereof many were very impertinent, and of little
respect to the king.

It was very well known where the accused per
sons were, all together in one house in Coleman-
street, near the place where the committee sat ; and
whither persons trusted passed to and fro to commu
nicate and receive directions ; but it was not season-

y begun] began a great men,] gentlemen,

7 heard] had heard

K 4

136 THE HISTORY

BOOK able for them b yet to appear in public, and to come

and sit with the committee, or to own the believing

42> that they thought themselves safe from the violence
and the assaults of the court; the power whereof
they exceedingly contemned, whilst they seemed to
apprehend it : nor was it yet time to model in what
manner their friends in the city and the country
should appear concerned for them ; in preparing
whereof no time was lost.

Against the day c the house was to meet, the first
adjournment not being for above two or three days,
the committee had prepared matter enough for a re
port ; a relation of all they had discovered upon their
examinations, and such votes as they thought fit to
offer upon the breach of their privilege ; that they
might thereby discover the affections of the house,
of which they could not yet take any measure, see
ing d there had been no debate since those accidents,
which could discover the general temper; which
they well enough knew was not before to their ad
vantage. In the mean time, they used all the ways
they could to asperse those, who used to oppose
them, as the contrivers of the late proceedings ; and
were willing they should know it ; which they ima
gined would restrain them from taking the same li
berty they had used to do. e

b seasonable for them] time his known friendship in the

for them lord Digby ; and advised him so

c the day] the time to carry himself in the debates

d seeing] since which should arise upon that

e used to do.] MS. adds : matter, that it might evidently

And some friends of Mr. Hyde, appear that he did not approve

who loved him very well, told of it, or was privy to it. And so

him under what reproach he at their meeting, &c.
lay, which was the greater by

OF THE REBELLION. 137

And so at their meeting in the house, upon the BOOK
report of the committee, they declared, " That the

" king s coming to the house, and demanding the s of
" persons of divers members thereof to be delivered the house

i 1-11 i PJ.I- T-J J of commons

" unto him, was a high breach ot the rights and pri- upon their
" vileges of parliament, and inconsistent with the JJ
" liberty and freedom thereof : and therefore that
" they could not with the safety of their own per-
" sons, or the indemnity of the rights and privileges
" of parliament, sit there any longer, without a full
" vindication of so high a breach, and a sufficient
" guard, wherein they might confide ; and for that
" reason did order, that their house should be again
" adjourned for four days ; and that the committee
" should meet in the same place, to consider and re-
" solve of all things, that might concern the good
" and safety of the city, and the kingdom ; and par-
" ticularly how their privileges might be vindicated,
" and their persons secured ; and should have power
" to consult and advise with any person or persons,
" touching the premises." And this order and de
claration being made, they adjourned ; the last clause
being intended to bring their members to them.

At the meeting of the house, the committee had
informed them, first of the great civilities they had
received from the city in all the particulars, that
they might have order to return the thanks of the
whole house, which they easily obtained; and, at
their return, they took more examinations than they
had formerly ; by which they made a fuller relation
of the king s coming to the house, and his carriage
and words there. And because it was visible to all
men, that the king was so far from bringing any
force with him, which they desired it should be be-

138 THE HISTORY

BOOK lieved he had brought/ that he had only his guard of
. halberdiers, and fewer of them than used to go with
him on any ordinary motion ; and that fewer of his
gentlemen servants were then with him, than usually
attended him when he went but to walk in the park ;
and had only their little swords ; they were very
punctual in mentioning any light or loose words,
which had fallen from any man, that it might be
believed that there was more in the matter. As they
carefully inserted in their relation, that one of the
waiters, as he walked very near his majesty through
the hall, said, " he had a good pistol in his pocket ;"
and that another, as they were walking up the stairs
towards the house of commons, called out, Fall on;
from which they would have it believed, that there
had been very bloody intentions.

Then they proposed 11 some votes to be offered to
the house, in which they voted " the relation, which
" was made, to be true ; and thereupon, that the
" king s coming to the house i was the highest breach
" of the privilege of parliament that could be made ;
" and that the arresting, or endeavouring to arrest,
" any member of parliament, was a high breach of
" their privilege ; and that the person, who was so
" arrested, might lawfully rescue and redeem him
self; and that all who were present, and saw the
privilege of parliament so violated, might and
ought to assist the injured person in his defence,
and to procure his liberty with force." And these
votes the house confirmed, when they were reported :

f it should be believed he had coining to the house] com-

brought,] should be believed, ing to the house in that man-

s on] upon ner
h proposed] offered

<

<>

OF THE REBELLION. 139

though, in the debate, it was told them, k " that they BOOK
" must take heed, that they did not, out of tender-

66
ft
66
66

66
66

66
66

ness of their privilege, which was and must be very
4 precious to every man, extend it further than the
( law would suffer it to be extended : that the house
had always been very severe upon the breach of
any of their privileges, and in the vindicating those
members, who were injured; but that the dis
posing men to make themselves judges, and to
" rescue themselves or others, might be of evil con-
" sequence, and produce ill effects ; at least if it
should fall out to be, that the persons were ar
rested for treason, or felony, or breach of the
peace ; in either of which cases, there could be no
privilege of parliament." This, though a known
truth to any, who knew any thing of the law, was
received with noise and clamour, and with wonder
ful evidence of dislike, and some faint contradictions,
" that no such thing ought to be done whilst a par-
" liament was sitting :" and then, falling upon the
late action of the king, and the merit of those per
sons, and without much contradiction, which was
found to be ungrateful, the house confirmed all that
the committee had voted ; and then adjourned again
for some days, and ordered the committee to meet
again in the city; which they did morning and after
noon, and prepared other votes of a brighter allay,
and more in the face of the king and the law, every
day adding to the fury and fierceness of the prece
dent. The house met and sat, 1 only to confirm the

k though, in the debate, it was had been given to him) told

told them,] Originally thus in them,

MS. B. : which caused some The house met and sat,]

debate, and Mr. Hyde (notwith- And the house meeting and sit-

standing the good advice that ting,

140 THE HISTORY

BOOK votes which were passed by the committee, and to
_ prosecute such matters as were by concert brought

1 642. to them, by petition from the city ; which was ready
to advance any thing they were directed : and so,
whilst the members yet kept themselves concealed,
many particulars of great importance were transacted
in those short sittings of the house.

The king about this time, having found the in
convenience and mischief to himself of having no
servant of interest and reputation, and who took his
business to heart, in the house of commons, had
made the lord Falkland and sir John Colepepper,
both members of that house, and of unblemished re
putations and confessed abilities, of his privy coun
cil; and the one, the lord Falkland, his principal
secretary of state, and sir John Colepepper, chancel
lor of the exchequer ; as is said before. And so, hav
ing now gotten two counsellors about him, who durst
trust one another, and who were both fit to be trust
ed by him, which he had been without above a year
past, to his and the kingdom s irreparable disadvan
tage ; he thought fit to publish a declaration to all
his subjects, in answer to the remonstrance he had
lately received from the house of commons, and was
The king s dispersed throughout the kingdom. In which, with-

answer to

the house of out the least sharpness or return ot the 111 language
former re- he had received, he took notice " of the fears and
monstrance. j ea ] ous i eSj (f or those were the new words, which

served to justify all indispositions, and to excuse all
disorders,) " which made impression in the minds of
" his people, with reference to their religion, their li-
" berty, or their civil interests."

m

the] that

OF THE REBELLION. 141

" As to their religion, n he observed the fears to BOOK

IV.

66

66
66
66
66
66

" be of two sorts ; either as ours here established
might be invaded by the Roman party ; or as it
was accompanied with some ceremonies, at which
some tender consciences or P really were, or pre
tended to be, scandalized. For the first, as there
might be any suspicion of favour or inclination to
the papists, he said, he was willing to declare to all
" the world, that, as he had been brought up from
" his childhood in, and practised that religion, which
" was established in the church of England ; so he
" believed he could, having given a good part of his
" time and pains to the examination of the grounds
" of it, as it differed from that of Rome, maintain
" the same by unanswerable reasons ; and hoped he
" should be ready to seal it with ^ the effusion of his
" blood, if it should please God to call him to that
" sacrifice : and that nothing could be so acceptable
" to him, as any proposition, which might contribute
" to the advancement of it here, or r the propagation
" of it abroad ; this s being the greatest means to
draw down a blessing from God upon himself, and
this nation ; and if this profession of his was want
ing to his people, he thought himself extremely
" unfortunate, for that his constant practice in his
own person had always been, without ostentation,
as much to evidence * his care and duty therein, as
" he could possibly tell how to express.

" As u for matters of ceremony, he said, he would,

11 " As to their religion,] For r or] as

religion, s this] Not in MS.

Roman] Romish * to evidence] to the evidence

v or] Not in MS. of

<i with] by As] Not in MS.

66
(6

66

66
66

66
66

142 THE HISTORY

BOOK " in tenderness to any number of his loving subjects,
" be willing to comply with the advice of his parlia-
1612. 66 m ent, that some law should be made for the ex-
" emption of tender consciences from punishment or
" prosecution for neglecting x such ceremonies ; and
" in such cases, which by the judgment of most men
< c are held to be matters indifferent, and of some to
" be absolutely unlawful. Provided that that case
" should be attempted, and pursued with that mo-
" desty, temper, and submission, that in the mean
time the peace and quiet of the kingdom should
not be disturbed, the decency and comeliness of
" God s service not y discountenanced, nor the pious,
" sober, and devout actions of those reverend per-
" sons, who were the first labourers in the blessed
" reformation, or of that time, be scandalized and
" defamed. For, he said, he could not, without grief
of heart, and without some tax upon himself and
" his ministers for the not execution of the laws,
look upon the bold licence of some men in printing
of pamphlets, in preaching and printing of sermons
" so full of bitterness and malice against the present
government, against the laws established ; so full
of sedition against his own person, and the peace
of the kingdom ; that he was many times amazed
to consider by what eyes those things were seen,
and by what ears they were heard.

Concerning the civil liberties and interests of
the subjects, he said, he should need say the less,
having erected so many lasting monuments of his
" princely and fatherly care of his people, in those
" excellent laws passed by him this parliament ;

* neglecting] Not in MS. > not] Not in MS.

66
66

66
66
66
66
66
66
66
66

I

66
66
66

it
(t
6t
S(

OF THE REBELLION. 143

" which, with very much content to himself, he said, BOOK

IV

" he conceived to be so large and ample, that very L_

" many sober men had little z left to wish for of that
" kind. He told them, he very well understood the
" rights and particular advantages, he had departed
" from in many of the acts he had passed; and there-
" fore he had reason to hope, as he had taken all oc-
" casions to render their condition most comfortable
and happy ; so they would, in grateful and dutiful
return, a be always ready with equal tenderness
and alacrity to advance his rights, and prefer b his
honour, upon which their own security and sub-
" sistence so much depended ; and no particular
" should be presented unto him for the completing
" and establishing that security, to the which he
" would not with the same readiness contribute his
" best assistance. He said, if those resolutions were
" the effects of his present counsels, and he took God
" to witness that they were such, and that his sub-
" jects might confidently expect the benefit of them
" from him, certainly no ill design upon the public
" could accompany such resolutions ; neither could
" there be great cause of suspicion of any persons
preferred by him to degrees of honour, and places
of trust and employment, since this parliament :
" and therefore, that amongst his misfortunes he
" reckoned it not the least, that, having not retained
" in his service, nor protected any one person,
" against whom the parliament had excepted, during
" the whole sitting of it ; and having in all that time
" scarce vouchsafed to any man an instance of his

2 little] very little b prefer] preserve

a return,] relation,

tt

66

144 THE HISTORY

BOOK " favour or grace, but to such who were under some
" eminent character of estimation amongst the peo-
1642. " pie, there should so soon be a misunderstanding c
" or jealousy of their fidelity and uprightness ; espe-
" cially in a time, when he took all occasions to de-
u clare, that he conceived himself capable of being
" served only d by honest men, and in honest ways.
" However, if he had been mistaken in such his
" election, the particular should no sooner be disco-
" vered to him, either by his own observation, or
66 other certain information, than he would leave
" them to public justice, under the marks of his dis-
" pleasure. If, notwithstanding this, any malignant
" party should take heart, and be willing to sacrifice
" the peace and happiness of their country to their
" own sinister ends and ambitions, under what pre-
" tence of religion and conscience soever ; if they
" should endeavour to lessen his reputation and in
terest, and to weaken his lawful power and authori
ty with his good subjects ; if they should go about,
by discountenancing the present laws, to loosen the
" bonds of government, that all disorder and confu-
" sion might break in ; he doubted not, but God in
" his good time would discover them ; and the wis-
" dom and courage of his high court of parliament
" would e join with him in their suppression and
punishment.

Having said all he could, to express the clear
ness and uprightness of his intentions, and done all
" he could to manifest those intentions, he said, he

c be a misunderstanding] be only capable of being served
any misunderstanding e would] Not in MS.

d capable of being served only]

-.

.

(6

t(
ft

a

tt

OF THE REBELLION. 145

" could not but confidently believe, all his good sub- BOOK
" jects would acknowledge his part to be fully per- .
" formed, both in deeds past, and present resolutions
" to do what with justice might be required of him ;
" and that their quiet and prosperity now depended
" wholly on themselves,, and was in their own power,
" by yielding all obedience and due reverence to
" the law ; which is the inheritance of every subject,
" and the only security he can have for his life, li
berty, and estate ; and the which being neglected
or disesteemed, under what specious shows soever,
a great measure of infelicity, if not an irreparable
" confusion, must without doubt fall upon them.
" And he doubted not, it would be the most accept-
" able declaration a king could make to his subjects,
" that he was not only resolved to keep f the laws
" himself, but to maintain them against what oppo-
" sition soever, though with the hazard of his being.
" He hoped the loyalty and good affections of all his
" subjects would concur with him in the constant
" preserving a good understanding between him and
" his people ; and that their own interest, and com
passion of the lamentable condition of the poor
protestants in Ireland, would invite them to a fair
" intelligence and unity amongst themselves ; that
Ct so they might, with one heart, intend the reliev-
" ing and recovering that unhappy kingdom ; where
" those barbarous rebels practised such inhuman and
" unheard of outrages upon the miserable people,
" that no Christian ear could hear without horror,
" or story parallel. He concluded with conjuring all
" his good subjects, of what degree or quality soever,

1 to keep] to observe
VOL. II. I,

"
"

(C
U

146 THE HISTORY

BOOK "by all the bonds of love, duty, and obedience, that

IV.

" are precious to good men, to join with him for the
1642. tc recovery of the peace of that kingdom, and the
preservation of the peace of this ; to remove all
the doubts and fears which might interrupt their
" affection to him, and all their jealousies and ap-
" prehensions, which might lessen their charity to
" each other ; and then, he said, if the sins of the
" nation had not prepared an inevitable judgment
" for all, God would make him a great and glorious 8
" king over a free and happy people."

Though this declaration had afterwards a very
good influence upon the people to his majesty s ad
vantage, yet for the present it gave no allay to their
distempers. Their seditious ministers were despatch
ed to inflame the neighbour counties, and all possible
art was used to inflame the city of London ; which
prevailed so far, that, notwithstanding all the oppo
sition the lord mayor of London, the recorder, and
the gravest and most substantial aldermen could
make, the major part of the common council prevail
ed to send a petition to the king, in the name of the
mayor, aldermen, and common council of the city of
London ; which was the next Sunday morning deli
vered to him, with great solemnity, at Whitehall, by
The city P e- a number chosen of that body; representing " the

titions the ,

king. great dangers, fears, and distractions, the city then
" was in, by reason of the prevailing progress of the
bloody rebels of Ireland ; the putting out of per
sons of honour and trust from being constable and
lieutenant of the Tower, especially in those times,
and the preparations there lately made ; the for-

g and glorious] and a glorious

66

66
66

66

OF THE REBELLION. 147

" tifying Whitehall with men and ammunition h in BOOK
" an unusual manner ; some of which men abused !

" and wounded divers citizens passing by ; the call-
" ing in divers cannoniers, and other assistance into
" the Tower ; the discovery of divers fireworks in the
" hands of papists, i and the misunderstanding be-
" tween his majesty and the parliament. That their
** fears were exceedingly increased by his majesty s
" late going into the house of commons, attended by
" a multitude k of armed men, for the apprehending
" of divers members of that house, to the endanger-
" ing his own person, and the persons and privileges
" of that honourable assembly. That the effects of
" those fears tended not only to the overthrow of
61 the whole trade of that city and kingdom, which
" they felt already in a deep measure, but threaten-
" ed the utter ruin of the protestant religion, and
" the lives and liberties of all his subjects ; and
" therefore they prayed his majesty, that, by the
" advice of his great council in parliament, the pro-
" testants in Ireland might be speedily relieved ; the
" Tower put into the hands of persons of trust ; that,
" by removal of doubtful and unknown persons from
" about Whitehall and Westminster, a known and
" approved guard might be appointed for the safety
" of his majesty and the parliament ; and that the
" lord Kimbolton, * and the five members of the
* { house of commons lately accused, might not be re-
" strained of liberty, or otherwise proceeded against,
" than according to the privileges of parliament."
The king very well understood from what spirit

h ammunition] munition tude

1 of papists,] of a papist, l lord Kimbolton,] lord Man-

k a multitude] a great multi- deville,

L 2

148 THE HISTORY

BOOK this petition proceeded, and the inconvenience of
giving so much countenance to it, as the very receiv

66

66

42 - ing it was, if he could have avoided it. But the tor
rent was too strong to be resisted by any direct
strength he could raise against it ; and therefore he
resolved to endeavour to divide and reduce them, by
the most gracious descending to their pretended fears
and apprehensions ; and the same day gave them
Hismajes- this answer ; " That, for the sad business of Ireland,

ty s answer.

: he could not possibly express a greater sense than
" he had done, there being nothing left on his part
" unofFered, or undone. For the Tower, he wonder-
" ed that, having removed a servant of trust from
" that charge, only to satisfy the fears of the city,
" and put in another of unquestionable reputation
" and known ability, the petitioners should still en
tertain those fears ; and whatsoever m preparation
of strength was there made, was with as great an
" eye of safety and advantage to the city, as to his
" own person, and should be equally employed to
" both.

" For the fortifying Whitehall with men and am-
" munition n in an unusual way, he doubted not,
" that they had observed the strange provocation
" he had received to entertain that guard ; that, by
" the disorderly and tumultuous conflux of people at
" Westminster and Whitehall, his great council was
" not only disquieted, but his own royal person in
" danger ; most seditious language being uttered
" even under his own windows. And if any citizens
" had been wounded, or ill treated, he was confidently

m whatsoever] whatever that] Not in MS.

11 ammunition] munition

OF THE REBELLION. 149

" assured, that it had happened by their own evil BOOK
" and corrupt demeanours. For the fireworks in the__

66

..

66
66
66

" hands of a papist, he knew nothing, nor understood * 642 *
" whom, or what they meant.

" For his going to the house of commons, when
" his attendants were no otherwise armed than as
" gentlemen with swords, he was persuaded, that if
they knew the clear grounds, upon which those
persons stood accused of high treason, and what
" would be proved against them, with which they
" should in due time be p acquainted, and considered
" the gentle way he took for their apprehension,
(which he preferred before any course of violence,
though that way had been very justifiable ; since
it was notoriously known, that no privilege of par-
" liament can extend to treason, felony, or breach of
" peace, ( i) they would believe his going thither was
" an act of grace and favour to that house, and the
" most peaceable way of having that necessary ser
vice performed ; there being such orders made for
the resistance of what authority soever for their
apprehension : and for the proceedings against
those persons, he ever intended the same should
" be with all justice and favour, according to the
" laws and statutes of the realm ; to which r all in-
" nocent men would cheerfully submit. And this s
" extraordinary way of satisfying a petition of so un-
" usual a nature, he said, he was confident would be
" thought the greatest instance could be given of his
" clear intentions to his subjects; and of the singu-
" lar esteem he had of the good affections of that

i 1 in due time be] be in due r to which] to the which
time s this] that

i of peace,] of the peace,

L 3

66
66

66
66

150 THE HISTORY

BOOK " city, which he hoped in gratitude would never be
" wanting to his just commands and service."

It was no wonder that they, who at such a time
could be corrupted to frame and deliver such a pe
tition, would not be reformed by such an answer.
Neither will it be here unseasonable, to spend a lit
tle time in considering how the affections and tem
pers of so rich and opulent a city, which could na
turally expect to prosper only by peace and agree
ment, were wrought upon and transported to that
degree, as to be the chief * instruments of its own
and the kingdom s destruction.
The state The city of London, as the metropolis of England,

and temper .

of the city by its u situation the most capable of trade, and by
at that the most usual residence of the court, and the fixed
station of the courts of justice for the public admini
stration thereof x throughout the kingdom, the chief
seat of trade, was, by the successive countenance
and favour of princes, strengthened with great char
ters and immunities, and was a corporation governed
within itself; the mayor, recorder, aldermen, sheriffs,
chosen by themselves ; several companies incorporat
ed within the great corporation ; which, besides no
table privileges, enjoyed lands and perquisites to a
very great revenue. By the incredible increase of
trade, which the distractions of other countries, and
the peace of this, brought, and by the great licence
of resort thither, it was, since this king s access to
the crown, ? in riches, in people, in buildings, mar
vellously increased, insomuch as the suburbs were

* chief] only y this king s access to the

u by its] by the crown,] the access of the crown

x administration thereof] ad- to the king,
ministration of justice

OF THE REBELLION. 151

almost equal to the city ; a reformation of which had BOOK
been often in contemplation, never pursued, wise

men foreseeing that such a fulness could not be
there, without an emptiness in other places ; and
whilst so many persons of honour and estates were
so delighted with the city, the government of the
country must be neglected, besides the excess, and
ill husbandry, that would be introduced thereby.
But such foresight was interpreted a morosity, and
too great an oppression upon the common liberty ;
and so, little was applied to prevent so growing a
disease.

As it had these and many other advantages and
helps to be rich, so it was looked upon too much of
late time as a common stock not easy to be exhaust
ed, and as a body not to be grieved by ordinary acts
of injustice ; and therefore, as it was a place of re
sort, z in all cases of necessity, for the sudden borrow
ing great sums of money, in which they were com
monly merchants too good a for the crown, so it was
become a practice, b upon any specious pretences, to
void the security, that was at any time given for mo
ney so borrowed.

Thus c after many questionings of their charter,
which were ever removed by considerable sums of
money, a grant made by the king in the beginning
of his reign, (in consideration of great sums of mo
ney,) of good quantities of land in Ireland, and of d
the city of Londonderry there, was voided e by a suit

7 as it was a place of resort,] tice,] but it was thought rea

it was not only a resort, son able,

a merchants too good] too c Thus] So
good merchants d of] Not in MS.

h so it was become a prac- e voided] avoided

L 4

152 THE HISTORY

BOOK in the star-chamber; all the lands, after a vast ex-
pense in building and planting, resumed into the

1642. ki n g s hands, and a fine of fifty thousand pounds im
posed upon the city. Which sentence being pro
nounced after a long and public hearing, during
which time they were often invited to a composition,
both in respect of the substance, and the circum
stances of proceeding, made a general impression in
the minds of the citizens of all conditions, much to the
disadvantage of the court ; and though the king af
terwards remitted to them the penalties f of that sen
tence, they imputed that to the power of the parlia
ment, and rather remembered how the benefit of
their grant had been taken from them, than by
whom it was restored : so that, at the beginning of
the parliament, the city was as ill affected to the
court as the country was ; and therefore chose such
burgesses to sit there, as had either eminently oppos
ed the court, h or accidentally been oppressed by it.

The chief government and superintendency of the
city is in the mayor and aldermen ; which, in that
little kingdom, resembles the house of peers ; and *
the common council is the representative body there
of, like the house of commons, to order and agree to
all taxes, rates, and such particulars belonging to the
civil policy. The common council are chosen every
year, so many for every parish, of the wisest and
most substantial citizens, by the vestry and common
convention of the people of that parish ; and as the
wealthiest and best reputed men were commonly
chosen, k so, though the election was once a year, it

f penalties] benefit and] and as subordinate

K the benefit of their grant] it k commonly chosen,] always
h the court,] it, chosen,

OF THE REBELLION. 153

was formerly 1 scarce ever known, that any man BOOK
once chosen was afterwards rejected or left out, ex

cept upon discovery of an enormous crime, and m de
caying in fortune to a bankrupt ; otherwise, till he
was called to be alderman, or died, he continued, and

x

was every year returned of the common council.

After the beginning of this parliament, when
those who steered at Westminster found n by their
experience in the case of the earl of Strafford, of
what consequence the city might be to them, and
afterwards found, by the courage of the present
lord mayor, sir Richard Gourney, who cannot be
too often or too honourably mentioned, that it
might be kept from being disposed by them ; and
that the men of wealth and ability, who at first had
concurred with them, begun P now to discern that
they meant to lead them further than they had a
mind to go ; they directed their confidents, that at
the election of the common councilmen by the con
currence and number of the meaner people, all such
who were moderate men, and lovers of the present
government, should be rejected ; and in their places
men of the most active and pragmatical heads, of
how mean fortunes soever, should be elected : and
by this means that ^ body in great part now r con
sisted of upstart, factious, indigent companions, who
were ready to receive all advertisements and direc
tions from Westminster, s and as forward to en
croach upon their superiors, the mayor and alder-

1 formerly] Not in MS. * that] all that

m and] or r in great part now] Not in

n those who steered at West- MS.

minster found] they found s from Westminster,] from

or] nor those who steered at Westmin-

v begun] began ster,

154, THE HISTORY

BOOK men 1 . And so this firebrand of privilege inflamed
the city at that time.

That they might gratify the city in procuring a
better answer than they had received from the king
to their petition, and that they might more expose
his majesty to their affronts, the house resumed the
business of the Tower again, with the old reflections
upon the removal" of the former good lieutenant,
and the putting in a rude person, and of a desperate
fortune, as they called him, x that he might use such
prisoners, as there was an intent to send thither, in
such a manner as he should be directed ; and that
the person, who was since put in, had put the city
into great apprehensions, by the observation that
was made, that he took great store of provisions
into the Tower, as if he made provision for a greater
garrison, which raised great jealousies ; and there
was a petition brought, and delivered to the houses
in the names of several merchants who used to
trade to the mint ; in which > they desired that
there might be such a person made lieutenant of
the Tower, " as they could confide in," (an expres
sion that grew from that time to be much used,)
without which no man would venture bullion into
the mint, and by consequence no merchant would
bring it into the kingdom. Whereas in truth there
was no gentleman of the kingdom of a better reputa
tion amongst all sorts of men, and there had been
more bullion brought into the mint in the short
time of his being lieutenant, than had been in many

f aldermen] MS. adds : as x as they called him,] Not in

the other was upon the house MS.
of peers. y in which] and

u removal] remove

OF THE REBELLION. 155

months before: and amongst those persons, which BOOK
so solemnly delivered that petition, and had all sub

scribed it, there were very few who had ever sent
any silver into the mint. However, the house en
tertained the complaint as very reasonable, and sent
for a jonference with the lords, with whom they
prevailed to join with them in a desire to the king,
" that he would remove sir John Byron from being
" lieutenant of the Tower ;" which the king for
some time refused to do, till they pressed it in an
other manner, which shall be mentioned anon.

The committee, that still continued to sit in Lon- The com-
don, intended no other business, but their own pri-thecom-
vileges ; sent for, and examined, as hath been said, ons s * lj !

transacts in

all men who had attended his majesty, or had been the cit y-
casually present in the hall, or at the door of the
commons house, when the king was there : and all
such examinations, as testified any extravagant dis
course uttered by any loose fellow, who had acci
dentally put himself into the company, though it
appeared he had no relation to the king s service,
were carefully entered, and published ; but such as
declared the king s strict command against any vio
lence or disorder, and his positive charge, that no
man should presume to follow him into the house of
commons, (as full proof was made to them of those
particulars,) were as carefully suppressed and con
cealed.

The sheriffs of London had been z directed to ap
point a guard to attend the committee, whilst it
should continue there ; a and then to guard the
houses when they should again sit at Westminster.

* had been] were H there ;] at Guildhall ;

156 THE HISTORY

BOOK The accused persons, who lodged all this time in

- ! the city, were brought to the committee with much

42< state, and sat with them to devise some way to vin

dicate themselves.

A deciara- Then a declaration was agreed upon by the com-
* nions only, in which was set forth, " that the cham-

"
"
"
"
"
"
"

" bers > studies > and trunks of Mr. Hollis, sir Arthur
members. Haslerig, Mr. Pym, Mr. Hambden, and Mr. Strode,
had been by colour of his majesty s warrant sealed
up ; which was not only against the privilege of
parliament, but the common liberty of every sub-
ject ; that the same members b had been the same
day demanded by a sergeant at arms to be deli-
vered to him, that he might arrest them of high
treason ; that the next day his majesty came to
" the house in his own person, attended by a mul-
" titude of armed men, in a warlike manner, with
halberds, swords, and pistols, who came up to the
very door of the house, and placed themselves
there, and in other places and passages near to
the house, to the great terror and disturbance of
the members then sitting ; that his majesty, sit-
" ting in the speaker s chair, demanded the persons
" of those members to be delivered to him ; which
was a high breach of the rights and privileges of
parliament, and inconsistent with the liberties
" and freedom thereof; that afterwards his majesty
" did issue forth several warrants to divers officers
" under his own hand, for the apprehension of their
" persons, which by law he could not do." And
thereupon they declared, " that if any person should
" arrest Mr. Hollis, &c. or any other member of par-

b same members] said members

"
"
"
"
"

"

"

OF THE REBELLION. 157

" liament, by pretence of any warrant issuing out BOOK
" from the king, he was guilty of the breach of the _ ^

a

(6
((

it

privilege of parliament, and a public enemy of the 1 642 -
commonwealth ; and that the arresting any mem-
ber of parliament, by any warrant whatsoever,
without consent of that house, whereof he is a
member, is a breach of the privilege of parlia-
" ment : and the person that shall so arrest him is
" declared a public enemy of the commonwealth."

They published, " that it did fully appear by se-
" veral examinations, that many soldiers, papists
" and others, to the number of about five hundred,
" came with his majesty to the house of commons,
" armed ; and that some of them, holding up their
" pistols cocked near the door of the house, which
" they kept open, said, I am a good marksman ; I
" can hit right, I warrant you : and said, they
" would have the door open ; and if any opposition
was made, they made no question but they should
maintain their party ; and that some said, A pox
" take the house of commons ; let them be hanged.
" And when the king returned from the house, they
" expressed great discontent, asking, when comes
" the word: that some of them being demanded
" what they thought the company intended to have
" done, answered, that questionless in the posture
" they were set in c , if the word had been given,
" they should have fallen upon the house of com-
mons, and have cut all their throats : upon which
they said they were of opinion, that the soldiers
and papists coming in that manner with his ma-
jesty was to take away some of the members of

c in] Not in MS.

((
ti

"
"

"
"

158 THE HISTORY

BOOK " the house ; and if they should have found opposi-
" tion, or denial, then to have fallen upon the house

1 f>4*7

"^ 66 Tw~t r\ r/^c!i"ilo wioirnoT*
cL llUMlic IllclLlIlLl.

"

66
it

And they did thereupon declare, " That the same
was a traitorous design against the king and par-
" liament. And whereas the persons accused had,
" with the approbation of the house, absented them-
" selves from the service of the house, for avoiding
the great and many inconveniences, which other
wise might have happened; since which time, a
" printed paper in the form of a proclamation had
" issued out for the apprehending and imprisoning
" them, suggesting, that through the conscience of
" their guilt they were absent and fled ;" they did
further declare, " that the said printed paper was
" false, scandalous, and illegal ; and that notwith
standing that printed paper, or any warrant is
sued out, or any other matter against them, they
might and ought to d attend the service of the
" house, and the committees then on foot ; and that
it was lawful for all persons whatsoever to lodge,
harbour, and e converse with them ; and whoso
ever should be questioned for the same should be
" under the protection and privilege of parliament."
And they declared, " That the publishing the ar-
" tides of high treason against the persons accused,
was a high breach of the privilege of parliament,
a great scandal to his majesty and his govern
ment, a seditious act, manifestly tending to the
" subversion of the peace of the kingdom, and an
injury and dishonour to the members ; and that f
the privileges of parliament, and liberties of the

d to] Not in MS. e and] or f and that] that

66
66

..

..
66
tt

66

(6

..

66
66

OF THE REBELLION. 159

" subject, so violated and broken, could not be fully BOOK
" and sufficiently vindicated, unless the king would

" be graciously pleased to discover the names of
" those persons, who advised him to do the parti-
" cular acts before mentioned, that they might re-
" ceive condign punishment."

This strange declaration, so contrary to the known
rules and judgments of law, and to the known
practice and proceedings of parliament, was no
sooner framed and agreed upon in the committee,
than it was printed, and published throughout the
city and kingdom, before it was confirmed by, or re
ported to the house; which is against the custom of
parliament. For, by that custom, no act done at
any committee should be divulged before the same
be reported to the house.

The truth is, it cannot be expressed how great a
change there appeared to be in the countenance and
minds of all sorts of people, in town and country,
upon these late proceedings of the king. They,
who had before even lost their spirits, having lost
their credit and reputation, except amongst the
meanest people, who could never have been made
use of by them, when the greater should forsake
them ; and so despaired h of ever being able to com
pass their designs of malice, or ambition, (and i some
of them had resumed k their old resolutions of leav
ing the kingdom,) now again recovered greater cou
rage than ever, and quickly found that their credit

g which is to the house.] same be reported to the house.

Thus in MS. : which is against h despaired] despairing

the law, and an express statute and] Not in MS.

in that case provided, that no k had resumed] were resum-

act done at any committee ing
should be divulged before the

160 THE HISTORY

BOOK and reputation was as great as ever it had been;
the court being reduced to a lower condition, and

1642. to more disesteem and neglect, than ever it had un
dergone. All that they had formerly said of plots
and conspiracies against the parliament, which had
before been laughed at, was now ] thought true and
real ; and all their fears and jealousies looked upon
as the effects of their great wisdom and foresight.
All that had been whispered of Ireland was now
talked aloud and printed; as all other seditious
pamphlets and libels were. The shops of the city
generally shut up, as if an enemy were at their
gates ready to enter, and to plunder them ; and the
people in all places at a gaze, as if they looked only
for directions, and were then disposed to any under
taking.

On the other side, they who had, with the great
est courage and alacrity, opposed all their seditious
practices, between grief and anger were confounded
with the consideration of what had been done, and
what was like to follow. They were far from think
ing that the accused members had received much
wrong ; yet they thought it an unseasonable time to
call them to an m account for it. That if any thing
had been to be done of that kind, there should have
been a fitter choice 11 of the persons, there being
many of the house, of more mischievous inclinations,
and designs against the king s person and the go
vernment, and were more exposed to the public
prejudice, than the lord Kimbolton was ; who was
a civil and well natured man, and had rather kept

I was now] were now lord Kimbolton] lord Man-
m an] Not in MS. deville Kimbolton

II fitter choice] better choice

OF THE REBELLION. 161

ill company, than drank deep of that infection and BOOK

poison, that had wrought upon many others. Then L_

sir Arthur Haslerig and Mr. Strode were persons of
too low an account and esteem ; and though their
virulence and malice was as conspicuous and trans
cendent as any man s, P yet their reputation and in
terest to do mischief, i otherwise than in concurring
in it, was so small, that they gained credit and au
thority by being joined with the rest, who had in
deed a great influence. However, since r there was
a resolution to proceed against those men, it would
have been much better to have caused them to have
been all severally arrested, and sent to the Tower,
or to other prisons, which might have been very
easily done before suspected, than to send in that
manner to the houses with that formality, which
would be liable to so many exceptions. At least,
they ought so far to have imparted it to members
in both houses, who might have been trusted, that
in the instant of the accusation, when both houses
were in that consternation, (as in a great consterna
tion they were,) somewhat might have been pressed
confidently towards the king s satisfaction ; which
would have produced some opposition and contra
diction, and might have s prevented that universal
concurrence and dejection of spirit, which seized
upon and possessed both houses.

But, above all, the anger and indignation was
very great and general, that to all the other over
sights and presumptions was added 1 the exposing
the dignity, and majesty, and safety of the king, in

P man s,] men s, 8 and might have] which

i mischief,] any mischief, would have

r since] if t was ac jd e d] Not, in MS.

VOL. II. M

162 THE HISTORY

BOOK his coming in person, in that manner, to the house

_ of commons ; and in going the next day, as he did,

1( >42. to the guildhall, and to the lord mayor s, which

drew such reproaches upon him to his face. All

which was justly imputed to the lord Digby, who

had before fewer true friends than he deserved, and

had now almost the whole nation his enemies, being

the most universally odious of any man in it.

When the house of commons had passed such
votes from the committee at Merchant-Tailors hall,
as they thought necessary, and had 11 once more ad
journed thither, the committee asked the advice of
the house, whether the accused members might be
present with them, (who had in truth directed and
governed all their proceedings from the time they
sat there :) which was not only approved, but those
members required to attend the house the next day
it was to sit, and so to continue the service of the
house, which was then adjourned for three or four
days, that the city might appear in such a posture,
as should be thought convenient.

The noise was so great of the preparations made
in the city to bring the accused members in triumph
to the parliament, and that the whole militia would
accompany them, whilst the seamen and mariners
made an appearance in barges, and other vessels,
upon the Thames to Westminster, that x the king
thought it convenient to remove again from White
hall ; and so on the tenth of January, which was
The king the eve to that y great festival, his majesty, the
- queen, and the royal children, went from Whitehall
e to Hampton-court, waited on z by some few of their

ton-court.

u had] Not in MS. y to that] to the

x that] Not in MS. T waited on] attended

OF THE REBELLION. 163

own household servants, and thirty or forty of those BOOK
officers, who had attended at Whitehall for security

against the tumults.

Before his going, he sent to the earls of Essex
and Holland to attend him in his journey ; who
were both by their places, the one being lord cham
berlain a of his household, the other the first b gen
tleman of his bedchamber, or groom of the stole, c
obliged to that duty. The earl of Essex resolved
to go ; and to that purpose was making himself
ready, when the earl of Holland came to him, and
privately dissuaded him ; assuring him, that if they
two went, they should be both murdered at Hamp
ton-court : whereupon they left the king to his
small retinue in d a most disconsolate, perplexed
condition, in more need of comfort and counsel,
than they had ever known him ; and, instead of at
tending their master in that exigent, they went to
gether into the city, where the committee sat, and e
where they were not the less welcome for being
known to have been invited to have waited upon
their majesties. They who wished the king best,
were not sorry that he then withdrew from White
hall ; for the insolence, with which all that people
were transported, and the animosity, which was in
fused into the hearts of the people in general against
the court, and even against the person of the king,
cannot be expressed.

Whilst the committee sat in London, the common
council likewise met, as hath been said, f to the end

a lord chamberlain] his cham- d in] and in

berlain e and] Not in MS.

b first] prime f as hath been said,] Not in

e or groom of the stole,] Not, MS.
in MS.

M 2

164 THE HISTORY

BOOK they might be ready to comply in any particulars
should be desired from the city; and so the com-

1642. m jttee having resolved, " that the actions of the
" citizens of London, or of any other person what-
" soever for the defence of the parliament, or the
" privileges thereof, or the preservation of the mem-
" bers thereof, were according to their duty, and to
" their late protestation, and the laws of this king-
" dom :" and if any person should arrest or trouble
any of them for so doing, he was declared " to be
" a public enemy of the commonwealth :" and in the
next place having resolved, " that that vote should
" be made known to the common council of the city
The ac- o f London," the accused members about two of the

cused mem- t

are clock in the afternoon on the eleventh of January,
h to being the next day after the king went to Hampton-
court, came from their lodgings in the city to West-
minster, guarded by the sheriffs, and trained-bands
of London and Westminster, and attended by a con
flux of many thousands of people besides, making a
great clamour against bishops and popish lords, and
for thes privileges of parliament ; some of them, as
they passed by Whitehall, asking, with much con
tempt, " what was become of the king and his cava-
" liers ? and whither he was gone ?"

From London-bridge to Westminster, the Thames
was guarded with above a hundred 11 lighters and
long-boats, laden with small pieces of ordnance,* and
dressed up with waist-clothes and streamers, as ready
for fight. And that the trained-bands k of London

g for the] of the derers,

h a hundred] one hundred k trained-bands] Originally in

1 with small pieces of ord- MS. militia
nance,] with nabletts and mur-

OF THE REBELLION. 165

might be under the command of a person fit to lead BOOK
them, they granted a commission to captain Skip- *
pon, who was captain of the artillery-garden, to be 1642
major-general of the militia of the city of London ;
an office never before heard of, nor imagined that
they had authority to constitute. 1 The man had
served very long in Holland, and from a common
soldier had raised himself to the degree of a captain,
and to the reputation of a good officer : he was a
man of order and sobriety, and untainted with any
of those vices, which the officers of that army were
exercised in ; and had newly given over that service
upon some exceptions he had to it ; and, coming to
London, was by some friends preferred to that com
mand in the artillery-garden, which was to teach
the citizens the exercise m of their arms. He was
altogether illiterate, and having been bred always
abroad, brought 11 disaffection enough with him from
thence against the church of England, and so was
much caressed and trusted by that party.

This man marched that day in the head of their
tumultuary army to the parliament-house; where the
accused members were no sooner entered, than they
magnified " the great kindness and affection they
" had found in the city, and their zeal to the parlia-
" ment ; and if their expressions of it, upon this ex-
" traordinary occasion, had been somewhat unusual,
" that the house was engaged in honour to protect
" and defend them from receiving any damage."
Whereupon the sheriffs of London were called into
the house of commons, and thanked by the speaker

1 constitute.] constitute such " abroad, brought] in Hol-
an officer. land, he brought

exercise] posture tumultuary] Not in MS.

M 3

a

(6

<C
it

166 THE HISTORY

BOOK for their extraordinary care, and love expressed to
the parliament; and told, " that they should have
1642. i< an ordinance of parliament for their indemnity,
declaring that all their actions of respect and kind
ness, which they had shewed to the lords and
commons in London, and their attending them to
and at Westminster, was legal and justifiable."
The masters and officers of ships were likewise called
in, and most heartily thanked for their kindness;
and sergeant-major-general Skippon appointed every
day to attend at Westminster, with such a guard as
he thought sufficient for the two houses. ^ There
was one circumstance not to be forgotten in the
march of the citizens 1 " that day, when the show by
water was little inferior to the other by land, that
the pikemen had fastened to the tops of their pikes,
and the rest in their hats, or their bosoms, printed
papers of the protestation which had been taken,
and enjoined by the house of commons the year be
fore for the defence of the privilege of parliament ;
and many of them had the printed votes of the king s
breaking their privileges in his coming to the house,
and demanding their members.

The Buck- As soon as the citizens and mariners were dis-
"hfr^men s charged, some Buckinghamshire men, who were said
petition to ^ k e a t the door, 8 with a petition, and had indeed

the house

of com. waited upon the triumph with a train of several 1
thousand men, were called in ; who delivered their
petition in the name of the inhabitants of the county
of Buckingham, and said it was brought to the town
by about six thousand men. " They commended

q for the two houses.] for the s at the door,] at door,
guard of the two houses. * of several] of four

r citizens] city

mons.

OF THE REBELLION. 167

the unwearied pains of the house of commons, for BOOK
redress of the pressures they had lain under ; but

66
(6

.
66

66
66

" complained that the success was not answerable,
" their endeavours being frustrated or retarded by
a malignant faction of popish lords, bishops, and
others ; and now of late, to take all that little hope,
was left, from them, of a future reformation, the
very being of the parliament was shaken, the pri
vileges thereof broken in a desperate and unex
ampled manner, and the members thereof unas
sured of their lives, in whose safety, the safety of
them and their posterity was involved. They held
" it therefore their duty, according to their late pro-
" testation, to defend and maintain the persons and
" privileges thereof, to the utmost power of their
" lives and estates ; to which purpose, they said, they
" were then come to make the humble tender of
" their service, and would remain in expectation of
" their commands and order; to the execution where
of they would with all alacrity address themselves,
ready to live by them, or to die at their feet, against
" whomsoever should in any sort illegally attempt
" upon them.

" They besought them therefore to assist the ar-
" dent prayers of the petitioners, that the popish
" lords and bishops might be forthwith outed the
" house of peers ; that all privileges of parliament
" might be confirmed to them, and that all evil
" counsellors, the Achans of the commonwealth,
" might be given up to the hands of justice ; with-
" out all which, they said, they had not the least
" hope of Israel s peace, or to reap those glorious ad-
" vantages, which the fourteen months seed-time of

M 4

t.

168 THE HISTORY

BOOK " their unparalleled endeavours had given to their
" unsatisfied expectations."

When they had received thanks for their wonder
ful affection, and were told, that, " by the great care
" of the city of London, the parliament was suffi-
" ciently guarded and assured ; and therefore that
" they might depart to their houses till further oc-
" casion appeared, of which they should be sure to
" be informed ;" one of them said, " they had an-
" other petition, which they meant to prefer to the
66 king ; but desired their advice, whether that house
" would vouchsafe to recommend it, u or whether
" they themselves should deliver it." For that, they
received new thanks ; and were wished, " that six or
" eight of them should present it to his majesty in
" the name of the rest ;" for the house saw their
wisdom and moderation such, that they presumed
they of themselves were very able to manage that
business.
They also When they had thus caressed the commons, they

petition the t . .

house of went to the house of lords with another petition,
complaining " of the malignant faction, which ren-
" dered the endeavours of the house of commons
" successless," and said, " that in respect of that
late attempt upon the honourable house of com
mons, they were come to offer their service, as re
solved in their just defence to live and die. And
therefore they did humbly pray, that that most
honourable house would cooperate with the house
of commons, in speedily perfecting the most ne
cessary work of reformation, bringing to condign
and exemplary x punishment both wicked counsel-

u recommend it,] commend it, x exemplary] unexemplary

66
66
66

66

66
66

66

OF THE REBELLION. 169

" lors, and other plotters and delinquents; and that BOOK
" the whole kingdom might be put into such a pre-

" sent posture of defence, that they might be safe
" both from all practices of the malignant party at
" home, and the endeavours of any ill-affected states
" abroad." The lords were as civil to them as the
commons had been, and gave them great thanks.
And from thence they went to find out the king They peti-
with their petition to him;? in which they com- king,
plained, " that Mr. Hambden, whom they had chosen
knight of their shire, and in whom they had ever
good cause to confide, was, to their great amaze
ment, accused, amongst the others, of high trea
son. 2 They said, that having taken into their se
rious consideration the manner of their impeach-
" ment, they could not but conceive that it did op-
" pugn the rights of parliament, to the maintenance
" whereof their protestation did bind them ; and
" they did believe, that the malice, which his and
" the others zeal to his majesty s service, and the
" state, had raised a in the enemies of his majesty,
" the church, and the commonwealth, had occasion-
" ed that foul accusation, rather than any ill b de
serts of theirs ; and that through their sides the
judgment and care of the petitioners and others
" were wounded, by whose choice they were pre-
" sented to the house ; and therefore they did hum-
" bly desire his majesty, that Mr. Hambden, and the
" rest, who lay under the burden of that accusation,
might enjoy the just privileges of parliament."

66

66
66
66
66

66
66

(6

y with their petition to him ;] of high treason,
with another petition ; a had raised] had contracted

z amongst the others, of high b ill] Not in MS.
treason.] amongst others accused

more.

170 THE HISTORY

BOOK 80 from this day we may reasonably date the levy-

! ing of war in England; whatsoever hath been since

42< done being but the superstructures upon those foun
dations, which were then laid. c
The house jhe members being in this manner placed again

of commons

revived the upon their thrones, and the king retired with his

votes pass-

ed by their poor family to Hampton-court, they reviewed their
h! the city, votes, which had passed in the committee in the
city, which they had caused every night to be printed
without staying for the confirmation of the house ;
and where they had any defect, as they thought, or
by the d interpretation of others, they supplied them
with more strength and authority. So they pro
vided and declared, " that no member of parliament
" should be arrested upon any pretence whatsoever."
And because it had been insisted on, e that they
would not make any declaration so much against
the known law, which allowed no privilege in the
case of treason, felony, or breach of the peace, they
now added, that " even in the case of treason no
" member ought or could be arrested, or proceeded
" against, without first informing the house, of which
" he was a member, of the charge and evidence
" against him, and receiving their leave and direc-
" tion for the proceeding against him." And that
men might hereafter be more wary how they were
made instrumental in bringing any reproach upon
them, they appointed a committee to prepare a
charge against Herbert, the king s attorney-general,
for presuming to accuse the members of high trea-

c which were then laid.] A e it had been insisted on,]

portion of the MS. is here omit- Originally in MS. Mr. Hyde had

ted : see the Appendix, K. desired,

d by the] in the

OF THE REBELLION. 171

son; which was made ready accordingly, and pro- BOOK
secuted with wonderful vigour, as will be remem-

66
66

^^

bered hereafter.

They resolved that the king should not enjoy
much ease and quiet in his retreat; and therefore
every day sent some committee or other to him
with petitions and expostulations : a committee of
lords and commons attended him with a grievous
complaint of the breach of privilege they had sus
tained by his coming to the house ; and desired him f
" that he would inform them who had given him
" that pernicious counsel, that such evil counsellors s
might be brought to justice, and receive condign
punishment." And when they found that the lord
Digby, whom they generaUy believed to be the au
thor and contriver of all that transaction, though
they could have no evidence of it, had withdrawn
himself from court, 11 and they well enough knew had
transported himself beyond the seas, they brought
witnesses to the bar, who affirmed, " that there
" were, 1 on such a day, several officers, whereof the
" unbeloved Lunsford was one, assembled together
" at Kingston upon Thames near Hampton-court;
" and that the lord Digby came thither to them in a
" coach with six horses from Hampton-court, and
" conferred with them a long time, k and then re-
" turned again thither." They were well satisfied
with the evidence, and forthwith accused him to The lord
the house of peers of high treason, for the levying o

ac-

war against the king and parliament; and a procla- ^ gh trea ~
mation was shortly issued out for his apprehension, pretence of

his levying

f him] Not in MS. there were,] there was,

* counsellors] counsel k with them a long time,] a

h from court,] from the court, long time with them,

172 THE HISTORY

BOOK when all the town knew that he was safely arrived

. . in Zealand. 1 They resumed the consideration of

1642 - the lieutenant of the Tower; and upon new infor-

war at

Kingston mation that much provision was sent in thither
Thames, every day, they sent for sir John Byron, who ap
peared at their bar, and gave so full answers to all
the questions they asked of him, that they could not
but dismiss him. However they sent again to the
king to remove him, and put a fitter man into the
place, and recommended sir John Coniers to him, as
a man in whom they could confide ; and because
they did not speedily receive such an answer as they
liked, they appointed their major-general Skippon to
place such guards about the Tower, as might pre
vent the carrying in more provision of victual thi
ther, than would serve for one day s consumption ;
notwithstanding which, the king m would not consent
to their desire. n

All men were now in union in both houses : the
lords had not yet recovered the courage to dissent in
any one proposition made to them from the com
mons ; and in their house no man durst presume to
debate the matter of privilege, how far it extended,
and in what cases it was of no moment, lest he might
be thought to be privy to, and a counsellor of, that
heinous breach, which had given them all this credit.

1 in Zealand.] MS. adds: but the place, who was a man the

they thought it fit to shew him king had no other exception to,

how unsavoury a jest the send- than that he was recommended

ing out such proclamations was by them ; which was exception

to be esteemed. enough : and the yielding to them

m the king] his majesty in it exceedingly raised their

n desire.] MS. adds: And so spirits, and made them the more

the king was at last prevailed insolent,
with to remove sir John Byron, their house] that house
and to put sir John Coniers in

OF THE REBELLION. 173

In this consent and concurrence, all the votes, which BOOK
had passed at the committee in London, and which

.

had been by them communicated to the common
council, and so divulged throughout the city and
kingdom, were confirmed ; and those who objected
against any expressions, which were not warrant
able, reprehended for taxing? the discretion of the
committee.

And in one day both houses agreed in and exe
cuted three acts of sovereignty, even of as high a
nature as any they have since ventured upon ; the
first, " in commanding the sheriffs of London, by and
" with the advice of their new sergeant-major-general
" Skippon, to place a guard upon, that is to besiege
" the Tower of London, to hinder the going in of
" any provisions, or going out of any arms or ammu-
" nition ;" the second, " in appointing sir John Ho-
" tham to go to Hull," which will be mentioned
anon ;i the third, " in sending an order to the gover-
" nor of Portsmouth, that nobody should be admitted
" into that town and fort, or suffered to pass from
" thence, or any thing to be disposed of there, but
" by order from the king signified by both houses of
" parliament."

After this, a message was resolved upon to be sent
to the governor of the prince/ " that he should not

P taxing] laying a tax upon mantling the garrisons of Ber-
<* be mentioned anon ;] MS. wick and Carlisle, to be brought
adds : and to put into that town to that place ; arid that he should
such companies of the train- not suffer any part of that ma-
bands adjoining, as he thought gazine to be delivered to any
necessary for the keeping that without warrant from the king,
town and the magazine there ; by advice of both houses,
his majesty having caused all r the governor of the prince,]
his ammunition and ordnance to the marquis of Hertford, go-
the year before, upon the dis- vernor of the prince,
solving the armies, and dis-

174 THE HISTORY

BOOK " suffer the prince to be transported out of the king-
J " dom, as he would answer the breach of trust re-

1642. posed in him concerning religion, and the honour,
" safety, and peace of the three kingdoms ;" and they
declared, 8 " that any person, who should persuade or
" attend upon him in such transportation, should be
" under the same censure." With these high acts of
public concernment they joined the vindication of
themselves from the late trespass : l and to that end
The com- caused the attorney-general to be publicly examin-

rnons exa- .

mine the ed upon interrogatories, " whether he did contrive,
" frame, or advise the articles of impeachment against

tnetm ff " ^ e members that were accused ? whether he knew

peachment ^he truth of them upon his own knowledge, or by

members. information ? whether he would undertake to make

" them good, when he should be thereunto called ?

" from whom he received them, and by whose di-

" rection or advice he did exhibit them? whether

" he had any testimony or proof of them before the

His answer. exhibiting ?" And having received his answer,

" that he had neither framed, nor advised them, nor

" knew any thing of the truth of them, nor could

" undertake to justify them ; but that he had re-

" ceived them from the king, and was by him com-

They vote nianded to exhibit them ;" they presently declared,

against " that he had broken the privilege of parliament in

" preferring those articles, and that the same was il-

" legal, and he criminal 11 for so doing ; and that a

" charge should be sent to the lords, in the name of

" the house of commons, against the attorney-gene-

" ral, to have satisfaction for the great scandal and

" injury to the members thereof, unless he did within

s they declared,] declaring, king :

4 trespass :] trespass from the " criminal] criminous

OF THE REBELLION. 175

five days bring in his proof, and make good the ar- BOOK
tides against them."

So that they had now raised to themselves an un
questionable stock of security, when they had de
clared, " that they might neither be apprehended by
" a warrant under the king s own hand, x nor ac-
" cused by his attorney-general, except themselves
" were willing :" and they, who had concluded it
most exactly just, that the house of peers must im
prison their own members, as fast as the commons y
accused them of high treason, and, by that rule, had,
within less than a week before, freed themselves of
twelve bishops, who always opposed their designs, z
(and in a case, where every man s conscience ab
solved them of the guilt, of which they were charged,)
thought it now unanswerable reason to condemn the
justice 3 of the king s proceedings ; " because if a
man should be committed and imprisoned as soon
as the king accused him of high treason, the parlia
ment might by consequence b be dissolved ; since he
might successively accuse the whole body ;" which
logic, if they had not pleased to vote the contrary,
would have run as well in their own case, upon c
their own licence of accusing, and more dangerously
in respect of the house of peers, which might possi
bly indeed have been thereby dissolved d .

Though the king had removed himself out of the
noise of Westminster, yet the effects of it followed
him very close; for besides the Buckinghamshire

x king s own hand,] MS. adds: b by consequence] Not in MS.

nor indeed by himself, c upon] and upon

y the commons] they d dissolved] MS. adds: when

2 designs,] desires, by new elections that mischief

a condemn the justice] evince would easily be prevented in the

the injustice house of commons.

cc

66

<t

176 THE HISTORY

BOOK petitioners, who alarmed e him the same, or the next
day after he came to Hampton -court, several of the

42 same nature were every day presented to him, in
the name of other counties of the kingdom ; all which
were printed, and scattered abroad with the declara
tion of the lord Digby s levying war at Kingston upon
Thames, and the proclamation for apprehending him ;
all which being so industriously dispersed, and with
out any colour, or ground of danger, but only that
the kingdom might be inured to the style of the
two houses, and exercised in their commands against
the time that they meant to be in earnest, gave the

e kmg ki n g re ason to remove in few days from Hampton-
removes to *

Windsor, court to his castle at Windsor, where he could be
more secure from any sudden popular attempt ; of
which he had reason to be very apprehensive, when,
after those high acts of sedition at London and West
minster were declared to be according to the laws of
the land, and the protestation lately taken, that pro
testation was by a new order enjoined to be admi
nistered throughout the kingdom, and the names
of all those who refused to take it, which there
was reason to believe many would upon their new
glosses/ returned to the house of commons, who were
as severe inquisitors as could be found any where.
Thence From thence his majesty & sent a message to both

slge to both houses, " That he took notice, that his proceedings
" against those persons, whom he had accused, (nam-
" ing them,) were conceived by many to be illegal,
" and not agreeable to the privilege of parliament ; h
" and that he was so desirous to give satisfaction to

e alarmed] alarumed g his majesty] he

f their new glosses,] the new h privilege of parliament ;]
gloss, privileges of the parliament ;

OF THE REBELLION. 177

" all men in all matters that might seem to have re- BOOK
" lation to privilege of parliament, that he would
" wave his former proceedings ; and all doubts being 1642>
" by that means settled, when the minds of men
" were composed, he would proceed against them
" in an unquestionable way; and he 1 assured both
" houses, that upon all occasions he would be as
" careful of their privileges as of his life, or his crown.
" To which he added, that, in all his proceedings
" against those persons, he had never the least inten-
" tion of violating the least privilege of parliament ;
" and in case any doubt of breach of privilege re-
" mained, he would be willing to assert it by any
" reasonable way his parliament should advise him
" to ; and therefore he desired them forthwith to lay
" by all jealousies, and apply themselves to the pub-
" lie and pressing affairs, and especially to those of
Ireland, wherein the good of the kingdom, and the
true religion, which should ever be his first care,
" were so highly and so nearly concerned. And he
" desired them, that his care of their privileges might
" increase their care of his lawful prerogative, which
" was so necessary to the mutual defence of each
other, and both would be the foundation of a per
petual and perfect intelligence between his ma
jesty and parliaments, and of the happiness and
prosperity of his people."
But this message was k not such as they looked
for ; there seemed still to be left a time l for prose
cution ; and though the error in form seemed to be
consented to, yet the substance and matter of the

1 he] Not in MS. l seemed still to be left a time]

k this- message was] these there was still left a courage
messages were

VOL, II. N

it
it

it
it
it
it

178 THE HISTORY

BOOK accusation might be still insisted on. And therefore
they took no notice of it, in but proceeded in inflam-

1 642. j n g a u men w ith the sense of the breach of privilege ;
and finding the general mettle somewhat to abate,
that they might keep up the apprehension of danger,
and the esteem n of their darling the city, they con
sult about adjourning both houses into London ; but
finding some danger of infringing the act of parlia
ment, from whence some advantage might be taken
to their prejudice, till that power might be cleared
by a law, they were contented to adjourn their
houses as they had done for some days, and to ap
point committees, qualified with more power than
the houses had, to meet in London ; which, for the
convenience of the common council, who took up
the guildhall, chose to sit in Grocers hall.

The houses j^ was wondered, that, P having all places so much

appoint

committees at their devotion, they** would remove from their

to sit in .

Grocers more convenient seats at Westminster ; where they
might transact whatsoever they desired without in
terruption, and where they were only disturbed by
their own direction. But the advantage they reap
ed by it was extraordinary; for, besides the fears
they dispersed abroad, and the confidence they gave
their own friends of the city J)y being with them,
they were sure, for the most part, to have a commit
tee to their own hearts desire ; since, r besides many
out of laziness or indignation would not attend the
service in so inconvenient a place, s very many, who
troubled them most in their counsels, durst not in

m of it,] of them, f i they] that they

11 esteem] estimation r since,] for,

convenience] conveniency H inconvenient a place,] unna-

P that,] Not in MS. tural place,

OF THE REBELLION. 179

earnest go thither, for fear of uncomely affronts, if BOOK
not danger, their names being published in the tu- -
mults as disaffected persons ; and they * were those,
indeed, which constituted the malignant party, which
they prayed against : and they found it much easier
to transact any thing contrived and framed by such
a committee, than originally offered and debated in
either house, before the mystery was understood by
their proselytes, and when those, who too well un
derstood it, did render their designs sometimes inef
fectual.

The minds of men throughout the kingdom being
now prepared to receive all their dictates with reve
rence, and to obey all their orders, and to believe
that all their safety consisted in, and depended upon
their authority, and there being few within the
house, who had courage to oppose and contradict
them, they sent to the lords to quicken them in the
bill they had formerly sent to them concerning re
moving the bishops out of their house ; which now,
when there were so many of them prisoners in the
Tower, u they presumed would not meet with so great
an opposition. In the house of commons they called The com-
to have the bill read, which had lain so long there, upon saint-
the same that had been brought in by Saint-John for O f the

mi-

the settling the militia of the kingdom; to which ^ jj 1
they now added " the putting all the forts, castles,
" and garrisons, into the hands of such persons as
" they could confide in ;" which was the expression
they used, when they had a mind to remove any
man from a place, of which he was justly possessed,

1 they] Not in MS. moved into the Tower,

41 prisoners in the Tower,] re-

N 2

180 THE HISTORY

BOOK "that they could not confide in him, which they
IVt " thought to be reason enough to displace any man."

1642. When this bill x had been with much ado accepted,
and first read, there were few men who imagined it
would ever receive further countenance : but now
there were few, y who did not believe it to be a very
necessary provision for the peace and safety of the
kingdom. So great an impression had the late pro
ceedings made upon them ; so that with little oppo
sition it passed the commons, and was sent up to the
lords.

Upon the disbanding the late army in the north,
all the artillery, arms, and ammunition, that was
provided for that service, had been by the king s
command sent to Hull, where it still remained ; and
his majesty intended it should be kept there, for a
magazine upon all occasions. And he had a little
before these late passages sent the earl of Newcastle
thither, with a private commission, to be governor
thereof, as soon as it should be fit to publish such a
command ; and in the mean time by his own in
terest to draw in such of the country, as were neces
sary to guard the magazine. But nothing the king
did in the most private manner, but was quickly
known to those from whom it should most have been
concealed. And so the earl of Newcastle was no
sooner gone, but notice was taken of it ; and he had
not been three days in Hull, before the house of
peers sent for him, to attend the service of that
house, which he had rarely used to do, being for the
most part at Richmond attending upon the prince of
Wales, whose governor he was. He made no haste

x this bill] it ? few,] very few,

OF THE REBELLION. 181

to return upon the summons of the house, but sent BOOK
to the king to know his pleasure ; who, not thinking .
matters yet ripe enough to make any such declara- 1642 -
tion, appointed him to come away ; upon which he
appeared in the house, without being asked where
he had been.

But both houses shortly after moved the king, Both houses
" that the magazine at Hull might be removed to king, that
" the Tower of London, which would be very neces- zine^t HUH

6(
(t

sary for the quieting the minds of that country,
and abating the fears and jealousies in the hearts the Tower.
of very many, who did apprehend some design in
" the keeping so much ammunition in the z northern
" parts :" and his majesty not giving them a speedy
answer, they sent down sir John Hotham, whose estate They send
lay within three or four miles of Hull, and he a had Hothams to
some command of the trained-bands, " to be governor 1
" thereof, and to draw in such of the country as he
" thought fit for the security of the place." And though
Hotham had concurred with them in all their violent
ways, yet they well knew that he was not possess
ed with their principles in any degree, but was very
well affected in his judgment to the government both
in church and state, but had been first engaged by
his particular malice against the earl of Strafford, and
afterwards terrified by their votes against sheriffs and
deputy lieutenants ; and therefore they sent his son,
a member likewise of the house, and in whom they
more b confided, to assist him in that service, or ra
ther to be a spy upon his father. And this was the
first essay they made of their sovereign power over c

z the] those b more] most

a he] Not in MS. c over] of

N 3

182 THE HISTORY

BOOK the militia and the forts, whilst their bill was yet
depending, and was a sufficient manifestation what

1642> they intended to do, when it should be passed; to
wards which they made all the haste they could, ex
ercising the king s patience every day with some dis
agreeable d message to him, upon their privileges, and
requiring " vindication, and reparation, and dis-
" covery of the persons who had promoted that pro-
" secution." And though e the council once a week
attended f upon his majesty at Windsor, he could not
freely consult s with them upon what most concerned
him.

In this sad condition was the king at Windsor,
fallen in ten days from a height and greatness that
his enemies feared, to such a lowness, that his own
servants durst hardly avow the waiting on him. For
though, tis true, h the acts of the house of commons,
and the tumults, were as great affronts to majesty,
before this last act upon the members, as any that
could be imagined possible to succeed, yet the house
of peers was then i well disposed, and might have
been managed with a little patience, to have blasted
all the extravagances of the commons. And the
truth is, the greatest extravagances appeared to
the standers-by to be but the attempts of persons in
despair, and the strugglings k of men at the last gasp.
And, without doubt, if the king could have had the
patience to have sat still a spectator of the dissen
sions between the two houses, and encouraging the

d disagreeable] unsavoury h tis true,] it is true,

e though] Not in MS. l then] Not in MS.

f attended] attending k the strugglings] the strong

g he could not freely consult] accents
though he could not consult

OF THE REBELLION. 183

lords, who were firm to him, and putting those mat- BOOK
ters in issue, wherein the commons had invaded both _ J

his and the lords privileges ; if he had commanded ] 642 -
his council at law and the judges, to have proceeded
by the strict rules of the law against seditious per
sons at large, for preaching and printing against the
peace of the kingdom, and put the commons house
either to have been quiet, whilst their champions
were exemplarily punished, (which would have put
a speedy end to their licence,) or to have appeared
the champions for an infamous act against the law
and the justice of the kingdom, their jurisdiction
would probably l in a short time have been brought
within the due limits, and the stoutest factor for the
violent party been glad to have compounded for an
act of oblivion.

And I have heard from credible persons, that the
chief of that faction afterwards confessed, that if that
extraordinary accident had not happened to give them
new credit and reputation, they were sinking under
the weight of the expectation of those whom they
had deluded, and the envy of those whom they had
oppressed. I am sure, they who out of conscience,
and loyalty to their king and country, diligently at
tended the public service, were strangely surprised
at the matter and manner of that accusation ; and
foresaw, from the minute, the infinite disadvantage
it would bring to the king s affairs. Not that they
thought the gentlemen accused, less guilty ; for their
extreme dishonest acts m in the house were so visible,
that nothing could have been laid to their charge in
credible : but the going through with it was a mat-

1 probably] Not in MS. m acts] arts

N 4

184 THE HISTORY

BOOK ter of so great difficulty and concernment, that every

! circumstance ought to have been fully deliberated,

1 642> and the several parts distributed 11 into such hands, as
would not have shaken in the execution. And the
saying, that the king had not competent persons
enough, whom he might trust in so important a se
cret, (which I believe was true,) is rather an argu
ment, that the thing was not to be attempted at all,
than that it was to be attempted in that manner ; for
whoever would have betrayed the trust, would be
sure to find fault with it, when it was endeavoured
without him, especially if it miscarried. The truth
is, there was little reason to believe, that the house
of peers would commit the lord Kimbolton P upon
the accusation of Mr, Attorney in that conjuncture
of time ; and less that the house of commons would
deliver up their members to the sergeant at arms,
when they should be demanded ; which was an irre
gular thing, and implied unreasonably, that they had
some power to keep them, who were desired to deli
ver them. Yet if the choice had been better made,
and the several persons first apprehended, and put
into distinct close custodies, that neither any body
else should have heard from them, nor they one from
another, all which had not been very difficult, the
high spirit of both houses might possibly have been
so dejected, that they might have been treated withal.
But even that attempt had been too great for the
solitary state the king was in at that time ; ^ which
was most naturally to have been improved by stand
ing upon his guard, and denying all that was in his

n distributed] dispensed deville

rather] only 1 was in at that time ;] was at

P lord Kimbolton] lord Man- that time in ;

OF THE REBELLION. 185

power to deny, and in compelling his ministers to BOOK

execute the law in those cases, that demonstrably -

concerned the public peace.

The committee at Grocers hall, very much r ex- The com-

... .. i i niittee at

alted to find no opposition in any thing they desired Grocers

a

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66

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6(

from both houses, resolved to make what advantage
they could of that season of their power ; and there- m nstrance -
fore, not vouchsafing to return any answer to the
king s message s of retractation, they concluded upon
" a new remonstrance to be made of the state of
the kingdom ; in which they would present to the
king s view the causes of the present evils and dis
tractions, and propose to him, by way of advice,
" the remedies that in their opinion he was to apply
" to those evils.

" The causes they agreed to be, the evil council The matter

they prepar-

about the king and queen, disposing all occur- ed for it.
rences of state, and abusing the king s authority
and power 1 to the prejudice of religion, the ha-
" zarding the public peace, and strengthening a
" malignant party in the kingdom ; the influence
" which the priests and Jesuits had upon the affec-
" tions and counsels of the queen, and the admission
" of her majesty to intermeddle with the great affairs
" of state, and with the disposing of u places and pre-
" ferments of the highest concernment in the king-
* dom ; whereby those of great power and authority
" were engaged to favour such designs, as were in-
" fused into her majesty by those of that religion :
" the want of a due reformation of the church-go-
" vernment, and liturgy then used ; the want of a

r much] Not in MS. t authority and power] power

5 king s message] king s mes- and authority
sages u of] Not in MS.

186 THE HISTORY

BOOK " preaching ministry, and a competent maintenance
" for them ; the over strict pressing of divers cere-
1 642. ft monies in the liturgy and rubrick, and the pressing
" other ceremonies not enjoined by law ; the votes
" of the popish lords in the house of peers, which
was a hinderance of the reformation, and a protec
tion of the malignant party ; the preferring such
as had adhered to delinquents, and the displeasure
" shewed against those who had been used as wit
nesses in the prosecution of them ; the breaches of
" the privileges of parliament ; and the managing
the great affairs of the realm in cabinet councils by
men unknown, and not publicly trusted ; the pre
ferring men to degrees of honour and offices, and
displacing others, in parliament time, and without
the consent of that council ; and many other par
ticulars ; to which they thought these remedies
most natural, and proper to be applied.

That all privy-counsellors, and others of trust
and employment beyond the seas, should be re-
" moved from their places, and only such admitted,
" as should be recommended to the king by both
" houses of parliament ; and that such counsellors
" and officers, as should be so displaced, and not
again recommended, should not have access to the
courts of the king and queen : that all priests, pa
pists, and ill-affected persons, though professing
" the protestant religion, should be removed from
the queen s person, and from having any office
or employment under her, and that all her serv-
" ants should take such an oath as should be devised
" by parliament ; that he, or she, would not at any
" time, directly or indirectly, by him, or herself, or
" any other, move or petition, or solicit her majesty

ft

M

tt
tt
tt
tt
ft
tt
tf
tt
ft
tt
tt

tt
tf

"

"

tf
tt

U
..

OF THE REBELLION. 187

" in any matter concerning the state and govern- BOOK

" ment of the kingdom, or concerning any favour

" or immunity to be conferred upon any papists, or 1642
" for any honour, preferment, or employment of any
" person whatsoever.

" That the king would remove from about his
" own person, and the queen s, and from both their
" courts, Mr. William Murray, Mr. Porter, Mr. John
" Winter, and Mr. William Crofts, being all persons
" of evil fame, and disaffection x to the public peace
" and prosperity of the kingdom, and instruments of
" jealousy and discontent between the king and the
" parliament : ? that the king would not entertain
* any advice or mediation from the queen in matters

of religion, or concerning the government of any

of his dominions, or for the placing or displacing
" of any great officers, counsellors, ambassadors, or
" agents beyond the seas, or any of his servants at-
" tending his royal person, either in his bed-cham-
" ber, or privy-chamber, or attending the prince, or
" any of the royal issue after they shall attain to the
" age of five years.

" That the queen should take a solemn oath, in
" the presence of both houses of parliament, that she
" would not hereafter give any counsel, or use any
" mediation to the king, concerning the disposing of
" any offices or places above mentioned, or at all in-
" termeddle in any affairs z of state, or government
" of the kingdom : that all officers and counsellors,
" that should be employed in any of the places be-
" fore mentioned, should take a solemn oath, that

x disaffection] disaffected ment, &c.

y the parliament :] the parlia- z any affairs] any of the affairs

66

66

66
66

188 THE HISTORY

BOOK " they had not made use of any power or mediation
L " of the queen, directly or indirectly, for their pre-
42. ferment, or in obtaining any such place or em-
" ployment : that the affairs of the kingdom should
not be concluded or transacted by the advice of
private men, or by any unknown or unsworn
" counsellors, but such matters as were fit for the
" council, by the privy -counsellors only ; and such
as were fit for the parliament, by the parliament
only.

" That no person whatsoever, under the penalty
" of treason, should presume to solicit or further
any proposition for the marriage of any of the
king s children with any prince or person of the
popish religion ; and that no marriage for any of
the king s children should be concluded with any
prince or person whatsoever, without the consent
and advice of both houses of parliament : that
none of the king s children, except the princess
Mary then affianced, should at any time go be
yond the seas without the consent of both houses
of parliament ; and that no person, under penalty
of high treason, should assist, or attend any of his
majesty s children in any such voyage beyond the
" seas, without the like consent of both the houses
of parliament.

" That no mass, or popish service, should be said
in the courts of the king or queen, or in the house
of any subject of the kingdom; and that more
" laws should be made against the papists ; and all
" the priests which were condemned should be forth-
" with executed. That the votes of popish lords
" might be taken away; and a reformation made a of

a made] Not in MS.

66
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66
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66
66
66
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(6

(6
66

OF THE REBELLION. 189

" the church-government and liturgy by the parlia- BOOK

ft

(f

" ment ; and that no penalty should be incurred for .
" omission of any ceremony, till the reformation
" should be perfect : that all delinquents should be
" subject to such penalties and forfeitures as should
" be agreed on, and imposed by bill, in both houses
" of parliament : that such as should be declared in
" parliament to adhere to any delinquents, and had
" thereupon received any preferment from the king,
" should be removed from such preferment ; and
" such as should be declared by both houses to have
" been employed and used against delinquents, and
" had thereupon fallen into the king s displeasure,
" and been put from their places, should be restored
to their places, and his majesty s favour.

That every person, who, being a member of the
" house of commons in that parliament, had been
" accused of any offence against that house, and,
" the accusation depending, had been called up to
" the house of lords in the quality of a peer, should
" by act of parliament be put out of that house ;
" and that hereafter no member of the house of
commons should without their consent be called
up to be a peer, except in case of descent : that
no person, which should hereafter be made a peer
" of the realm, should be admitted to have his seat,
" or vote in the house of peers, without the consent
" of both houses of parliament : that those members
" of the house of commons, who had this parliament
" been called to the house of peers, except in case
" of descent, should be excluded from giving their
" votes in the house of peers, unless both houses of
" parliament should assent thereunto : that no mem-
" her of either house of parliament should be pre-

6(
66
6t

190 THE HISTORY

BOOK " ferred or displaced, sitting the parliament, with-
" out the consent of that house, whereof he was a

66
66

S

* " member : that such of either house as had been
" preferred to any place or office, during the parlia-
" ment, might be put out of those places b .

" That the king would declare the names of those
" who advised him to the accusation of the mem
bers, and all the particulars that ensued upon that
accusation ; and that he would make public de-
" claration and promise in parliament, never more
" to receive information from any man to the preju-
" dice of any member of either house, for any thing
" done in that house, without discovering the name
" of such person who gave him such information."

These, and many other particulars of the like na
ture, were the results of that committee at Grocers
hall ; which I insert here, being the proper time of
their birth, that the world may see what their pro
jections were in the infancy of their visible power
and advantage, though they were not digested into
avowed propositions till long after, as the effects of
riper divisions, and fuller grown jealousies. For by
that time they had shaped and framed c these de
vices, they found the eyes of the people not d so uni
versally shut as they had been ; and that the king s
coming to the house of commons, or the accusing
the members, was not more spoken of than the tu
mults, and the driving the king out of London, and
not suffering him to be quiet at Hampton-court.
Then e the lords begun to take new courage, and
though they were somewhat intoxicated with f the

b places.] offices and places.- e Then] Then that

c framed] formed f intoxicated with capable]

d not] not to be . intoxicated with the matter of

OF THE REBELLION. 191

fears and jealousies concerning their privileges, yet BOOK
they thought trespasses of that kind capable f of re

paration, and so were willing to receive any over
ture from the king to that purpose. It was con
cluded therefore, " the time was not yet ripe to do
" all at once, till more men were engaged," and re
solved, " with more patience to win their ground by
" inches."

The king continued at Windsor to expect the
end, or the issue of this tempest ; and finding that
they hardly would take notice of his former mes
sages, but proceeded in the high ways of destruc
tion, for he had advertisement of their most secret
combinations, resolved to send such a message to
the two houses, whose united reputation was yet
too great to struggle with, as might at least divide
those, who desired the public peace, from the mi
nisters of confusion : and so on the twentieth of Ja
nuary sent this proposition and message to them
in writing, " for preventing those evils, which the The king . s
" manifold distractions threatened to the kingdom : P ro P sitio

and mes-

that they would with all speed fall into a serious sa s e to both
consideration of all those particulars, which they Jan. 20.
held necessary, as well for the upholding and
maintaining the king s just and regal authority,
and the settling his revenue, as for the present
and future establishment of their privileges, the
" free and quiet enjoying of their estates and for-
" tunes, the liberties of their persons, the security
" of the true religion now professed in the church
" of England, and the settling of ceremonies in
" such a manner, as might take away all just of-

privilege, yet that they thought & It was concluded] They
it a trespass capable concluded

66

66
tt
66
66
66

192

THE HISTORY

members.

BOOK "fence; which when they should have digested,

! " and composed into one entire body, that so his

42 - " majesty and themselves might be able to make
" the more clear judgment of them, it should then
" appear, by what his majesty would do, how far he
" had been from intending or designing any of those
" things, which the too great fears and jealousies of
" some persons seemed to apprehend ; and how
" ready he would be to equal and exceed the great-
" est examples of the most indulgent princes in
" their acts of grace and favour to their people ; so
" that, if all the present distractions, which so ap-
" parently threatened the ruin of the kingdom, did
" not, by the blessing of Almighty God, end in a
" happy and blessed accommodation, his majesty
" would then be ready to call heaven and earth,
" God and man, to witness, that it had not failed
" on his part."

This message was received by the lords with
great signs of joy, insomuch that they desired the
commons to join with them in returning their
thanks h to his majesty for his gracious offers, 5 and
to assure him, " that they would forthwith apply
" themselves to those considerations he proposed."
Both However the next day they joined together in a pe
tition the tition to the king, " that he would, in k very few
" days, send in his proofs, and proceed against the
" members he had accused of high treason, or de-
" clare them to be innocent, and himself to be ill
His majes- advised :" to the which he answered, " that he
" was ready to proceed against them ; but, that
" there might be no new mistakes in the way, and

h their thanks] their joint gracious offers,] gracious offer,
thanks k in] within

"

"

OF THE REBELLION. 193

" form of the proceedings, he desired, that it might BOOK
" be first resolved, whether his majesty were bound - .
" in respect of privileges to proceed against them
by impeachment in parliament, or whether he
were at liberty to prefer an indictment at common
law in the usual way, or whether he had his choice
" of either : before that was resolved, his majesty
" thought it unusual and unfit to discover what
" proof he had against them ; but then, he would
" give such speedy direction for prosecution, as
" might put a determination to the business."

This gave them new offence and trouble ; and if
the king s council had had the courage to have in
sisted upon the matter of law, and the lords would
have given them reasonable countenance, they would
have been much puzzled to have procured a resolu
tion, that would have served their purposes to all
parts, and been content 1 to have suspended their
judgment, that so the king might have suspended
his prosecution. For if the judges had been called m
to deliver their opinions in point of law, which they
ought to have been, they could not have avoided
the declaring, that by the known law, which had
been confessed in all times and ages, no privilege of
parliament could extend in the case of treason ; but
that every parliament-man was then in the condi
tion of every other subject, and to be proceeded
against accordingly. In the next place, as they
would never have ventured themselves upon the
house of peers under an impeachment, and thereby
made them their judges, which indeed was incon
gruous, every subject being to be tried for his life

1 content] contented m called] compelled

VOL. II. O

194 THE HISTORY

BOOK per pares, vel n per legem terra > to both which the
. lords and the impeachment were directly opposite ;

a
t(

1642. go they would less have trusted an indictment at
law, and a well chosen sober jury, who had been
bound to follow their evidence of fact, and were not
judges of the law, which was severe in any conspi
racy against the crown, or the persons of king or
queen.

But having shut the doors against any mention
of law, they made no scruple of resolving, and an
swering his majesty, " that they were first to see
the evidence he had to prove the guilt, before
they could give any direction for the manner of
" the prosecution, and proceeding ;" which they
grounded upon a maxim, they had but lately esta
blished, P though never till then heard of; " that no
" member of parliament, for what offence soever,
" could be arrested, or proceeded against, but by
" the consent of that house, of which he was a
" member ; and then, they said, they could not give
or deny their consent by any other measure than
the knowledge of the crime and proof, upon which
" such member stood accused." Which conclusion
had been reasonable, had the premises been just ; *i
whereas the argument was to be inverted, that their
consent was not to be asked, because they had no
cognizance of the crime, of which their members
were accused, nor were judges whether their accusa
tion were valid in law, or sufficiently proved in fact.
It is not to be believed how many sober, well-

n veT\ and fore,

were] was q had the premises been

P lately established,] esta- just;] if the assumption had

blished three or four days be- been just;

(6

.

OF THE REBELLION. 195

minded men, who were real lovers of the peace of BOOK
the kingdom, and had a full submission and reve-

_/

rence to the known laws, r were imposed upon, and
had their understandings confounded, and so their tions touch
wills perverted, by the mere mention of privilege pf lefe oTpar.
parliament ; which, instead of the plain and intelli- lilulient -
gible notion of it, was, s by the dexterity of those
boutefeus, and their under-agents of the law, and
the supine sottishness of the people, rendered t such
a mystery, as could be only explained by themselves,
and extended as far as they found necessary for
their occasions, and was to be acknowledged a good
reason for any thing that no other reason could be
given for. " We are," say they, " and have been
" always confessed, the only judges of our own pri
vileges; and therefore whatsoever we declare to
be our privilege, is such : otherwise whosoever de
termines that it is not so, makes himself judge of
that, whereof the cognizance only belongs to us."
And this sophistical riddle perplexed u many, who,
notwithstanding the desperate consequence they saw
must result from such logic, taking the first proposi
tion for true, which, being rightly understood, is so,
have not been able to wind themselves out of the
labyrinth of the conclusion : I say the proposition
rightly understood : they are the only judges of
their own privileges, that is, upon the breach of
those privileges, which the law hath declared to be
their own, and what punishment is to be inflicted

r and had a full submission telligible notion of it, was,]

and reverence to the known from the most defined, limited

laws,] and had the known laws notion, was,
in full submission and reve- t rendered] was rendered
ren ce, " perplexed] hath perplexed

s instead of the plain and in-

66
66

66

66

O

196 THE HISTORY

BOOK upon such breach. But there can be no privilege,
of which the law doth not take notice, and which is

S42 - not pleadable by, and at law.

The truth and clearness of this will best appear
by instance : If I am arrested by process out of any
court, I am to plead in the court, that I am a mem
ber of parliament, and that, by the privilege of par
liament, my person ought to be free from arrests.
Upon this plea the judge is bound to discharge me ;
and if he does not, he is a criminal, x as for any
other trespass against the law : but the punishing
the person, who hath made this infringement, is not
within his power, but proper to that jurisdiction,
against which the contempt is ; therefore that house,
of which I am a member, upon complaint made of
such an arrest, usually sends for the persons culpa
ble, the party at whose suit the arrest is made, and
the officers which executed it, and commits them to
prison, till they make acknowledgment of their of
fence. But that house never sends, at least never
did till this parliament, any order to the court, out
of which the process issued, to stay the proceedings
at law, because the privilege ought to be legally
pleaded. So, after the dissolution of parliament, if
I am arrested within the days of privilege, upon
any plea y of privilege the court discharges me ; but
then the party that arrests me escapes punishment
till the next parliament, the judge having no more
power to commit the man that sued or arrested me,
than he hath to imprison a man for bringing an ac
tion at law, when he hath no good title ; neither is
he judge of the contempt.

x a criminal,] criminous, ? any plea] my plea

OF THE REBELLION. 197

Again : If a man brings an information, or an ac- BOOK
tion of the case, for words spoken by me, and I

plead, that the words were spoken by me in parlia
ment, when I was a member there ; and that it is
against the privilege of parliament, that I should be
impleaded in any other place, for the words I spoke 2
there ; I ought to be discharged from this action or
information, because this privilege is known, and
pleadable at law : but that judge can neither punish
nor a examine the breach of privilege, nor censure
the contempt. And this is the true and proper
meaning of the old received axiom, that they are
judges only of their own privileges.

And indeed these two, of freedom from arrests
for their persons, (which originally hath not been of
that latitude to make a parliament a sanctuary for
bankrupts, where any person outlawed hath been
declared incapable of being returned thither a mem
ber,) and of liberty of speech, were accounted their
chiefest b privileges of parliament : for their other,
of access to the king, and correspondence by confer
ence with the lords, are rather of the essence of
their councils, than privileges belonging to them c .
But that their being judges of their privileges should
qualify them to make new privileges, or that their
judgment should create them such, as it was a doc
trine never before now heard of, so it could not but
produce all those monstrous effects we have seen ;
when they have assumed to swallow all the rights
and prerogatives d of the crown, the liberties and
lands of the church, the power and jurisdiction of

1 spoke] spake est, if not their only

* nor] or c to them.] to it.

b their chiefest] their chief- d prerogatives] prerogative

o 3

a

it

198 THE HISTORY

BOOK the peers, in a word, the religion, laws, and liberties

! of England, in the bottomless and insatiable gulph

J 642. Q f their own privileges. And e no doubt these inva
sions, on pretence of privilege, will hereafter be
judged to have been 6 the most unparalleled and
capital breach of those privileges, that had ever yet
been attempted.
The lords j n the address, which the house of commons pre-

and com
mons differ pared for acknowledgment of the king s grace and

dressing for favour in his message of the twentieth of January,
they had desired, " that for a ground of their confi-
" dence, and removal of jealousies, that they might

rower. apply themselves to give his majesty satisfaction
in the method he proposed, his majesty would pre
sently put the Tower of London into the hands of
" such a person, as both houses should recommend
" to him :" in which the lords differed with them ;
as well for that the disposal of the custody thereof
was the king s peculiar right and prerogative, as
likewise that his majesty had committed the charge
thereof to sir John Byron, a person of a very an
cient family, an honourable extraction, and f good
fortune, and as unblemished a reputation as any
gentleman of England. The commons, much trou
bled that the lords should again take the courage to
dissent from them in any thing, resolved to press
the king upon their own score, and to get the re
commendation of so great an officer to themselves.

The com- Arid, therefore on the six and twentieth day of

mons by

themselves January, they sent a petition to him in the name of
king to do the knights, citizens, and burgesses, of the commons
pvttu the house assembled in parliament ; in which they took

e And to have been] And digression to be
no doubt will determine this f and] Not in MS.

OF THE REBELLION. 199

notice " of the gracious message from his majesty of BOOK
" the twentieth instant, for which they returned

44
it

" most humble thanks, resolving to take it into

other forts,

" speedy and serious consideration ; and said, to en- and the mi-
" able them with security to discharge their duties
" therein, they had desired the house of peers to
join with them in humbly beseeching his majesty
to raise up unto them a sure ground of safety and
" confidence, by putting the Tower, and other prin-
" cipal forts of the kingdom, and the whole militia
" thereof, into the hands of such persons as his par
liament might confide in, and as should be recom
mended unto him by both houses of parliament ;
that, all fears and jealousies being laid aside, they
might with cheerfulness proceed to such resoiu-
" tions, as they hoped would lay % a sure foundation
of honour, greatness, and glory to his majesty,
and his royal posterity, and of happiness and
prosperity unto his subjects, throughout all his
dominions; wherein the house of peers had re
fused to join with them. But they, notwithstand
ing, no way discouraged, but confiding in his ma
jesty s goodness to his people, did therefore make
" their humble address to him to beseech him, that
" the Tower of London, and other principal forts,
" and the whole militia of the kingdom, might be
" put into the hands of such persons as should be
recommended to him by the house of commons ;
not doubting but they should receive a gracious
and speedy answer to that their humble desire,
" without which, in all human reason, the great
" distractions of the kingdom must needs over-
" whelm it with misery and ruin."

would lay] to lay

o 4

.4
((

66

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44

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200 THE HISTORY

BOOK The king was not troubled at the receipt of this

! petition, glad that, since they could not be brought

42 - to such a degree of reasonableness, as might make
up all breaches, they would be so peremptorily un
reasonable as might probably sever those from them,
who were not so desperate 11 as themselves ; and he
hoped, that when the people should observe that this
grasping of the militia of the kingdom into their own
hands, as an expedient for the composing their high-
grown fears and jealousies, was no more than they
desired the summer before, when sir Arthur Hasle-
rig brought in his bill into the house of commons,
which is before remembered, when that title of fears
and jealousies was not discovered; and when the
peers should observe, that the house of commons in
solently demanded, by their own single suffrage, the
deputing men to places of that vast importance, 1
they would both conclude, that those immodest askers
were not only fit to be denied, but reformed : yet be
lieving that real and just fears might k grow up, to
discountenance and suppress those imaginary ones,
his majesty vouchsafed a very soft and gentle 1 an-
His majes- swer to that petition ; and told them, " that he hoped

ty s an- . . 111

s \ver. f ms gracious message would have produced some
" such overture, as, by offering what was fit on their
" parts to do, and by asking what was proper for
" him to grant, might have begot a mutual confi-
" dence in each other. Concerning the Tower of
" London, that he did not expect, having preferred a
" person of a known fortune, and unquestionable re-

" putation, to that trust, that he should have been

h so desperate] as desperate trust,
1 to places of that vast im- k might] would
portance,] to that prodigious } gentle] dispassionate

OF THE REBELLION. 201

" pressed to remove him without any particular BOOK

" charge objected against him : however, that if, !

" upon due examination, any particular should be
" presented to him, whereby it might appear he was
" mistaken in his good opinion of that gentleman,
" and that he was unfit for the trust committed to
" him, he would make no scruple of discharging him ;
" otherwise, he was obliged, in justice to himself, to
" preserve his own work, lest his favour and good
" opinion might prove a disadvantage and misfor-
" tune to his servants, without any other accusation ;
" of which he hoped his house of commons would be
" so tender, as of a business, wherein his honour was
" much concerned, as, if they found no material ex
ceptions against that person, they would rather en
deavour to satisfy and reform the fears of other
men, than, by complying with them, press his ma
jesty to any thing, which did so much reflect upon
" his honour and justice.

" For the forts and castles of the kingdom, that
" he was resolved they should always be in such
" hands, and only in such, as the parliament might
" safely confide in ; but the nomination of any per-
" sons to those places, being so principal and inse-
" parable a flower of his crown, vested in him, and
" derived to him from his ancestors by the funda-
" mental laws of the kingdom, he would reserve to
" himself; in bestowing whereof, as he would take
" care that no corrupt or sinister courses should pre-
" vail with him, so he was willing to declare, that he
" should not be induced to express that favour so
soon to any persons, as to those whose good de
meanour should be eminent in, or to his parlia
ment. And if he then had, or should at any time,

66
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66

a

66

66
66

202 THE HISTORY

BOOK "by misinformation, confer such a trust upon an un-

! " deserving person, he was, and would always be,

42 - " ready to leave him to the wisdom and justice of

(6

ft
(6
tt

" the parliament. 111

" For the militia of the kingdom, which by the
" law was subject to no command but of his majesty,
" and of authority lawfully derived from him, he
" said, when any particular course for ordering the
" same should be considered, and digested, and pro-
" posed to him, he would return such an answer as
" should be agreeable to his honour, and the safety
" of his people, he being resolved only to deny those
u things, the granting whereof would alter the fun-
" damental laws, and endanger the very foundation,
upon which the public happiness and welfare of
his people was founded and constituted, and which
would nourish a greater and more destructive jea
lousy between the crown and the subject, than any
" of those, which would seem to be taken away by
" such a satisfaction.

S

" He said, he was not willing to doubt, that his
having granted more than ever king had granted,
would persuade them to ask more than ever sub
jects had asked : but if they should acquaint him
with the particular grounds of their doubts and

" their fears, he would very willingly apply remedies
proportionable to those fears ; for he called God to
witness, that the preservation of the public peace,
the law, and the liberty of the subject, was, and
should always be, as much his care as his own life,"

" or the lives of his dearest children.

m the parliament.] his parlia- " his care as his own life,] his
ment. care and industry, as of his life,

tt

it
((

tt

ft
(t
(6

tt

OF THE REBELLION. 203

" And therefore he did conjure them by all the BOOK

66
66
66
66
66
66

" acts of favour they had received from him this par- 1_

" liament, by their hopes of future happiness in his
" majesty, and in one another, by their love of reli-
" gion, and the peace of the kingdom, in which, he
" said, that of Ireland was included, that they would
" not be transported by jealousies, and apprehensions
of possible dangers, to put themselves, or his ma
jesty, into real and present inconveniences ; but
that they would speedily pursue the way proposed
by his former message, which, in human reason,
was the only way to compose the distractions of
the kingdom, and, with God s blessing, would re-
" store a great measure of felicity to king and peo-
" pie."

This answer being not only a denial, but such an
expostulation as would render their counsels of less
reverence to the people, if upon those reasons they
should recede from what they had with that confi
dence, and disdain of the house of peers, demanded
of the king; they therefore resolved to set up their
rest upon that stake, and to go through with it, or
perish in the attempt. And, to this purpose, they
again muster up their friends in the city, and send
their emissaries abroad, to teach the people a new
language. All petitions must now desire, " that the
" kingdom might be put into a posture of defence,
" and nothing else would serve to defend them from
" the many plots and conspiracies against them, or
" secure them from their own fears and jealousies. *
More petitions were presented to the house of com
mons by some citizens of London, in the name of

they therefore] and therefore they

204

THE HISTORY

BOOK those merchants, that usually traded to the mint
with bullion ; who pretended " that their fears and
" jealousies were so great, that they durst not carry
" their bullion to the Tower, being not satisfied with
"the present lieutenant there;? and therefore de-
" sired that he might be removed ;" and more to the
like purpose.^

They had wholly undertaken the managing of the
war in Ireland, and really, for many reasons, neither
did use, nor desired to use, any great expedition in
that work ; yet having with great industry infused
into the minds of the people at least a suspicion that
the court favoured that rebellion, they always made
use of the slowness in those proceedings to the king s
The com- disadvantage. About that time, they had desired

mons desire . n i i

to borrow the city to furnish them with one hundred thousand

thTdty . pounds, for the levying and accommodating forces to

be sent into that kingdom, which gave the common

council, where such loans were always transacted,

opportunity to return their opinions, and advice upon

The com- the general state of affairs. They said, " they could

mon coun
cil s an- " lend no more money by reason of those obstruc-

C YlTOl*

" tions, which threatened the peace of this kingdom,
and had already rendered it 1 even desperate : that
the not passing the bill against 8 pressing of sol
diers, which still depended with the lords, upon

t(

P there;] of the Tower;

Q and more to the like pur
pose.] Thus in MS. : and to that
purpose ; whereas in truth there
was at that time, and from the
time that that gentleman was
lieutenant, more bullion brought
in to be coined, than in the same
time for seven years before; nei
ther was there one man of those

who subscribed that petition,
who ever brought pound weight
of bullion to the mint in his
life. So that these cheats were
too gross to do their business
by, and they were quickly sup
plied with more powerful argu
ments.

r rendered it] rendered that

3 bill against] bill for

it
it

OF THE REBELLION. 205

" those reasons formerly mentioned at large, put BOOK
" many men into fears, that there was some design
" rather to lose that kingdom, and to consume this 1642>
" in the loss of it, than to preserve either the one or
" the other ; and that the rebels were grown so strong
" there, that they made account speedily to extir
pate 1 the British nation in that kingdom ; and that
they intended then, as they already bragged, to
" come over, and make this the seat of the war.

" That the not putting the forts into such hands,
" in whom the parliament might confide, the not set
tling the kingdom in a posture of defence, the not
removing the present lieutenant of the Tower, and
putting such a person into that place, as might be
well approved by the parliament, could not but
" overthrow trading more and more, and make monies
yet more scarce in the city and kingdom. That
the misunderstanding between the king and par
liament, the not vindicating the privileges thereof,
" the charging some members of treason to the de
terring of others from discharging their duties, and
to the destroying the very being of parliaments,
did exceedingly fill the minds of men well affected
to the public, with many fears and discourage
ments; and so disable them from yielding that
" cheerful assistance, which they would be glad to
afford. That by this means u there was such a de
cay of trading, and such scarcity of money, neither
" of which could be cured, till the former evils were
" removed, as it was like, in very short time, to cast
" innumerable multitudes of poor artificers into such
a depth of poverty and extremity, as might enforce

* extirpate] extirpe u this means] means of these

it
if
((
it

it
it
it

it

(6
if

if
it

it
if

if

206 THE HISTORY

BOOK " them upon some dangerous and desperate attempts,
not fit to be expressed, much less to be justified ;

V

1 642. 66 w hich they left to the house speedily to consider,
and prevent. These evils, under which they did
exceedingly labour and languish, they said, did
spring from the employing of ill affected persons
in places of trust and honour in the state, and near

" to the person of the king ; and that they were still
continued by means of the votes of bishops, and
popish lords, in the house of peers. And so having
faithfully represented, they said, the true reasons,
which really enforced them to return that answer,
they craved leave to protest before God and the
high court of parliament, that if any further mi-

" series befell their dear brethren in Ireland, or if

" any mischief should break in upon this kingdom,
to the endangering or disturbing the peace x thereof,
it ought not to be imputed to them, but only to

(f such, who should endeavour to hinder the effectual
and speedy cure of those evils before recited, which
did so much disable and discourage them from do
ing that which the house had desired of them."
Petitions At the same time were presented other petitions,
3- subscribed by many thousand hands, and in the

a

(6
(6

66

66
66
66
66
66
66

66
66

66
66
66

names ^ tne knights, gentlemen, and freeholders,
the militia. and other inhabitants, of the counties of Middlesex,
Essex, and Hertford ; all which severally inveighed
against the malignant party, which rendered the
good endeavours of the house of commons fruitless ;
" desired that the votes of the bishops, and popish
" lords, might be taken out of the house of peers ;
" that they might be put into a posture of defence,

x the peace] Not in MS.

OF THE REBELLION. 207

" and the forts, and castles of the kingdom, into such BOOK
" hands as the parliament might confide in ; that so
" Ireland might be relieved, and this kingdom made
" happy : one of them adding, that the malignant
" party of prelates and papists, and their adherents,
" were inconsistent with the happy success of the
" parliament." These petitions, and the answer of
the common council of London, were thought am
ple materials for a conference with the lords, who
might be thereby remembered of their duty ; and to
that purpose Mr. Pym delivered them at a confer- Mr. Pym
ence, and after they were read, told them, " that petitions to

"

"
"

66
66
66

their lordships might in those petitions hear the J
voice, or rather the cry of all England ; and that ference -
they were not to wonder if the urgency, the ex
tremity of the condition we were all in, did pro
duce some earnestness and vehemency of expres
sion more than ordinary ; the agony, terror, and
perplexity, in which the kingdom laboured, was
" universal, all parts were affected with it ; and
" therefore in those petitions they might observe the
" groans and miserable complaints of all." After a
long discourse of the great and notorious dangers
the kingdom was in, by invasions threatened from
abroad, and insurrections from within, he told them,
" the obstructions, that had brought them into that
" distemper, were principally the obstruction of re-
" formation in matters of religion ; and that there
was never church or state afflicted with more griev
ances of that kind, than we had been ; and that
though they were partly eased and diminished by
" the wisdom of the parliament, yet many still re-
" mained ; and as long as the bishops, and the cor-
" rupt part of the clergy, continued in their power,

66
66
66

208 THE HISTORY

BOOK " there would be little hope of freedom, either from

IV.

! " the sense of those that continued, or the fear of

42f " those which were removed. And of that obstruc-
" tion, he said, he must clear the commons, who were
" in no part guilty of it. Some good bills they had
" already passed, and others were in preparation,
" and might have been passed before that time, if
" they had not found such ill success in the other
" house ?: whatsoever mischief that obstruction should
" produce, they were free from it ; they might have
" their part of the misery, they could have none in
" the guilt or dishonour."

He told them, " there was a great obstruction in
" trade, which brought food and nourishment to the
kingdom ; and then having enlarged himself with
enumeration of the notable benefits the kingdom
received by the fulness of trade, he said, he must
protest, the house of commons had given no cause
to that obstruction : they had eased trade of many
burdens, and heavy taxes, and had freed it from
many hard restraints by patents and monopolies ;
they had sought to put the merchants into security
and confidence in respect of the Tower of London,
that so they might be invited to bring in their
" bullion to the mint, as heretofore they had done ;
they were no way guilty of the troubles, the fears,
and public dangers, which made men withdraw
their stocks, and keep their money by them, to be
ready for such sudden exigents, as, in those great
distractions, they had too great cause to expect.
" There was an obstruction, he said, in the relief
" of Ireland ; but he must declare the commons were

y house] Not in MS.

66

66
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66

66
(6

66

66
66
66
(6
66

OF THE REBELLION. 209

46

6(

" altogether innocent of any neglect therein; they BOOK
" had agreed to the levies of men and money, and, .

^-^ i /* ,4 o

" from time to time, done all for the furtherance
" thereof, though in the midst of many distractions
" and diversions ; but the want 2 of commissions for
" levying men, that was the bill about pressing/ and
" divers other impediments, had been the causes of
that obstruction. Nay, he said, he did not only
find impediments to themselves, but encourage-
" ment to the rebels ; for many of the chief com-
" manders now in the head of the rebels, after both
" houses had stopped the ports against all Irish
" papists, had been suffered to pass, by his majesty s
" immediate warrants, much to the discouragement
" of the lords justices and council there, which were b
" procured by some evil instruments too near his
" royal person, and, they believed, without his know-
" ledge and intention."

He said, " there was an obstruction in providing
" for the defence of the kingdom, that they might be
" enabled to resist a foreign enemy, and to suppress
" all civil insurrections : what endeavour they had
" used to remove them, but hitherto without that
success and concurrence which they expected, and
where their stop had been, and upon what grounds
" they might proclaim their own innocency and faith-
" fulness in that particular, they desired no other wit-
" nesses but their lordships."

He told them, " the evil influences, which had
" caused that distemper, were the evil councils about
" the king, the great power, that a factious and in-

7 want] wants h which were] arid were

:i about pressing,] for pressing,

VOL. II. I

.,
.%

210 THE HISTORY

BOOK " terested party had in parliament by the continu-
" ance of the votes of the bishops, and popish lords,

..

66
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66

42. 66 j n their lordships house, and the taking in of
others out of the house of commons, and, other
wise to increase their strength, the fomenting a
malignant party throughout the kingdom, the jea
lousies between the king and his parliament." And
after many bitter and seditious expressions of the
court, and of all those who were not of his mind, he
concluded, " that he had nothing to propose to their
" lordships by way of request or desire from the
" house of commons ; he doubted not, but their
judgments would tell them what was to be done ;
their consciences, their honours, their interests,
would call upon them for the doing of it. The
commons would be glad to have their help and
concurrence in saving the c kingdom ; but if their
lordships should fail, it should not discourage them
in doing their duty ; and whether the kingdom be
" lost, or saved, they should be sorry, that the story
" of this present parliament should tell posterity,
" that, in so great danger d and extremity, the house
" of commons should be enforced to save the king-
" dom alone, and that the house of peers should have
" no part in the honour of the preservation of it,
" they having so great an interest in the good suc-
" cess of those endeavours, in respect of their great
" estates, and high degrees of nobility."

As soon as this conference was ended, the speaker
of the house of commons was appointed to give Mr.
Pym solemn thanks for his so well performing that
service, and to require him to deliver his speech in

c the] of the d so great danger] so great a danger

..
a

66
66

66

it
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..
ft

OF THE REBELLION.

writing into the house, that it might 6 be printed; BOOK

which was done accordingly, to the end that the peo-

pie might understand, besides those reproaches upon
the king, how negligent the house of peers were
their welfare and security.

The same day and hour after that conference, a
great number of people, in the name of the inhabi
tants of the county of Hertford, presented a petition
to the house of peers ; in which, amongst other par
ticulars, " they complained of the delay of putting
" the kingdom into a posture of war for their better
" defence, and the want of compliance by that ho-
" nourable house with the house of commons in en
tertaining those many good motions, and passing
those necessary bills presented to them from that
" house for the common good. And therefore they
" desired them, for the better removing of all the
causes and springs of their fears and troubles, that
the evil counsellors, and others hindering the pub
lic good, might be taken from his majesty, and the
voting of the bishops, and popish lords, to be re-
" moved f out of that honourable house : and that the
petitioners, who would be ever ready to hazard
their lives and estates for the defence of the king
and parliament, the privileges of the same, and in
" special those noble lords and gentlemen in both
" houses, whose endeavours were for the public good,
" might have liberty to protest against all those, as
" enemies to the kingdom, who refused to join with
" those honourable lords and the house of commons,
" for the putting the kingdom into a way of safety,

66
((
66

66

66
66
66

e that it might] to the end it to be removed] popish lords and
might bishops removed

bishops, and popish lords,

P 2

THE HISTORY

BOOK " under the command of such persons, as the parlia-
" ment should appoint." But neither this, nor any

1 642. O f the o ther proceedings were resented by the house
of peers, though their privileges were not only in
vaded, but the very freedom and liberty of parlia
ment absolutely taken away and destroyed thereby.
When the house of commons found that none of
these extraordinary ways would throughly subdue
the house of lords, but that, though they had very
sturdy champions there, the major part, albeit the
bishops and all the recusant lords were driven from
thence, still opposed them, whereby neither the bill
for the taking away the bishops votes, nor about
pressing, 11 could pass, and that they peremptorily still
refused to join in the business of the militia ; they
found a new way, as unpractised and as unnatural
as any of the former, whereby they would be sure to
have an influence upon the house of peers. It is an
old custom, and privilege of that house, that upon
any solemn debate, whosoever is not satisfied with
the conclusion and judgment of the house, may de
mand leave to enter his protestation, which must be
granted. The original of this was in jealous times,
when men desired, for avoiding the ill consequence
of any act there, that their dissents might appear ;
and was very seldom practised, but when they con
ceived religion, or the crown, trenched upon ; inso
much as you shah 1 not find, in the journals of many
parliaments, one protestation entered; and when
there was any, there is no more in the records, than,
after the resolution of the house is entered, 1 " that

e absolutely] were absolutely entered,] MS. adds : and the
h about pressing,] for press- number of those that were con
ing, tent and not content,

OF THE REBELLION.

" such a lord desired that his protestation or dissent k BOOK

" might be entered ;" and oftentimes when several 1 .

have dissented from the general opinion, not above
one or two m have entered their protestation. 11 But
since this parliament, as they altered this custom
from cases of high concernment to the most trivial
debates, the minor part ordinarily entering their pro
testation, to the end that their opinions might be
taken notice of P, and who were opposite to them,
whereby the good and bad lords were known and
published; so they altered the form, and, instead of
short general entries, caused the matter of debate ^
to be summed up, and thereupon their protestation,
" that they were not to be answerable for any incon-
" veniences or mischiefs, that should befall the com-
" monwealth by reason of this or that resolution."
So that from an act, for the particular indemnity of
the person that made it, it grew sometimes 1 " to be a
reproaching and arraigning the sense of the house
by any factious number that disagreed. Then, be
cause the house of peers is a court of record, they
concluded, " that any man upon any occasion might
" peruse the journals ; s " and so every night the house
of commons could see how the debates had been
managed and carried all the day, and take public
notice, and make use of it accordingly, which they
could not do of those discourses they received from

k his protestation or dissent] this custom] the custom

his protestation, that is, his dis- P of] Not in MS.

sent <i of debate] of the debate

1 several] ten r sometimes] Not in MS.

m or two] Not in MS. 9 the journals ;] their jour-

n their protestation.] his pro- nals ;
testation.

p 3

THE HISTORY

BOOK their confidents ; for supplying whereof this unjusti
fiable method was found out.* For though it is a

court of record, the highest court, and the acts and
judgments of parliament are records, to which the
subject may upon all occasions resort, yet they ought
not to make use of that liberty in order to question n
any words spoken, or acts done, x and remembered
there ; of which if the lords y are not the only judges,
their privileges are much less than the commons in
truth have, and may justly claim.

It happened, about this time, that upon some over
ture in the lords house, which pleased them not, the
violent party there, in a disorderly manner, cried
out, Adjourn, adjourn., being not willing the mat
ter should then come into debate ; others were not
willing that the house should adjourn. The duke of
Richmond, troubled at that tumultuary and indirect
proceeding, said, without directing himself to the
speaker, " if they would adjourn, he wished it might
" be for six months," or words to that effect ; upon
which some of the other party immediately 2 moved,
that the house might not rise, and that the duke
would explain a himself, and answer the making
such a motion, as, being granted, would be de-
" structive to the commonwealth." The duke said,
" he made no motion, but used that expression, to
" shew his dislike of the other motion to adjourn at

* this unjustifiable method journal books, much less ques-

was found out.] this trick was tion

most unjustifiably found out. x acts done,] act done,

11 yet they ought not to make y the lords] they

use of that liberty in order to z immediately] straight

question] yet they have not li- a would explain] might explain
berty to examine or peruse their

.
a

(6

OF THE REBELLION. 215

that time, when there was business in agitation of BOOK

JL V

" great concernment; and that, when he spoke, all-
" men being upon their feet, and out of their places, 1642 *
" he conceived the house had been up." Upon this
he was required to withdraw ; and then they, who
had long looked upon him with great envy and ani
mosity, as the only great person, and officer at
court, who had discountenanced 13 their power, and
their stratagems, and c had with notable courage al
ways opposed their extravagances, and servile com
plying with the house of commons, and submitting
to the tumults, and had with singular constancy pre
served his duty and fidelity to his majesty unvio-
lated, inveighed against that motion, d " as of too
" serious a nature to be made a jest of, and fit to be
" censured as most pernicious to this kingdom, and
" destructive to Ireland ; the war whereof could not
" proceed, if the parliament should have been ad-
" journed for six months, as his lordship had pro-
posed."

On the other side, it was alleged, " that the mo-
" tion had never been made to the house ; and there-
" fore they ought no more to question, or take no-
" tice of it, than of every light or frolic discourse or
" expression, that negligently or casually fell from
" any man ; which would take away all liberty of
" conversation. However, that if it had been seri-
" ously and formally made, it could be no crime, it
" being the necessary liberty and privilege of every
" member, to make any motion he thought in his
" judgment fit, which the house would approve, or
" reject, as it found reasonable. And that, since it

b discountenanced] contemned d that motion,] the motion,
c and] Not in MS.

p 4

THE HISTORY

BOOK " was as much in the house s power to adjourn for
" six months, as for six days, it was as lawful to

1 642. move the one as the other ; of which there could
" not be the least inconvenience, because the house
" would be sure to reject it, if it were not found pro-
" per." After a very fierce and eager debate, in
which much bitterness and virulency was expressed,
it was resolved by the major part, " that the duke
" had committed no offence ;" and so he was as re
gularly absolved as was possible. Hereupon the earls
of Northumberland, Pembroke, Essex, and 6 Hol
land, who thought the duke s affection and duty to
his master a reproach, and his interest prejudicial to
them, with the rest of that party entered their pro
testation ; " that whereas such a motion had been
" made by the duke of Richmond, and upon being
questioned for the same, he had been acquitted by
the major part, they were free from the mischiefs
or inconveniences, which might attend the not pu-
nishing f of an offence tending so much to the pre-
" judice of king or kingdom."

This protestation, by the advice of that night s
meeting, was, the next day, taken notice of in the
house of commons, and the matter itself of the mo
tion enlarged upon/ by all possible and rhetorical
aggravations, concerning the person, and his in
terests, according to the licence of that house, and
that people. It was said, " here was an evil coun-
" sellor, that had discovered himself, and no doubt
" had been the author of many of those evil coun-
" sels, which had brought that trouble upon us ; that

e and] Not in MS. * enlarged upon,] extended,

1 punishing] punishment

..

OF THE REBELLION. 217

" he had received his education in Spain, and had BOOK

IV.

" been made a grandee of that kingdom, and had

..

" been ever since notoriously of that faction ; that
" his sisters were papists, and therefore his affection

was to be questioned in religion ; that, from the

beginning of this parliament, he had been opposite
" to all their proceedings, and was an enemy to re-
" formation ; that he had vehemently opposed the
" attainder of the earl of Strafford ; was a friend to
" bishops ; and now, to prevent any possibility of re-
" formation, which could not be effected without the
" concurrence of the two houses, had h desperately
" moved in the house of peers, where he had a great
" faction, that it would adjourn for six months ; in
" which time the malignant party, of which he might
" well be thought the head, and had the greatest in-
" fluence upon the king s affections, would prevail
" so far, that all future hopes would be rendered
" desperate, and the kingdom of Ireland be utterly
" lost, and possessed by the papists : that they were
" therefore to take this opportunity, which God had
" given them, to remove so malignant and danger-
" ous a person from the king, and one so suspected/
" from so important a charge as the cinque ports,
" of which the duke was lord warden, and to send
" to the lords to join with them in a desire to the
" king to that purpose."

On the other side, it was objected, that " whilst
" they were so solicitous for k their own privileges,
" and sensible of the breach and violation of them,

they could not more justify those, who had been

h had] and had pected a one,

one so suspected,] so sus- k for] of

..

218 THE HISTORY

BOOK " the advisers of such breaches, than by offering the
" like trespass to the privileges of the peers : that

6t
66
it
(t

1642. the life of that council depended on 1 the liberty of
" speech ; and where there were so different minds,
" there must be different expressions ; and if one
" house might take notice what the other house
" said, or did, within those walls, the lords would as
" well question their members, as they did now one
" of the lords ; which would take away all freedom
" of debate : that they could not examine the cir-
" cumstances, which attended that motion, if any
" such was made ; and therefore could not so much
" as, in their private understandings, make a reason
able judgment of it ; but that they were naturally
to presume the circumstances were such, as took
away the offence of the motion ; for that the major
part of that house where the words were spoken,
" and at the time when they were spoken, had, upon
" solemn debate, concluded, that there was no crime
" in them ; and that they were not only the proper,
" but the only judges in that case : and if the com-
" mons should intermeddle therewith, it was no
" otherwise, than, by the strength of the major part
" of the house of commons, to make the minor part
" of lords superior to the major part of that house ;
" which they would not suffer to be offered to them-
" selves."

It was alleged, " That the duke was a person of
" great honour and integrity, and of so unblemished
" a fame, that in all the discovery of the court-
" offences, there was not any reflection upon him.
" That his education had been, according to the best

1 depended on] depended upon

OF THE REBELLION. 219

" rules of the greatest persons, for some years be- BOOK

" yond the seas ; and that, having spent more time

" in France and Italy, he visited Spain ; where his
" great quality being known, and no question as a
" compliment to this kingdom, with which it was
" then in strait alliance and confederacy, that king
" had conferred the honour of grandee m upon him ;
" which was of no other advantage or signification
" to him, than to be covered in the presence of that
" king, as the principal subjects there are. That his
" affection to the protestant religion was unquestion-
" able, and very eminent ; and though his sisters,
" who had been bred under their mother, were Ro-
" man n catholics, yet his brothers, of whose educa-
" tion he had taken the sole care, were very good
" protestants.

" That his opinions in parliament had been very
" avowed, and were to be presumed to be according
to his conscience, in the profession of which he was
so public, that there was reason to believe he used
no ill arts in private ; since he had the courage
to do that aloud, which he had reason to believe
would displease many. That it would be a great
prejudice and blemish to their counsels and dis-
" coveries, if after so long discourse of a malignant
" party, and evil counsellors, of which they had
" never yet named any, they should first brand this
" lord with that imputation upon such a ground and
" occasion, as must include all those lords who had
" absolved him, which was the major part of the
" lords. In a word, that it would look as if they

m grandee] a grandee include] conclude

11 Roman] Not in MS.

..

(6
(t

220 THE HISTORY

BOOK " had devised those new words to make men afraid,

IV.

: and kept them in reserve to apply to all those, with
42. a whom they were angry."

But notwithstanding all this, and all the reason
that could be spoken on that part, and that there
could be none on the other, after a debate of very
many hours, till after nine of the clock at night, (the
latest that ever was in the? parliament, but that of
the remonstrance,) in which it was evident, that they
meant, as far as in them lay, to confound all those,
whom they could not convert ; it was resolved by
the majority of voices, not half of the house being
present at that unseasonable time of the debate,
" that they should accuse the duke of Richmond to
" the lords to be one of the malignant party, and an
" evil counsellor to his majesty ; and to desire them
" to join in a request to the king, that he might be
" removed from any office or employment about his
" person ;" which was solemnly recommended 1 to the
lords accordingly, and by them so far received, that
though the desire was rejected, no dislike or disap
probation of the matter or the manner was in the
least r discovered, or insisted on.

All things thus prepared, and so many lords driven
and kept from the house, besides the bishops, and
they that stayed there, by this last instance, in
structed how to carry themselves, at least how they
provoked the good lords to protest, they resolved
once more to try whether the house of peers would
be induced to join in the business of the militia,
which they had twice refused ; and to that purpose,

the] Not in MS. r in the least] in the least

recommended] commended manner

OF THE REBELLION.

their old friends of the city in the same numbers BOOK
flocked to Westminster, but under the new, re

ceived, and allowed style of petitioners ; but as un- ] 642 -
like petitioners to any of those lords or commons,
whom they understood to be malignant, as the other
tumults had been. From these herds there were
two notable petitions delivered to the house of com
mons, the one from the porters, their number, as
they said, consisting of fifteen thousand ; the other
under the title of many thousands of poor people in
and about the city of London. The porters, with
great eloquence, confessed " the unexpressible pains
" that honourable house had taken for the good of
" church and state ; which deserved to be recorded
" to their eternal fame, though the effects of those
" unwearied endeavours were not produced, by
" reason of the prevalence of that adverse, malig-
" nant, bloodsucking, rebellious party, by the power
of which the privileges of parliament, and the li
berty of the subject was trampled upon, the rebel-
" lion in Ireland increased, and all succours and
" relief for that kingdom obstructed." They said,
" That trade had been long languishing, but was now
dead by the fears, jealousies, and distractions they
lay under, for want of fortification of the cinque
ports, which was a great encouragement to the pa
pists to make insurrections, 8 and did much animate
a foreign power to invade us : that by the dead-
ness of trade they did want employment in such a
measure, as did make their lives very uncomfort-
" able ; therefore their request was, that that ex-
" treme necessity of theirs might be taken into seri-

s insurrections,] insurrection,

(6

(i

(t

it
66
it

222 THE HISTORY

BOOK " ous consideration, and that the honourable house
of commons would fall upon the speediest course

6t
((

(6

et

(6

(6

a
a

66

66

1642. f or abating and quelling the pride, outrage, and in-
" solency of the adverse party at home ; that the
land might be secured by fortifying the cinque
ports, and putting the people into a posture of de-
" fence, that all their fears, or as many as could,
might be removed, and that trade might be again
set up and opened, that * their wants might be in
some measure supplied. They further desired that
justice might be done upon offenders, according as
the atrocity of their crimes had deserved ; for if
those things were any longer suspended, they
" should be forced to extremities not fit to be named,
and to make good that saying, that necessity hath
no law. They said they had nothing to lose but
" their lives, and those they would willingly expose
" to the utmost peril, in defence of the house of com-
" mons, according to their protestation," &c.

The other was a petition in the names of many
thousands of poor people, and brought by a multi
tude u of such, who seemed prepared for any exploit.
I have thought fit, for the rareness of it, and the
rare effect it produced, to insert that petition in
terms as it was presented, thus.

To the honourable the house of commons now as
sembled in parliament.

" The humble petition of many thousands of poor
" people in and about the city of London,

" Humbly sheweth, that your petitioners have
" lain a long time under great pressures, and griev-

* that] that so " a multitude] a great multitude

OF THE REBELLION. 223

" ances both in liberties and consciences, as hath BOOK
been largely, and sundry times, shewed and de-

44

<4

a

" clared, by several petitions exhibited to this ho-
" nourable assembly both by the citizens and appren-
" tices of the city of London, and divers counties
" and parts of this kingdom, from which we hoped
" long ere this, by your pious care, to have been de-
" livered.

" But now we, who are of the meanest rank and
quality, being touched with penury, are very sen
sible of the approaching storms of ruin, which hang
" over our heads, and threaten to overwhelm us, by
" reason of the sad distractions occasioned chiefly
and originally, as your petitioners humbly conceive,
by the prevalency of the bishops, and the popish
lords, and others of that malignant faction ; who
" make abortive all good motions, which tend to the
peace and tranquillity of this kingdom of England,
and have hitherto hindered the sending relief to
our brethren in Ireland, although they lie welter-
" ing in blood ; which hath given such head to the
" adversaries, that we justly fear the like calamities
" inevitably to befall us here, when they have vent-
" ed their rage and malice there.

" All which occasions so great a decay and stop
" of trade, that your petitioners are utterly impo-
" verished, and our miseries are grown irisupporta-
" ble, we having already spent all that little means,
" which we had formerly, by God s blessing, and our
" great labour, obtained ; and many of us have not,
" nor cannot tell where to get, bread to sustain our-
" selves and families ; and others of us are almost ar-
" rived at the same port of calamity ; so that unless
" some speedy remedy be taken for the removal of

66
66
66

66

44

THE HISTORY

BOOK "all such obstructions, which hinder the happy pro-
" gress of your great endeavours, your petitioners

66

66

it

((

66
66
66
66
66
66
66

42 " shall not rest in quietness, but shall be forced to
lay hold on the next remedy which is at hand, to
remove the disturbers of our peace ; want and ne
cessity breaking the bounds of modesty : and ra-
ther than your petitioners will suffer themselves,
and their families, to perish through hunger and
necessity, though hitherto patiently groaned under,
" they cannot leave any means unessayed for their
" relief.

The cry therefore of the poor and needy, your
poor petitioners, is, that such persons, who are the
obstacles of our peace, and hinderers of the happy
proceedings of this parliament, and the enjoyment
of the looked for purity of religion, safety of our
" lives, and return of our welfares, may be forthwith
publicly declared, to the end they may be made
" manifest ; the removal of whom we humbly con-
" ceive will be a remedy to cure our miseries, and
put a period to these distractions : and that those
noble worthies of the house of peers, who concur
with your happy votes, x may be earnestly desired
to join with this honourable house, and to sit and
" vote as one entire body ; which we hope will re-
" move from us our destructive fears, and prevent
that, which apprehension will make the wisest and
peaceablest men to put into execution, y
" For the Lord s sake hear us, and let our religion,
" lives, and welfares be precious in your sight, that
" the loins of the poor may bless you, and pray," &c.

x with your happy votes,] y into execution] in execu-
with you in your happy votes, tion.

66
66
66

66

66
66

OF THE REBELLION.

After this scandalous and extravagant 7 petition BOOK

delivered, the house, according to its gracious cus-

torn, ordered thanks to be given for their great kind
ness. To a the which when it was b delivered by the
speaker, who told them that the house was in consi
deration of those things, whereof they complained,
some of that rabble, no doubt as they had been
taught, replied, " that they never doubted the house
" of commons, but they heard all stuck in the lords
" house, and they desired to know the names of those
" peers, who hindered the agreement between the
" good lords and the commons :" which they pressed
with unheard of rudeness and importunity, and with
a seeming unwillingness withdrew, whilst the house
took the matter into further consideration. c

Yet notwithstanding this provocation, and that it
was urged by many members, some of d which had
been assaulted and ill intreated by that rabble in
their passage to the house, " that the countenancing
" such licentious persons and proceedings would be
" a great blemish to their counsels," they were again
called in ; and told, " that the house of commons
" had endeavoured, and would continue those endea
vours for their relief; and they doubted not, when
they had delivered their petition, and what they
" had said, to the lords, which they would presently
" do, the causes of their evils would be found out,
" and some speedy course resolved upon for their re-
" lief; and therefore desired them with patience to
" attend a further answer." And accordingly that
petition was solemnly read, and delivered to the

7 - scandalous and extravagant] b it was] Not in MS.
horrible c consideration.] consultation.

a To] Not in MS. i of] Not in MS.

VOL. II. Q

..
..

THE HISTORY

BOOK lords at a conference; and the conference no sooner
ended, than Mr. Hollis, one of those five whom the

king had accused a month before of high treason,
was sent to the lords in a message to desire them,
" that they would join with the house of commons in
" their desire to the king about the militia ;" to
which he added, " that if that desire of the house
" of commons was not assented to, he desired those
" lords who were willing to concur, would find some
" means to make themselves known, that it might
" be known who were against them, and they might
" make it known to those that sent them."

After which motion and message, the lords again
resumed the debate ; which the earl of Northumber
land begun with a profession, " that whosoever re-
" fused, in that particular, to join with the house of
" commons, were, in his opinion, enemies to the
" commonwealth ;" when the major part of that
house had twice before refused to concur with them
in it. Yet when his lordship was questioned for that
unparliamentary language, all the other lords of that
faction joined with him ; and declared, " that it was
" their opinion e likewise :" the rabble being at the
door to execute whatever they were directed : so
that many lords, out of a just indignation to see
their honours and their liberties sacrificed to the peo
ple by themselves ; others, out of real fear of being
murdered, if they should, in that conjuncture of
time, insist on their former resolutions, withdrawing
The lords themselves ; the major part of those, who stayed,
bin touch- concluded to join with the house of commons in their

ine the mi- i .-, i*i* f

desire concerning the militia. r

6 opinion] opinions militia.] their desire of the mi-

their desire concerning the litia.

OF THE REBELLION. 227

Within two days after this agreement and sub- BOOK
mission of the lords, another petition was presented

JU -*.

to the commons, in the name of the inhabitants of
the county of Surrey, by a multitude of people, who
were, or pretended to be, of that county, and sub
scribed by above two thousand hands. Their peti
tion was of the ordinary strain, full of devotion to
the house of commons, and offering to execute all
their commands ; but with it they presented likewise
a petition, which they intended to present to the
lords, if they approved it, and was subscribed by
above two thousand hands ; by which it may appear
where that petition was drawn, and when, however
the hands were procured. The petition to the lords
took notice "of their happy concurrence with the
" house of commons in settling the militia, and forts,
" in such hands as the commonwealth might confide
" in, and the kingdom in such a posture as might be

for its defence and safeguard : yet they complained

of the miserable condition of Ireland, which, they
" said, by the delay it had found amongst their lord-
" ships, notwithstanding the pressing endeavours of
" the house of commons, together with many of
" their lordships, had been exposed to the inhuman
" cruelties of their merciless enemies. With like
" grief they apprehended the distractions of this na-
" tion, the composure of which & was altogether
" hopeless, so long as the king s throne was sur-
" rounded with evil counsellors, and so long as the

votes of popish lords and bishops were continued

in their house.

" Wherefore they did humbly pray, and beseech

g which] which, they said,
Q 2

a
a

228 THE HISTORY

BOOK " their lordships, that they would go on in a con-
- . " stant union with the house of commons, in provid-
" ing for the kingdom s safety ; that all evil counsel-
" lors might be found out, Ireland relieved ; that the
" votes of the popish lords and bishops might be
" speedily removed ; that so the peace of the king-
" dom might be established, the privileges of parlia-
" ment vindicated, and the purity of religion settled
" and preserved. And, they said, they should be in
" duty obliged to defend, and maintain with their
" lives and estates, their lordships, as far as h they
" should be united with the honourable house of com-
" mons, in all their just and pious proceedings."

Which petition was read in the house of commons,

and approved, and the petitioners thanked for their

kind expressions therein ; and then it was delivered

and the by them at the bar of the house of peers ; who, with-

ing the in a day or two, passed both the bill for taking away

votesfaod the bishops votes, and that concerning pressing, l

pressing. w hi c h h ac [ i ani so long desperate, whilst the lords

Both came, and sat with freedom in the house. And
these marvellous things done, they again adjourn

do* k^ Bouses into London, to lay the scene for future

action.

Both Upon the second day k of February, some mem-

titioTtST bers, appointed by both houses, attended his majesty

ufhin at Windsor with their petition, "that he would

the Tower, forthwith put the Tower of London, and all other

forts, and

miutia, &c. " forts, and the whole militia of the kingdom, into
" the hands of such persons, as should be recom-
" mended unto his majesty by both houses of parlia-
" ment ; which, they assured themselves, would be a

h as far as] so far as i n g] an d for pressing,

and that concerning press- k day] Not in MS.

OF THE REBELLION. 229

" hopeful entrance into those courses, which, through BOOK
" God s blessing, should be effectual for the remov-

IV.

if
(6
(6

ing all diffidence, and misapprehension between 1
" his majesty and his people ; and for establishing
" and enlarging the honour, greatness, and power of
" his majesty, and royal posterity ; and for the re-
" storing and confirming the peace and happiness of
" his loyal subjects in all his dominions. And to
" that their most necessary petition, they said, they
" did, in all humility, expect his speedy and gracious
" answer, the great distractions, and distempers of
" the kingdom, not admitting any delay."

At the same time they likewise presented another
petition to him, concerning the accused members ;
in which they besought him "to give directions,
that the parliament 111 might be informed, before
Friday next, (which was within two days,) what
proof there was against them, that accordingly
" they might be called to a legal trial ; it being the
" undoubted right and privilege of parliament, that
" no member of parliament could be proceeded
" against, without the consent of parliament."

His majesty now found that these persons could
not be compounded with, and that their purpose w r as,
by degrees, to get so much power into their hands,
that they need not care for what was left in his ; and
that the lords were in no degree to be relied upon n
to maintain their own privileges, much less to defend
his rights ; and that they had the power generally
to impose upon the people s understanding, P con-

1 between] betwixt generally to impose] to im-

m the parliament] his parlia- pose generally

ment p understanding,] understand-

n relied upon] relied on ings,

230 THE HISTORY

BOOK trary to their own senses, and to persuade them,
_ " that they were in danger to be invaded by foreign
42 * " enemies," when the king was not only in peace
with all Christian princes, but almost all other na
tions so embroiled in war, that they all desired the
friendship and assistance of England ; none was in
case or condition to disturb it : " and that there was
" a decay and deadness of trade, and want and po-
" verty growing upon the whole kingdom," when no
man living had ever remembered the like plenty over
the whole land, and trade was at that height, that
the like had never been known.

The king He resolved therefore to remove himself to a
remove far- greater distance from London, where the fears and
jealousies grew ; and constantly to deny to pass any
act, that should be recommended to him from the
two houses, except what might concern Ireland, till
he might have a full prospect of all they intended to
demand, and an equal assurance how far they in
tended to gratify him for all his condescensions;
which resolution was very parliamentary, it having
been rarely known, till this present parliament, that
the king consented to any acts, till the determination
of the session.

The truth is, when his majesty found the extreme
ill success of the accusation against the members,
and that the tumults, and the petitioners, were no
other than an army at the disposal of those, in whom
he had no reason to put his confidence, and that all
such, who expressed any eminent zeal to his service,
would be taken from him under the style of delin
quents and malignants, he resolved that the queen,
who was very full of fears, should go to Portsmouth,
colonel Goring, who was governor thereof, having

OF THE REBELLION. 231

X

found means to make good impressions again in their BOOK

majesties of his fidelity ; and that himself would go

to Hull, where his magazine of cannon, arms, and
ammunition <i was ; and that being secured in those
strong places, whither they who wished him well
might resort, and be protected, he would sit still, till
they who were over-active would come to reason.

But this, though resolved with so much secrecy,
that it was not communicated to three persons, (as
I have been since assured by those who knew,) whe
ther by the treachery of one of those few, or by the
curiosity of others, (which I rather believe,) who
found means to overhear all private discourses, (as
both bedchambers were inhabited, and every corner
possessed, by diligent spies upon their master and
mistress,) was imparted to those, who procured those
orders before mentioned for Hull and Portsmouth ;
by reason whereof, and the advice, and promise of
many lords, "that they would firmly unite them-
" selves for the just support of the regal power,"
with the extreme apprehension the queen had of
danger, that counsel was laid aside. That which
wrought so much upon the queen s fears, besides the
general observation how the king was betrayed, and
how his rights and power were every day wrested
from him, was an advertisement, that she had re
ceived, of a design in the prevalent party, to have
accused her majesty of high treason ; of which, with
out doubt, there had been some discourse in their
most private cabals, and, I am persuaded, was im
parted to her upon design, and by connivance, (for
there were some incorporated into that faction, who

q ammunition] munition
Q, 4

232 THE HISTORY

BOOK exactly knew her nature, passions, and infirmities,)

! that the disdain of it might transport her to some-

what, which might give them advantage. And
shortly after that discovery to her majesty, those per
sons before mentioned were accused of high treason ;
yet afterwards, when they had received the full
fruits, they found means to complain, " as a great ar-
" gument of the malignity of those persons of near-
" ness to both their majesties, that an infusion had
" been made to the queen, that there was a purpose
" of accusing her of high treason," and solemnly by
message " besought her to discover,, who had done
u that malicious office ;" when they very well knew
who it was, and for whose sake the queen was
brought to return answer., " that she had heard such
" a discourse, but took no notice of it, as never be-
" lieving it :" whereas, if she could r have been com
pelled to have discovered, how they knew that the
queen had been informed, all the secret would have
appeared ; the same person first telling her what was
in projection against her, and then returning intelli
gence of any expressions and distemper, he might
easily observe upon the apprehension which the other
begot. s

But both king and queen were then upon that
disadvantage, that all their words and actions, which
were the pure results of their own reasons and judg
ments upon what they saw every day occurred, were
called the effects of evil counsels, that so they might
take the liberty to reproach them with the more li
cence ; whilst what they received by the most secret
perjury of bedchamber spies, or what they forged

r she could] they could s begot.] begat.

OF THE REBELLION. 233

^

themselves, was urged as the result 1 of common BOOK
fame, or the effects of their fears and jealousies, to

the rancour of which the most precious balm of the
crown must be applied. And therefore it was con
cluded, " that the queen should take the opportunity
" of her daughter the princess Mary s journey into
" Holland," (who had been before married to the
young prince of Orange, and was now solemnly de
sired by the States ambassadors to come into that
country,) "to transport herself into Holland, pa-
" tiently to expect an amendment of the affairs of
" England ; and that the king should retire into the
" north, and reside at York, and deny all particu-
" lars, till the whole alteration should be framed."
But the first resolution concerning the queen was
only published ; the other, concerning the king, com
municated to very few ; both their majesties being
reduced to so great wants, that the queen was com
pelled to coin, or sell, her chamber plate, for the
supply of her most necessary occasions, there being
no money in the exchequer, or in the power of the
ministers of the revenue ; the officers u of the cus
toms, out of which the allowance for the weekly sup
port of their majesties household had been made,
being enjoined by the house of commons, not to issue
out any money, without their particular consent and
approbation.

It was evident now that the accused members
were too mighty for the king, or the law, and that
they would admit no other judges of their guilt,
than themselves, nor rules of proceeding, than the
plurality of their own voices : and therefore the

1 result] resultants ll the officers] and the officers

234 THE HISTORY

BOOK king resolved to give over any more thought of that

business. And so to that petition he answered,

" that as he once conceived that he had ground
" enough to accuse them, so now he found as good
" cause wholly to wave x any prosecution of them."
The other petition concerning the militia gave him
more trouble ; for though he was resolved in no de
gree to consent to it, yet he was willing, till all
things could be ready for the queen s journey, and
so for his own remove, rather y to delay it, than
deny it ; lest the same army of petitioners might
come to Windsor to persuade him ; which had con
verted, or prevailed over the house of peers. And
he was persuaded by some, who thought they knew
the temper of both houses, that though they were
now united in the matter, they might easily be di
vided upon the circumstances ; and that they would
not be of one mind in the election of the persons to
be confided in. So that 2 to that petition his ma
jesty returned this answer :

The king s " That he was willing to apply a remedy not
the petition " on ty to their dangers, but to their doubts and
" fears 5 and therefore, that when he should know
" the extent of power, which was intended to be
" established in those persons, whom they desired
" to be commanders of the militia in the several
" counties, and likewise to what time it should be
" limited, that no power should be executed by a his
" majesty alone without the advice of parliament,
" then he would declare, that he would be content
" to put in all the forts, and over the militia, such
" persons as both houses of parliament should either

* wave] desert z that] Not in MS.

y rather] Not in MS. * by] to

OF THE REBELLION. 235

" approve, or recommend to him; so that they be- BOOK
" fore declared the names of the persons, whom

" they would approve or recommend, and so that no
" persons should be named by them, against whom
" his majesty should have just and unquestionable
" exception."

Which answer, though it was not a consent, gave
them notable encouragement, and exceedingly united
the vulgar minds to them ; who concurred only with
them, as they saw them like to prevail in what they
went about. And there was no danger of any dis
union in the nomination of persons ; because, though
they should at first admit such into the number,
whom they could not sufficiently trust, nor plausibly
except against, yet when they were once possessed
of the power of nomination, they might easily weed
out those, which were not agreeable to the soil they
were planted in. However this would take up
some time ; and therefore to keep the king s inclina
tion to gratify them (for so they would understand
it) warm, the same day they received this answer,
they returned a message of thanks ; and desired his The house
majesty, " whilst they were preparing all other par- monTre-
" ticulars according to his command, that he would *

" confer the custody of the Tower upon sir John thanl > s .

and desire

" Coniers," whom they had lately recommended to sir joim
his majesty, b as a person of great merit. With may be

which being surprised, and desired likewise by
John Byron to free him from the agony and vexa- the Tower>
tion of that place, which had exposed his person
and reputation to the rage and fury of the people,

b whom they had lately re- whom his majesty had lately
commended to his majesty,] recommended to them,

236 THE HISTORY

BOOK and compelled him to submit to such reproaches, as
a generous spirit could not brook without much re-

2 * gret ; for he had upon frivolous surmises been sent
for as a delinquent, and been brought upon his
The king knees at the bar of both houses ; his majesty con-
it, sen ted to that alteration, and made sir John Coniers
lieutenant of the Tower. Which was such an in
stance of his yielding upon importunity, that from
that time they thought themselves even possessed of
the whole militia of the kingdom.

Whilst all diligence was used in making prepara
tion for the queen s journey, to divert their councils
from other inquisition, c the king (who had received
so many sharp expostulations for breach of privi
leges, and other attempts upon their reputations)
resolved, upon the publication of a bold scandal
upon himself by one of their principal members, to
expostulate with them, and try what satisfaction
and reparation they were prepared to give him, d
who exacted so much from him. All opportunities
had been taken in public, and all licence given to
private and clandestine forgeries to lay odious or
envious imputation on the king and queen, in the
business of Ireland ; and to impute the progress and
success of that rebellion to a connivance, if not a
countenance, from the court : the not levying men,
and e sending provisions, imputed to his majesty;
though he had, as is before observed, offered to levy
ten thousand volunteers for that service, and had
consented cheerfully to every proposition, that had
been made with the least reference to the assistance

c inquisition,] inquisitions, e and] and not

d give him,] give to him,

OF THE REBELLION. 237

of that kingdom. Indeed he was so alarmed f with BOOK
those perpetual odious suggestions, s which he per-

ceived wrought very pernicious effects in the minds
of the people, that he was compelled to consent to
many things contrary to his judgment and kingly
policy, to prevent greater inconveniences by those
scandals, which he saw were prepared for him. So
when several propositions were recommended to
him by the two houses concerning those supplies,
which were to be sent out of Scotland, amongst the
rest, there was one, " that the Scots should have
" the command and keeping of the town and castle
" of Carrickfergus ; and if any regiments, or troops,
" in that province should join with them, that they
" should receive orders from the commander of the
" Scottish h forces." The king consented to all the
rest, though there were matters unreasonable enough
in favour of that nation ; but, " that," he said, " he
" could not approve of;" and wished " the houses
" to take that proposition again into consideration,^
" as a business of very great importance, which he
" doubted might prove prejudicial to the crown of
" England, and the service intended." And he said,
" if the houses desired it, he would be willing to
" speak with the Scottish 1 commissioners, to see
" what satisfaction he could give them therein."
This answer was no sooner read, but both houses
voted, " that whosoever gave the king advice, or
" counsel, to send that answer, was an enemy to the
" king and kingdom," and a committee appointed
to find out who those evil counsellors were. So

f alarmed] alarumed h Scottish] Scotch

g suggestions,] impositions, Scottish] Scotch

238 THE HISTORY

BOOK that, the Scottish k commissioners pressing him,
" that, being their native king, he would not pub-

1642. i^ a j ess trust and confidence in them, than
" their neighbour nation had done," his majesty
thought fit to consent to the whole, as the two
houses had advised.

Then, in the carrying on the war, they allowed
his majesty so little power, that when he recom
mended some officers of prime quality, reputation,
and experience in the war, to the lord lieutenant to
be employed in that service, the house of commons
by express order, and after they knew that his ma
jesty had recommended them, rejected them, be
cause they were taken notice to have attended upon
the king at Whitehall, as a guard to his person.
And, after all this, they took all occasions to asperse
him with any omissions that were in that great
work ; as Mr. Pym had more particularly done, in
that speech before taken notice of, at the confer
ence with the lords, upon the delivery of those sedi
tious petitions ; of which the king could not take
notice, lest he should be again reproached with
breach of privilege.

But when that speech was printed by order of
the house, the king thought he had an opportunity
to require a vindication ; and therefore, in a letter
The king to the speaker, he sent this message : " That he
had taken notice of a speech, pretended by the

for an ex- title to have been Delivered by Mr. Pym in a con-

pression in j j

a printed ference, and printed by order of the house of corn-
speech of . ,

Mr. Pym s. " mons ; in which it was affirmed, that since the

k Scottish] Scotch

(S

a

OF THE REBELLION. 239

" stop upon the ports against all Irish papists of BOOK
" both houses, l many of the chief commanders, now IV
" in the head of the rebels, have been suffered to 1642
" pass by his majesty s immediate warrant : and be-
" ing certain of having used extreme caution in the
" granting of passports into Ireland, he conceived,
either that paper not to have been so delivered,
and printed, as is pretended; or that house to
" have received some misinformation. And there-
" fore his majesty desired to know, whether that
" speech had been so delivered and printed ; and if
it had, that the house would review, upon what
information that particular had been grounded,
" that either it might be found upon reexamination
false, and so both the house, and his majesty, to
have been injured by it ; or that his majesty might
know, by what means, and by whose fault, his au
thority had been so highly abused, as to be made
to conduce to the assistance of that rebellion,
which he so much detested and abhorred; and
" that he might see himself fully vindicated from
" all reflections of the least suspicion of that kind."

It was some time before they would vouchsafe The house
any answer to the king upon this message ; but at
last they returned, " that the speech, mentioned in
" that message, was printed by their order, and
" what was therein delivered was agreeable to the
" sense of the house : that they had received divers
" advertisements concerning the several persons,
" Irish papists, and others, who had obtained his
" majesty s immediate warrant for their passing
" into Ireland, since the order of restraint of both

1 of both houses,] by both houses,

a

ft

a

a
tt
tt
tt

answer.

240 THE HISTORY

BOOK "houses; some of which, as they had been in-
" formed, since their coming into Ireland, had

42 - " joined with the rebels, and been commanders
" amongst them ; and some others had been stayed,
" and were yet in safe custody."

Then they named some, to whom licences had
been granted before the order of restraint, and were
still in England ; and said, " there were others,
" whose names they had not yet received, but
" doubted not, upon examination, they would be
" discovered."

The king s To this the king replied, and told them, " that as
" he had expressed a great desire to give them all
" possible satisfaction to all their just requests, and
" a readiness to rectify, or retract, any thing done
" by himself, which might seem to intrench m upon
" their privileges by any mistake of his ; so he hoped,
" they would be ready, upon all occasions, to mani-
" fest an equal tenderness and regard of his honour,
" and reputation with his subjects : and therefore
" he expected they should review his message con-
" cerning Mr. Pym s speech, and their answer, with
" which he could not rest satisfied. He said, he
" was most assured that no person, who had com-
" mand in the head of the rebels, had passed by his
" warrant, or privity. And then, he desired them
" to consider, whether such a general information,
" and advertisement, as they implied in their an-
" swer, without the name of any particular person,
" was a n ground enough for such a direct and posi-
" tive affirmation, as was made in that speech ;
" which, in respect of the place and person, and be-

V

m intrench] trench n a] Not in MS.

OF THE REBELLION.

" ing now acknowledged to be according to the BOOK

66
66
66
66

" sense of the house, was of that authority, that his .
" majesty might suffer in the affections of many of 1 642<
" his good subjects, and fall under a possible con-
" struction, considering many scandalous pamphlets
" to such a purpose, of not being sensible enough of
" that rebellion, so horrid and odious to all Chris-
" tians ; by which, in that distraction, such a dan-
66 g er m jght possibly ensue to his majesty s person
and estate, as he was well assured they would en
deavour to prevent. And therefore he thought it
very necessary, and expected that they should
name those persons who had passed by his licence,
" and were then in the head of the rebels : or if,
" upon their reexamination, they did not find parti-
" cular evidence to prove that assertion, (as he was
" most confident they never could,) as that affirma-
" tion, which reflected upon his majesty, was very
public, so they would publish such a declaration,
whereby that mistake might be discovered; he
being the more tender in that particular which
had reference to Ireland, and being most assured,
" that he had been, and was, from his soul, resolved
to discharge his duty, for the relief of his poor
protestant subjects, and the utter rooting out that
" rebellion ; so that service had not suffered for the
" want of any thing proposed to him, and within
" his power to grant."

He said, " in this matter he had diligently exa-
" mined his own memory, and the notes of his se-
" cretaries ;" and then named all the Irish persons
to whom he had given any licences to go into that

and being] as being
VOL. II. It

66
66
66
66

66
66

THE HISTORY

BOOK kingdom, since the beginning of that rebellion;?
and said, " he was well assured, none of them were

66
66

66
66
66

42 <l with the rebels ; and though some of them might
" be papists, yet he had no reason to have <i any sus-
" picion of them, in respect of their alliance with
" persons of great honour and power in that king-
" dom, of whose fidelity to him he had good assur-
" ance ; and the lords justices themselves having
declared, that they were so far from owning a
jealousy of all papists there, that they had put
" arms into the hands of divers noblemen of that
" religion, within the pale, which the parliament
" had well approved of. And therefore, unless the
" first affirmation of the house of commons could be
made good by some particulars, he expected a
vindication by such a declaration as he had pro
posed ; which, he said, was, in duty and justice,
" due to him."

But this, and any thing else could be said, was so
far from procuring any reparation, r that when they
perceived the king still pressed for that justice, and
apprehended that many would believe it due to
him, and that the prejudice they had raised to him
for Ireland would be removed thereby, they confi
dently published another declaration of several per
sons names, to whom they said the king had granted
passes, and were then commanders in the rebels
army, of whose names his majesty had never before
heard, to whom no passes had been granted, neither
did he believe that there were such men in nature ;
and so left the people to believe as they found

P that rebellion ;] the rebel- r reparation,] MS. adds : or
lion ; his majesty from receiving any,

c i to have] to discover

OF THE REBELLION.

themselves inclined upon the king s denial, or their BOOK
so particular and positive affirmation.

These proceedings of the parliament made a deep
impression upon all noble and generous persons,
who found that their pride and ambition was so
great, that they resolved to remove all persons, 8
who were like to stand in their way, by opposing
any thing they desired, or by filling any place, or
office, which they designed should be executed by
some other person, in whom they could confide.
The earl of Newcastle, who was governor to the
prince, knew very well in what prejudice he stood
with the earls of Essex and Holland, (two very
powerful persons,) upon the account of the chal
lenge formerly mentioned to be sent by him to the
latter of the two, who would be glad of any oppor
tunity to expose him to an affront ; and that they
would find occasions 1 enough upon the account of
his known affections to the king s service, from
which it was not possible to remove or startle him.
He knew they liked not that he should have the
government of the prince, as one, who would infuse
such principles into him, as would not be agreeable
to their designs, and would dispose him to no kind
ness to their persons, and that they would not rest,
till they saw another man in that province ; in order
to which, they would pick all quarrels they could,
and load him with all reproaches, which might
blast him with the people, with whom he had a
very good reputation. Upon those considerations, The eari of
and some other imaginations upon the prospect 0^^}^
affairs, he very wisely resolved to retire from the ^ [ go "

* V CI IiOi LO

. . the prince.

s persons,] persons out of their * occasions] opportunities

way,

II 2

244- THE HISTORY

BOOK court, where he had expended much of his own for
tune, and only made himself obnoxious to the ma-

42 - lice and envy of other pretenders ; and desired the
king to approve of this his reasonable inclination,
and to put the prince under the tuition of some
person of honour of unquestionable fidelity to him,
and above the reach of popular disapprobation ; and
at the same time mentioned the marquis of Hert
ford, who was indeed superior to any temptations.
The king could not dislike the earl s judgment upon
his own interest and concernment ; and did foresee
likewise that he might probably have occasion to
use his service under another qualification ; and
therefore was well contented to dismiss him from
the prince.
The mar- The marquis of Hertford was a man of great

quis of

Hertford honour, interest, and estate," and of an universal
him. esteem over the whole x kingdom ; and though he
had received many and continued disobligations
from the court, from the time of this king s coming
to the crown, as well as during the reign of king
James, in both which seasons, more than ordinary
care had been taken to discountenance and lessen
his interest ; yet he had carried himself with nota
ble steadiness, from the beginning of the parliament,
in the support and defence of the king s power and
dignity, notwithstanding all his allies, and those
with whom he had the greatest familiarity and
friendship, were of the opposite party; and never
concurred with them against the earl of Strafford,
whom he was known not to love, nor in any other
extravagancy.

u interest, and estate,] great x whole] Not in MS.
interest in fortune and estate,

OF THE REBELLION. 245

And then, he was not to be shaken in his affection BOOK

IV.

to the government of the church ; though it was

enough known that he was in no degree biassed to y
any great inclination to the person of any church
man. And with all this, that party carried them
selves towards him with profound respect, not pre
suming to venture their own credit in endeavouring
to lessen his.

It is very true, he wanted z some of those qualities,
which might have been wished to be in a person to
be trusted in the education of a great and hopeful a
prince, and in the forming of his mind and manners
in so tender an age. He was of an age not fit for
much activity and fatigue, and loved, and was even
wedded so much to his ease, that he loved his book
above all exercises ; and had even contracted such a
laziness of mind, that he had no delight in an open
and liberal conversation ; and cared not to discourse,
and argue on b those points, which he understood
very well, only for the trouble of contending ; and
could never impose upon himself the pain that was
necessary to be undergone in such a perpetual at
tendance : but then those lesser duties might be
otherwise provided for, and he could well support the
dignity of a governor, and exact that diligence from
others, which he could not exercise himself; and his
honour was so unblemished, that none durst murmur
against the designation ; and therefore his majesty
thought him very worthy of the high trust, against
which there was no other exception, but that he was

y to] by hopeful] a hopeful

z he wanted] in many re- h on ] in
spects he wanted

R 3

246 THE HISTORY

BOOK not ambitious of it, nor in truth willing to receive
and undergo the charge, so contrary to his natural

constitution. But in c his pure zeal and affection for
the crown, and the conscience, that in this conjunc
ture his submission might advance the king s service,
and that the refusing it might prove disadvantageous
to his majesty, he very cheerfully undertook the pro
vince, to the general satisfaction and public joy of
the whole kingdom ; and to the no little honour and
credit of the court, that so important and beloved
a person would attach himself to it under such a
relation, when so many, who had scarce ever eaten
any bread but the king s, detached themselves from
their dependence, that they might without him, and
against him, preserve and improve those fortunes,
which they had procured and gotten under him, and
by his bounty.
The king Now d the bill for the taking away the votes of

pressed to t

pass the bill bishops out of the house of peers, which was called
Sops a bill for taking away all temporal jurisdiction from
those in holy orders, was no sooner passed the house
of peers, than the king was earnestly desired " to
" give his royal assent to it." The king returned,
" that it was a matter of great concernment ; and
" therefore he would take time to advise, and would
" return an answer in convenient time." But this
delay pleased not their appetite ; they could not at
tempt their perfect reformation in church and state,
till those votes were utterly abolished ; therefore they
sent the same day again to the king, who was yet at
Windsor, and gave him reasons to persuade him
" immediately to consent to it ; one of which was

c in] Not in MS. d Now] Not in MS.

it
(I

OF THE REBELLION. 247

" the grievances the subjects suffered by the bishops e BOOK
" exercising of temporal jurisdiction, and their mak-
" ing a party in the lords house : a second, the great
" content of all sorts by the happy conjunction of
" both houses in their absence : and a third, that the
" passing of that bill would be a comfortable pledge
of his majesty s gracious assent to the future reme
dies of those evils, which were to be presented to
" him, this once being passed."

Reasons sufficient to have converted him, if he had
the least inclination or propensity to have concurred
with them. For it was, upon the matter, to persuade
him to join with them in this, because, that being
done, he should be able to deny them nothing.

However those of greatest trust about the king,
and who were very faithful to his service, though in
this particular exceedingly deceived in their judg
ments, and not sufficiently acquainted with the con
stitution of the kingdom, persuaded him " that the
" passing this bill was the only way to preserve the
" church, there being so united a combination in this
" particular, that he would not be able to withstand
66 it. Whereas, by the passing this bill, so many per-
(( sons in both houses would be fully satisfied, that
6( they would join in no further alteration : but, on
" the other hand, if they were crossed in this, they
" would violently endeavour an extirpation of bi-
" shops, and a demolishing of the whole fabric of the
" church.

" They alleged that he was, upon the matter, depriv-

" ed of their votes already, they being not suffered to

5 come to the house, and the major part in prison

e the bishops] their
R 4

248 THE HISTORY

BOOK " under an accusation of high treason, of which there
- " was not like to be any reformation, till these pre-
42 " sent distempers were composed ; and then that by
" his power, and the memory of the indirect means
" that had been used against them, it would be easier
to bring them in again, than to keep them in now.
They told him, there were two matters of great
importance pressed upon him for his royal assent,
but they were not of equal consequence and con
cernment to his sovereign power ; the first, that
bill touching f the bishops votes ; the other, the
whole militia of the kingdom, the granting of which
would absolutely divest him of all regal power;
" that he would not be able to deny both ; but by
granting s the former, in which he parted with no
matter of moment, he would, it may be, not be
pressed in the second ; or if he were, that as he
" could not have a more popular quarrel to take up
" arms, than to defend himself, and preserve that
" power in his hands, which the law had vested in
" him, and without which he could not be a king ;
" so he could not have a more unpopular argument
" for that contention, than the preservation of the
" bishops in the house of peers, which few men
" thought essential, and most men believed prejudi-
t( cial, to the peace and happiness of the kingdom."
These arguments, though used by men whom he
most trusted, and whom he knew to have opposed
that bill in its passage, and to be cordially friends to
the church of England in discipline and doctrine,
prevailed not so much with his majesty, as the per
suasions of the queen ; who was not only persuaded

f touching] for & granting] the granting

a

a

t(
((

(6

((

OF THE REBELLION. 49

to think those reasons valid, h (and there are that BOOK
believe that infusion to have been made in her by

her own priests, by instructions from France, and for
reasons of i state of that kingdom,) but that her own
safety very much depended upon the king s consent
to that bill; and that, if he should refuse it, her
journey into Holland would be crossed by the parlia
ment, and possibly her person in danger either by
the tumults, which might easily be brought to Wind
sor from Westminster, or by the insurrection of the
countries in her passage from thence to Dover, where
she intended to take shipping. Whereas by her in
tercession with the king to do it, she would lay a
most seasonable and popular obligation upon the
whole nation, and leave a pleasant odour of her
grace and favour to the people behind her, which
would prove much to her advantage in her absence ;
and she should have the thanks for that act, as ac
quired by her goodness, which otherwise would be
extorted from the king, when she was gone.

These insinuations and discourses so far satisfied
the queen, and she the king, that, contrary to his
most positive resolution, the king consented, and sent The king
a commission for the enacting both that bill, and the EuMod the
other about k pressing; which was done accordingly, ^^
to the great triumph of the boutefeus, the king send- Feb - H -
ing the same day that he passed those bills, which
was the fourteenth of February, a message to both
houses ; " That he was assured his having passed
: those two bills, being of so great importance, so
" suddenly, would serve to assure his parliament,

h valid,] MS. adds: and that l of] in
indeed the church could be only k about] for
that way preserved,

66
(6

250 THE HISTORY

BOOK " that he desired nothing more than the satisfaction
" of his kingdom." For Ireland, he said, " as he had
1642. concurred in all propositions made for that service
by his parliament, so he was resolved to leave no
thing undone for their relief, which should possibly
" fall within his power, l nor would refuse to venture
" his own person in that war, if the parliament should
" think it convenient, for the reduction of that mi-
" serable kingdom."

The passing that bill for taking away the bishops
votes, exceedingly weakened the king s party ; not
only as it swept" 1 away so considerable a number
out of the house of peers, which were constantly de
voted to him ; but as it made impression on others,
whose minds were in suspense, n as when founda
tions are shaken. Besides, they that were best ac
quainted with the king s nature, opinions, and reso
lutions, had reason to believe, that no exigence could
have wrought upon him to have consented to so an
ti-monarchical an act ; and therefore never after re
tained any confidence, that he would deny what was
importunately asked ; and so, either absolutely with
drew themselves from those consultations, thereby
avoiding the envy, and the danger of opposing them,
or quietly suffered themselves to be carried by the
stream, and to P consent to any thing that was boldly
and lustily attempted.

And then it was so far from dividing the other
party, that I do not remember one man, who vehe-

1 which should possibly fall n suspense,] suspense, and

within his power,] which should shaken,
fall within his possible power, shaken.] dissolved.

171 it swept] it perpetually v to] Not in MS.
swept

OF THE REBELLION. 251

mently^ insisted on, or indeed heartily wished, the BOOK

passing of that bill, that ever deserted them, till the !

kingdom was in a flame : but, on the contrary, very
many, who cordially and constantly opposed that act,
as friends rather to monarchy than religion, after
that bill, never considered or resisted any attempt,
or further alteration, in the church, looking on r the
bishops as useless to sovereignty, and so not of im
portance enough to be defended s by the sword. And
I have heard the same men, who urged before, " that
" their places in that house had no relation to the
discipline of the church, and their spiritual juris
diction, and therefore ought to be sacrificed to the
preservation of the other, upon which the peace
and unity of religion so much depended," since ar
gue, " that since their power in that house, which
was a good outwork to defend the king s from in
vasion, was taken away, any other form of govern
ment would be equally advantageous to his ma
jesty ; and therefore, that he ought not to insist on
" it, with the least inconvenience to his condition."

But l that which was above, or equal to all this,
was, v that, by his majesty s enacting those two bills,
he had, upon the matter, approved the circumstances
of their passage, which had been by direct violence,
and almost u force of arms ; in which case, he ought
not to have confirmed the most politic, or the most
pious constitutions : Male posita est lex, quce tu-
multuarie posita est, was one of those positions of
Aristotle, which hath never been since contradicted ;
and was an advantage, that, being well managed,

<i vehemently] furiously * But] Not in MS.

r on] upon v waS) -j omitted in MS.

to be defended] to defend u almost] Not in MS.

66
66
66
66

66
66
66
66

THE HISTORY

BOOK and stoutly insisted upon, would, in spite of all their

! machinations, which were not yet firmly and solidly

1642. f orme( i, have brought them to a temper of being
treated with. But I have some cause to believe,
that even this argument, which was unanswerable
for the rejecting that bill, was applied for the con
firming it; and an opinion that the violence and
force, used in procuring it, rendered it absolutely in
valid and void, made the confirmation of it less con
sidered, as not being of strength to make that act
good, which was in itself null. And I doubt this lo
gic had an influence upon other acts of no less mo
ment than these : but it was an erroneous and un
skilful suggestion ; for an act of parliament, what
circumstances soever concurred in the contriving and
framing it, will be always of too great reputation to
be avoided, or to be declared void, by the sole au
thority of any private persons, or x the single power
of the king himself. And though the wisdom, so
briety, and power, of a future parliament, if God
shall ever bless the kingdom with another regularly
constituted, may find cause to declare this or that
act of parliament void ; yet there will be the same
temper requisite to such a declaration, as would serve
to repeal it. And it may be then, many men, who
abhorred the thing when it was done, for the man
ner of doing it, will be of the civilians opinion, fieri
non debuit,factum valet; and never consent to the
altering of that, which they would never have con
sented to the establishing of > : neither will that sin
gle precedent of the judges in the case of king Henry
the Seventh, when they declared the act of attainder
to be void by the accession of the crown, (though if

* or] on y of] Not in MS.

OF THE REBELLION. 253

he had in truth been the person, upon whom the BOOK
crown had lineally and rightfully descended, it was IV>

good law,) find, or make, the judges of another age 1642.
parallel to them, till the king hath as strong a sword
in his hand, and the people as much at his devotion
and disposal ; and then the making, and declaring
law, will be of equal facility, though, it may be, not
of equal justice. How much soever the king s friends
were, for the reasons aforesaid, dejected upon the
passing those two acts, it is certain, they who thought
they got whatever he lost, were mightily exalted,
and thought themselves now superior to any opposi
tion : and what returns of duty and acknowledgment
they made to the king for that grace and favour, is
to be remembered in the next place.

The same day those two acts were by his majes
ty s commission passed, z and as soon as a very short
message of thanks for that favour, as much import
ing the safety of both kingdoms, of England and Ire
land, was consented to, an ordinance for the settling
the militia was agreed on a by both houses, and, to
gether with a list of the names of such persons as
for the present they meant to confide in, was imme
diately sent to the king for his approbation ; the
which, being the most avowed foundation of all the
miseries that have followed, will be here necessary
to be inserted in the very terms and form it was
agreed upon, and presented ; and was as followeth.

An ordinance of both houses of parliament for

ninpp

ordering of the militia of the kingdom of Eng- agreed on
land, and dominion of Wales. houss h for

-j Tri .. settling the

Whereas there hath been of late a most danger- militia.

z passed,] confirmed, a agreed on] consented to

254 THE HISTORY

BOOK " ous and desperate design upon the house of com-
" mons, which we have just cause to believe to be

66
66
66

66

66
66

66
66

42 - " the effect of the bloody counsels of the papists, and
* other ill affected persons, who have already raised
" a rebellion in the kingdom of Ireland, and, by rea
son of many discourses, b we cannot but fear they
will proceed, not only to stir up the like rebellion
and insurrection c in this kingdom of England, but
" also to back them with forces from abroad ; for the
safety therefore of his majesty s person, the parlia
ment, and kingdom, in this time of imminent dan
ger, it is ordained by the king, the lords, and com-
" mons, now in parliament assembled, That
shall have power to assemble, and call together,
all and singular his majesty s subjects within the
" county of as well within liberties, as with-

" out, that are meet and fit for the wars, and them
" to train, exercise, and put in readiness, and them,
" after their abilities, and faculties, well and suffi-
" ciently, from time to time, to cause to be arrayed
" and weaponed, and to take the muster of them
" in places most fit for that purpose. And
" shall have power within the said county to nomi-
" nate and appoint such persons of quality, as to
" him shall seem meet, to be his deputy lieutenants
" to be approved of by both houses of parliament :
" and that any one, or more of the said deputies, so
" assigned and approved of, shall in the absence, or
" by the command of the said have power and

" authority to do and execute within the county of
all such powers and authorities, before

" in this present ordinance contained ; and shall have

b discourses,] discoveries, c insurrection] insurrections

OF THE REBELLION. 255

" power to make colonels, and captains, and other BOOK
" officers, and to remove out of their places, and to

..

6(
6(
6(

" make others from time to time, as he shall think
" fit for that purpose. And his deputies, co-

" lonels, and captains, and other officers, shall have
" further power and authority to lead, conduct, and
" employ, the persons aforesaid, arrayed and wea-
poned, as well within the county of as

within any other part of this realm of England, or
dominion of Wales, for the suppressing d of all re
bellions, insurrections, and invasions, that may hap
pen, according as they, from time to time, shall re
ceive directions by his majesty s authority, signified
unto them by the lords and commons, assembled
" in parliament. And it is further ordained, that
such 6 as shall not obey in any of the premises,
shall answer their neglect and contempt to the
lords and commons, in a parliamentary way, and
not otherwise, nor elsewhere : and that every the
powers, granted as aforesaid, shall continue, until
it shall be otherwise ordered, or declared by both
" houses of parliament, and no longer. This

" to go also to the dominion of Wales."

A second act of the same day, and the only way
they took to return their thanks and acknowledg
ment to the queen for her intercession, and media
tion in the passing those bills, was the opening a let
ter they intercepted, which was directed to her ma
jesty. f The lord Digby, after their majesties going
to Windsor, when he found in what umbrage he
stood with the powerful and prevailing party, and

ll suppressing] suppression f to her majesty.] to her ma-

e such] such persons jesty herself.

6(

66
66

66
66
66

256 THE HISTORY

BOOK that they were able to improve his going through a
town in a coach and six horses to a warlike appear-

ance, and so to expose him to the fury of the people,
at least to the power of the counties, to be suppress
ed, as they had done by their order, or proclamation
of the twelfth of January, before remembered, and
appointed to be read in all market towns throughout
England ; concluded for his own security, and to free
the king s councils from the imputation of his evil
influence, to remove himself into some parts beyond
the seas : and so, by s the king s leave, and by his li
cence, was transported into Holland, from whence
he writ some letters to his friends at London, to
give them an account where he was, and for supply
ing himself with such h accommodations as he stood
in need of. Amongst these letters there was one to
his brother-in-law, i sir Lewis Dives, which, by the
treachery of that person, to whose care it was in
trusted for conveyance, was brought to the house of
commons : and it being averred, " that it came from
" the lord Digby," whom they looked upon as a fu
gitive, they made no scruple of opening it ; and find
ing another in it directed to the queen, after a very
little pause they did the like ; for which they made
no other excuse (when upon a message from the king
they sent her the transcript, for the original they
still kept) than, " that having opened the other let-
" ters, and finding in them sundry expressions full
" of asperity, and malignity to the parliament, they
6( thought it very probable, that the like might be
" contained in that to her majesty ; and that it
" would have been dishonourable to her majesty,

8 by] with h such] those brother-in-law,] brother,

"

"

OF THE REBELLION. 257

" and dangerous to the kingdom, if it should not BOOK

" have been opened : and they besought the king to !

" persuade her majesty, that she would not vouch- 42a
safe any countenance to, or correspondence with,
the lord Digby, or any other of the fugitives or
" traitors, whose offences were k under the examina-
" tion and judgment of parliament."

In that letter to the queen were these words : " If
" the king betake himself to a safe place, where he
" may avow and protect his servants, (from rage I
" mean and violence ; for from justice I will never
" implore it,) I shall then live in impatience, and in
" misery, till I wait upon you. But if, after all he
" hath done of late, he shall betake himself to the
" easiest and compliantest ways of accommodation,
" I am confident, that then I shall serve him more
" by my absence, than by all my industry." And in
that to sir Lewis Dives were these words : " God
" knows, I have not a thought to make me blush to-
" wards my country, much less criminal ; but where
traitors have so great a sway, the honestest thoughts
may prove most treasonable." Which gave those,
that thought themselves concerned, so great offence,
that, within two days after, they accused him of high
treason ; and finding no words in the letter l would
amount to that offence, they accused him of levying
war against the king ; which could have relation to
no act of his, but what was before mentioned at
Kingston upon Thames, when, to the terror of the
king s subjects, he was seen there in a coach with six
horses. Though this extravagancy of theirs seems
to be directed against a particular person, I could

k were] depended } letter] letters

VOL, II. S

66
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s m-

iiions.

(t

258 THE HISTORY

BOOK not omit it in this place, being accompanied with

. ! those circumstances. And it may be, posterity may

42 look upon the severe prosecution m of a young noble
man n of admirable parts, and eminent hopes, in so
implacable a manner, as a most pertinent instance of
the tyranny and injustice of that time, not possible
to end, but in so much wickedness as hath since been
practised.

The attor- A third act of that day was the carrying up an
impeachment to the lords against the king s attorney
general, " for maliciously advising and contriving the
" articles upon which the lord Kimbolton, Mr. Hol-
lis, Mr. Pym, Mr. Hambden, Mr. Strode, and sir
" Arthur Haslerig, had been accused by his majesty
" of high treason ;" it being not thought security and
reparation enough, that the king had waved any fur
ther proceeding against them, except they left such
a monument of their power, that, upon what occa
sion or provocation soever, no man should presume
to obey the king in the like command : so that the
same fourteenth of February, that was celebrated for
the king s condescension to that act for putting P the
bishops out of the house of peers, is famous likewise
for those three unparalleled acts of contempt upon
the sovereign power ; the demand of the sole power
over all the militia of the kingdom ; the opening let
ters directed to the sacred person of the queen ; and
the impeaching the attorney general, for performing
what he took to be * the duty of his place, by his
master s command. All which were very ill in-

m prosecution] persecution P putting] the putting

" nobleman] man <i what he took to be] Not in

as hath since been prac- MS.
tised.] as it hath since practised.

OF THE REBELLION. 259

stances of that application and compliance his ma- BOOK

jesty had reason to expect, and some men had pro

mised him he should receive.

Though the king was resolved in no degree to The king s
consent to the proposition for the militia, yet he concerning
thought not the time seasonable for his positive de- t!
nial, the queen retaining still her fears of being
stopped in her journey. Therefore, for the present,
he returned answer, "that his dearest consort the
(f queen, and his dear daughter the princess Mary,
" being then upon their departure for Holland, he
" could not have so good time to consider of a par-
" ticular answer for a matter of so great weight,
" as that was ; and r therefore he would respite the
" same till his return :" the king intending to ac
company the queen to Dover, and, as soon as she
was embarked, to return. They received this an
swer with their usual impatience, and the next day
sent messengers to him, with that which they called
an humble petition ; in which they told him, " that Their reply.
" they had, with a great deal of grief, received his
" answer to their just and necessary petition con
cerning the militia of the kingdom ; which, by a
gracious message formerly sent unto them, he had
been pleased to promise should be put into such
" hands, as his parliament should approve of, the
" extent of their power, and the time of their conti-
" nuance, being likewise declared ; the which being
" now done, and the persons nominated, his majesty
" nevertheless reserved his resolution to a longer and
" a very uncertain time ; which, they said, was as
" unsatisfactory and destructive as an absolute de-

r and] Not in MS.
S 2

66
66
66

260 THE HISTORY

BOOK " nial. Therefore they once again besought him to

! " take their desire into his royal thoughts, and to

" give them such an answer, as might raise in them
" a confidence, that they should not be exposed to
" the practices of those who thirst after the ruin of
" this kingdom, and the kindling of that combustion
" in England, which they had in so great a measure
" effected in Ireland ; from whence, as they were
" informed, they intended to invade this kingdom,
" with the assistance of the papists here. They said,
" nothing could prevent those evils, nor enable them
" to suppress the rebellion in Ireland, and secure
" themselves, but the instant granting of that their
" petition ; which, they hoped, his majesty would
" not deny to those, who must, in the discharge of
their duty to his majesty and the commonwealth,
represent unto him, what they found so absolutely
necessary for the preservation of both ; which the
" laws of God and man enjoined them to see put in
" execution, as several counties by their daily peti-
" tions desired them to do, and in some places be-
" gun s already to do it of themselves." Notwith
standing all that importunity, the king made no
other answer than formerly he had done, " that he
" would give a full answer at his return from Dover."
In the mean time, the house of commons, to whom
every day petitions are directed by the several coun
ties of England, professing all allegiance to them,
govern absolutely, the lords concurring, or rather
The lords submitting, to whatsoever is proposed ; insomuch as
twelve when they had bailed the twelve bishops, who were

tt

6(

th?Towe", in the T ^weT for the treason of their protestation,

s begun] began

OF THE REBELLION. 261

which they did the next day after the bill was passed BOOK
for taking away their votes, the house of commons - ! _
in great indignation expostulated with them, and
caused them immediately again to be recommitted commons
to the Tower. So they gave their private intima- JJ^ mit
tions to their correspondents in the counties, that Divers

. ! counties

they should make small entries upon the militia ; enter upon

which was done in many places, the people choosing
their officers, and listing themselves, and so train- of . tl \ e

militia.

ing and exercising under the names of volunteers ;
whereby they had opportunity to unite themselves,
to know their confederates, observe those who were
of other opinions, and to provide arms and ammuni
tion against they should have occasion. The Tower
of London was at their devotion, and Hull was their
own ; the mayor of that place having been lately
sent for and reprehended, for having said, " that they
" ought not to have soldiers billeted upon them by
" the petition of right, and for refusing to submit
" that town, which was his charge, to the govern-
" ment of Mr. Hotham ;" and after a tedious and
chargeable attendance, without being brought to a
public hearing, he was persuaded to submit ; arid so
was discharged.

Then they fell to raising of money t under pretence Money
of the relief of Ireland, and, for that purpose, pre- ? pre c
pared "an act u for the payment of four hundred ^J 1 ^^
thousand pounds to such persons as were nomi- Ireland
nated by themselves, and to be disbursed and is-
" sued in such manner, and to such uses, as the two
" houses should direct," which the king confirmed
accordingly ; whereby they had a stock of credit to

1 money] monies u an act] one act

s 3

"
"

262 THE HISTORY

BOOK raise monies, whensoever they found themselves put

to it : and this could not be prevented ; for the king

* having committed the carrying on the war of Ire
land to them, and they being engaged both for the
payment of the arrears to the officers of the northern
army disbanded the summer before, and of the three
hundred thousand pounds to the Scots, his majesty
was necessitated to pass the act with such general
clauses, that it might be in their power to divert
the money to other uses than those to which it was
given ; as it afterwards fell out.

The queen The queen being shipped for Holland, his majesty
Holland, returned to Greenwich, whither he had sent to the

marquis of Hertford to bring the prince of Wales
where Th? ^ rom Hampton-court to meet him ; of which as soon
P rince as the houses were advertised, they sent a message

meets him.

to the king, who was upon his way from Dover, to
desire him, " that the prince might not be removed
" from Hampton-court, for that they conceived his
" removal at that time might be a cause to promote
" jealousies and fears in the hearts of his good sub-
" jects, which they thought necessary to avoid ;" and,
at the same time, sent an express order to the mar
quis of Hertford, " to require him not to suffer the
" prince to go to Greenwich:" but his lordship, choos
ing rather to obey the king s commands than theirs,
carried his highness to his father; of which the
houses no sooner were informed, than they sent
some members of both houses to Greenwich, " to
" bring the prince from thence to London." But
when they came thither, they found the king, whom
they did not expect there; and so made no at
tempt to perform that command. The reason of
this extravagancy (besides their natural humour to

OF THE REBELLION. 263

affront the king, and this seeming care of the prince BOOK
was a popular thing) was pretended to be an infor

mation they had received from a member of the
house.

There was one Griffith, a young Welshman, of no
parts or reputation, but for eminent licence ; this
youth had long, with great boldness, followed the
court, and pretended to preferment there ; and so in
the house had always opposed, as far as not consent
ing, all the undutiful acts towards the king, and,
upon this stock of merit, had pressed more confi
dently for a reward ; and, when the queen was ready
to take shipping at Dover for Holland, he barefaced
importuned her to mediate to the king, "that he
" might be forthwith admitted of the prince s bed-
" chamber :" the which her majesty refusing, he told x
his companions, " that since he could not render him-
" self considerable by doing the king service, he
" would be considerable by doing him disservice :"
and so made great haste to London, and openly in
the house told them, (the same day that the prince
was to go to Greenwich,) " that if they were not ex-
" actly careful, they would speedily lose the prince ;
" for, to his knowledge, there was a design and re-
" solution immediately to carry him into France."
From which senseless and groundless information,
he was taken into their favour ; and, his malice sup
plying the defect of other parts, was thenceforth
taken into trust, and used as their Bravo to justify
all their excesses in taverns and ordinaries. And I
saw Mr. Hambden, shortly after this discovery, take
him in his arms, telling him, " his soul rejoiced to

x told] forthwith told

s 4

264 THE HISTORY

BOOK " see, that God had put it into y his heart to take the

IV.

" right way."

To their message the king sent them word,
" That to their fears and jealousies he knew not
" what answer to give, not being able to imagine
" from what grounds they proceeded ; but if any
" information had been given to them to cause
" those apprehensions, he much desired the same
" might be examined to the bottom ; and then he
" hoped that their fears and jealousies would be
" hereafter continued only with reference to his ma-
" jesty s rights and honour."

The king s The queen being gone, and the prince come to
con . his father at Greenwich, the king sent an answer to
the two houses concerning the militia ; " that hav-
" ing, with his best care and understanding, perused
" and considered that, which had been sent him
" from both houses, for the ordering the militia to
" be made an ordinance of parliament by the giving
" his z royal assent, as he could by no means do it
for many reasons, so he did not conceive himself
obliged to it a by any promise made to them in
his answer to their former petition. He said, he
found great cause to except against the preface,
" or introduction to that order ; which confessed a
most dangerous and desperate design upon the
" house of commons of late, supposed to be an effect
" of the bloody counsels of papists, and other ill-af-
" fected persons, by which many might understand
" (looking upon other printed papers to that pur-
" pose) his own coming in person to the house of
" commons on the fourth of January, which begot

y into] in * his] of his n to it] Not in MS.

a

6t

(t

..

OF THE REBELLION. 265

so unhappy a misunderstanding between him and BOOK
his people. And for that, though he believed it,

t(

ft

ft

tt

" upon the information since given him, to be a
" breach of their privileges, and had offered, and
was ready, to repair the same for the future, by
any act should be desired from his majesty ; yet
" he must declare, and require to be believed, that
" he had no other design upon that house, or any
" member of it, than to require, as he did, the
" persons of those five gentlemen he had before
accused of high treason, and to declare that he
meant to proceed against them legally and speed
ily; upon which he believed that house would
" have delivered them up.

" He b called the almighty God to witness, that
" he was so far from any intention, or thought, of
" force or violence, although that house had not de-
" livered them according to his demand, or in any
" case whatsoever, that he gave those his servants,
" and others, who then waited on his majesty, ex
press charge and command, that they should give
no offence unto any man ; nay, if they received
any provocation or injury, that they should bear
it without return ; and he neither saw nor knew, c
that any person of his train had any other wea
pons, but his pensioners and guard, those with
" which they usually attend his person to parlia
ment; and the other gentlemen, swords. And
therefore he doubted not, but the parliament would
be regardful of his honour therein, that he should
not undergo any imputation by the rash and in-
f discreet expressions of any young men then in his

b He] And he c nor knew,] or knew,

a
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ft
((
a
it

ft
ft

a
tt

266 THE HISTORY

BOOK " train, or by any desperate words uttered by others,
" who might mingle with them without his con-

1642. tt gen t or approbation.

" For the persons nominated to be the lieute-
" nants of the several counties of England and
" Wales, he said, he was contented to allow that
" recommendation ; only concerning the city of Lon-
" don, and such other corporations as by ancient
" charters had granted to them the power of the
" militia, he did not conceive that it could stand
" with justice or policy to alter their government in
" that particular. And he was willing forthwith to
" grant to every one of them, that of London and
" other d corporations excepted, such commissions,
" as he had granted this parliament to some lords
lieutenants by their advice. But if that power
were not thought enough, but that more should
be thought fit to be granted to those persons
named, than, by the law, is in the crown itself, he
said, he thought it reasonable that the same
should be by some law first vested in him, with
power to transfer it to those persons ; which he
would willingly do : and whatever that power
" should be, to avoid all future doubts and ques
tions, he desired it might be digested into an act
of parliament, rather than an ordinance ; so that
tf all his subjects might thereby particularly know,
" both what they were to do, and what they were
" to suffer for their neglect ; that so there might be
" the least latitude for them to suffer under any ar-
" bitrary power whatsoever.

" To the time desired for the continuance of the

d other] those other

a
ft
tt

it
tt
ft
tt
tt

tt
(f

{(

OF THE REBELLION. 267

" powers to be granted, he said, he could not con- BOOK

" sent to divest himself of the just power, which _

" God, and the laws of the kingdom, had placed in
" him for the defence of his people, and to put it
" into the hands of others for any indefinite time.
" And since the ground of their request to him was
" to secure their present fears and jealousies, that
they might with safety apply themselves to his
message .of the twentieth of January, he hoped
that his grace to them since that time, in yielding
to so many of their desires, and in agreeing to the
persons now recommended to him, and the power
before expressed to be placed in them, would
wholly dispel those fears and jealousies : and he
assured them, that as he had applied 6 this un
usual remedy to their doubts ; so, if there should
be cause, he would continue the same to such
time, as should be agreeable to the same care he
now expressed towards them.
" He said, he was so far from receding from any
" thing he had promised, or intended to grant in
" his former answer, that he had hereby consented
" to all that had been then asked of him by that
" petition, concerning the militia of the kingdom,
" except that of London, and the other corpora-
" tions ; which was, to put the same into the hands
" of such persons, as should be recommended to
him by both houses of parliament. And he doubted
not but they, upon well weighing the particulars
of that his answer, would find the same more sa
tisfactory to their ends, and the peace and welfare
of all his good subjects, than the way proposed by

e applied] now applied

f(

(6

.

268 THE HISTORY

BOOK " that intended ordinance; to which, for those rea-
sons, he could not consent.

6(
(f
(6
66

" And whereas he observed by their late peti-
" tion, f that in some places, some persons begun al-
" ready to intermeddle of themselves with the mi-
" litia, he said, he expected his parliament should
examine the particulars thereof, it being a matter
of high concernment, and very great consequence.
And he required, that if it should appear to them,
that any person whatsoever had presumed to com-
" mand the militia without lawful authority, they
" might be proceeded against according to law."
votes of It seems this was not the answer they promised
houses themselves ; for, at the publishing it, they were mar
vellously transported, and immediately voted, both
houses concurring in it, " That those, who s advised
" his majesty to give that answer, were enemies to
" the state, and mischievous projectors against the
" defence of the kingdom : that that denial was of
that dangerous consequence, that if his majesty
should persist in it, it would hazard the peace and
safety of all his kingdoms, unless some speedy
remedy were applied by the wisdom and authority
of both houses of parliament : and that such parts
of the kingdom, as had already put themselves
into a posture of defence against the common
danger, had done nothing but what was justifiable,
and was approved by both houses." And having
caused these, and such other resolutions to be im
mediately published in print, that their friends
abroad might know what they had to do, they sent
a committee of both houses to the king at Theo-

f their late petition,] their last petition, s who] that

66
66
66
66
66

66

66
66

OF THE REBELLION. 269

balds with another petition; in which they told BOOK

him, " that their just apprehensions of sorrow and !

" fear, in respect of the public dangers and miseries

D _ . A petition

"like to fall upon his majesty and the kingdom, of both
" were much increased upon the receipt of his un- the" k?n g at
" expected denial of their most humble and neces- Theobalds -
" sary petition concerning the militia of the king-
" dom ; and that they were especially grieved, that
" wicked and mischievous counsellors should still
" have that power with him, as in that time of ap-
" preaching and imminent h ruin, he should rather
" incline to that, which was apt to further the ac-
" complishment of the desires of the most malig-
" nant enemies of God s true religion, and of the
" peace and safety of himself, and his kingdom,
" than to the dutiful and faithful counsel of his par-
" liament. Wherefore, they said, they were enforced
" in all humility to protest, that, if his majesty
" should persist in that denial, the dangers and dis
tempers of the kingdom were such, as would en-
" dure no longer delay : but unless he should be
graciously pleased to assure them by those mes
sengers, that he would speedily apply his royal
" assent to the satisfaction of their former desires,
" they should be enforced, for the safety of his ma-
" jesty and his kingdoms, to dispose of the militia
" by the authority of both houses, in such a manner
" as had been propounded to him ; and they re-
" solved to do it accordingly.

They likewise most humbly besought his ma
jesty to believe, that the dangerous and desperate
design upon the house of commons, mentioned in

h approaching and imminent] imminent and approaching

66

66
I

(6

66

6t
66
66

270 THE HISTORY

6f

<(

((

a

(6
(6
6(
6(
(6
ft

BOOK " their preamble, was not inserted with any inten-

! " tion to cast the least aspersion upon his majesty ;

1642. tt ) 3ut therein they reflected upon that malignant
party, of whose bloody and malicious practices
they had so often experience, and from which
they could never be secure, unless his majesty
would be pleased to put from him those wicked

" and unfaithful counsellors, who interposed their

" own corrupt and malicious designs betwixt his
majesty s goodness and wisdom, and the prosperity
and contentment of himself, and of his people :
and that for the despatch of the great affairs of
the kingdom, the safety of his person, the protec-

" tion and comfort of his subjects, he would be
pleased to continue his abode near to London, and

" the parliament ; and not to withdraw himself to
any the remoter parts, which if he should do,

" must needs be a cause of great danger and dis-

" traction.

" That he would likewise be graciously pleased

" to continue the prince s highness in those parts at
St. James s, or any other of his houses near Lon
don ; whereby the designs, which the enemies of
the religion, and peace of the kingdom, might

" have upon his person, and the jealousies and fears

" of his people might be prevented.

And they besought him to be informed by
them, that, by the laws of the kingdom, the power
of raising, ordering, and disposing of the militia
within any city, town, or other place, could not
be granted to any corporation by charter, or other
wise, without the authority and consent of parlia
ment : and that those parts of the kingdom, which
had put themselves in a posture of defence against

(6

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OF THE REBELLION. 271

" the common danger, had therein done nothing but BOOK

" according to the declaration and direction of both !

" houses, and what was justifiable by the laws of
" the kingdom. All which their most humble coun-
" sel and desires they prayed him to accept, as the
" effect of that duty and allegiance, which they
" owed unto him, and which would not suffer them
" to admit of any thoughts, intentions, or endea-
" vours, but such as were necessary and advantage*-
" ous for his greatness and honour, and the safety
" and prosperity of the kingdom, according to that
" trust and power, which the laws had reposed in
" them."

As soon as the petition was read, the king told The king s
them that presented it, " That he was so much fwer!"
amazed at their message, that he knew not what
to answer. He said, they spoke 1 of jealousies
and fears ; but he desired them to lay their hands
to their hearts, and ask themselves, whether he
might not likewise be disturbed with fears and
jealousies ? and if so, he assured them, that mes
sage had nothing lessened them.
" For the militia, he said, he had thought so
" much of it before he sent his answer, and was so
" well assured that the answer was agreeable to
" what, in justice or reason, they could ask, or he
" in honour grant, that he should not alter it in any
" point.

" For his residence near them, he said, he wished
" it might be so safe and honourable, that he had
" no cause to absent himself from Whitehall : he
" bid them ask themselves, whether he had not ?

1 spoke] spake

66

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272 THE HISTORY

BOOK For his son, he said, he should take that care of

1 V

" him, which should justify him to God, as a father;

" and to his dominions, as a king. To conclude, he
" assured them upon his honour, that he had no

thought but of peace, and justice to his people ;

which he would by all fair means seek to preserve

and maintain, relying upon the goodness and pro-
" vidence of God for the preservation of himself,
" and his rights."

This, being suddenly, and with more than usual
quickness, spoken by the king, much appalled them ;
but they were too far engaged to retire ; and there
fore, as soon as it was reported to the houses, they
The resoiu- resolved, upon debate, " that the kingdom should be

tion of both * *

houses f forthwith put into a posture of defence, by au-
" thority of both houses, in such a way as had been
formerly agreed upon by both houses ; and that a
declaration should be speedily sent unto the king,
containing the causes of their just fears and jea
lousies, and to make it evident that any that were
entertained against them were groundless;" or
dering at the same time, " that all the lords lieute
nants of any counties in England, who had been
formerly so constituted by the king by his com
missions under the great seal of England, should
immediately bring in those commissions to be can
celled as illegal:" albeit some such commissions
had been granted, upon their own desire, since the
beginning of the parliament, as particularly to the
earl of Essex to be lord lieutenant of Yorkshire, and
to the earl of Salisbury for Dorsetshire.
They send Then both houses sent to the earl of Northum-
of North- berland, being high admiral of England, " that they
" had received advertisement of extraordinary pre-

tt
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a fleet.

<
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OF THE REBELLION. 273

" parations made, by the neighbouring princes, both BOOK

" by land and sea ; by which an apprehension was 1

" raised in both houses, that the public honour,
" peace, and safety of his majesty, and his kingdom,
" could not be secured, unless a timely course was
" taken k for the putting the kingdom into a condi-
" tion of defence at sea, as well as at land : and
" they did therefore order him forthwith to give ef-
" fectual direction, that all the ships belonging to
his majesty s navy, and fit for service, and not al
ready abroad, or 1 designed for the summer s fleet,
should be rigged, and put in such a readiness, as
that they might be soon fitted for the sea : and
that his lordship would also make known to the
masters and owners of other ships, in any of the
harbours of the kingdom, as m might be of use for
the public defence, that it would be an acceptable
service to the king and parliament, if they would
" likewise cause their ships to be rigged, and so far
" put into a readiness, as they might, at a short
" warning, likewise be set to sea upon any emer-
" gent occasion ; which would be a means of great
" security to his majesty and his dominions." To
which the earl returned an answer full of submis
sion and obedience.

I have been assured from persons of very good
credit, and conversant with those councils, that
they had in n deliberation and debate to send, and
take the prince from his father at Theobalds by
force : but that design was quickly laid aside, when
they heard that the king was removed from thence
to Newmarket, and was like to make a further pro-

k was taken] were taken m as] and

1 or] nor " had in] had it in

VOL. II. T

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274 THE HISTORY

BOOK gress. So they used all possible expedition in pre
paring their declaration; which they directed to his

.,

66

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42 * majesty, and in which they told him, " that al-

Their de- i i .

ciaration to * though that answer, he had given to their petition
ty "at Theobalds, did give just cause of sorrow to

" them ; yet it was not without some mixture of
confidence and hope, considering those expressions
proceeded from the misapprehensions of their ac
tions and intentions ; which, having no ground of
truth or reality, might, by his justice and wisdom,
be removed, when he should be fully informed,
" that those fears and jealousies of theirs, which his
majesty thought to be causeless, and without any
just ground, did necessarily and clearly arise from
" those dangers and distempers, into which the mis-
" chievous and evil councils about him had brought
the kingdom. And that those other fears and
jealousies, by which his favour, his royal presence,
** and confidence, had been withdrawn from his par-
" liament, had no foundation, or subsistence in any
action, intention, or miscarriage of theirs ; but
were merely grounded upon the falsehood and
" malice of those who, for the supporting and fo-
" menting their own wicked designs against the re-
" ligion and peace of the kingdom, did seek to de-
" prive his majesty of the strength and the affection
" of his people ; and them of his grace and protec-
" tion ; and thereby to subject both his person, and
" the whole kingdom, to ruin and destruction.

That, to satisfy his majesty s judgment and con
science in both those points, they desired to make
" a free and clear declaration of the causes of their
" fears and jealousies, in some particulars.

1. " That the design of altering religion, in this

.,

66

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OF THE REBELLION. 275

" and his other kingdoms, had been potently carried BOOK

" on, by those in greatest authority about him, for

" divers years together : and that the queen s agent
" at Rome, and the pope s agent, or nuncio, here,
" were not only evidences of that design, but had
" been great actors in it.

2. " That the war with Scotland was procured to
" make way for that intent, and chiefly fomented
" by the papists, and others popishly affected, where-
" of they had many evidences, especially their free
" and general contribution to it.

3. " That the rebellion in Ireland was framed and
" contrived here in England ; and that the English
" papists should have risen about the same time,
" they had several testimonies and advertisements
" from Ireland : and that it was a common speech
" amongst the rebels, (with which, they said, other
" evidences did concur, as the information of a mi-
" nister who came out of Ireland ; the letter of one
" Tristram Whetcomb in Ireland to his brother in

M

.k

..
f

..

England, and many others,) that they would re
cover unto his majesty his royal prerogative, wrest
ed from him by the puritan faction in the houses of
parliament in England ; and would maintain episco-
<( pal jurisdiction, and the lawfulness thereof; which,
they said, were the two quarrels, upon which his
late army in the north should have been incensed
" against them.

4. " The cause they had to doubt that the late
" design, styled the queen s pious intention, was for
" the alteration of religion in this kingdom, for suc-
" cess whereof the pope s nuncio (the count Rozetti)

fomented] invited and fomented

T 2

276 THE HISTORY

BOOK " enjoined fasting and praying to be observed every
" week by the English papists ; which, they said, ap-

66

..

66
it

2> " peared to them by one of the original letters di
rected by him to a priest in Lancashire.

5. " The boldness of the Irish rebels in affirming
they do nothing but by authority from the king ;

" that they call themselves the queen s army ; that
" the prey arid booty they take from the English,
" they mark with the queen s mark ; that their pur-
" pose was to come into England, when their busi-
" ness was done in Ireland ; and sundry other things
" of that kind, which, they said, were proved by one
" Oconelly, and others ; but especially in the fore-
" mentioned letter from Tristram Whetcomb, where-
" in there was this passage, that many other speeches
they utter, concerning religion, and our court of
England, which he dares not commit to paper.

6. " The many attempts to provoke his late army,
and the army of the Scots, and to raise a faction
in the city of London, and other parts of the king-

" dom. That those, who had been actors in these bu-
" sinesses, had their dependence, their countenance,
" and encouragement, from the court ; witness the
" treason, whereof Mr. Jermyn, and others, stood ac-
" cused ; who, they said, was transported beyond seas
" by warrant under his majesty s own hand, after he
had given assurance to his parliament, that he had
laid a strict command upon his servants, that none
" of them should depart from court. And that dan-
" gerous petition delivered to captain Leg by his
" majesty s own hand, accompanied with a direction
" signed with C. R.

7. " The false and scandalous accusation against
" the lord Kimbolton, and the five members of the

. .

66

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OF THE REBELLION. 277

" house of commons, tendered to the parliament by BOOK

" his own command, and endeavoured to be justified

" in the city by his own presence and persuasion,
" and to be put in execution upon their persons by
" his demand of them in the house of. commons, in
" so terrible and violent a manner, as far exceeded
" all former breaches of privileges of parliament
" acted by his majesty, or any of his predecessors :
and they said, whatever his own intentions were,
divers bloody and desperate persons, that attended
" him, discovered their affections, and resolutions,
ec to have massacred and destroyed the members of
that house, if the absence of those persons accused
had not, by God s providence, stopped the giving
that word, which they expected for the setting
" them upon that barbarous and bloody act : the list-
" ing of officers and soldiers, for a guard at White
hall, and such other particulars.
8. " That, after a vote had passed in the house of
commons, declaring that the lord Digby had ap
peared in a warlike manner at Kingston upon
Thames, to the terror and affright of his majesty s
good subjects, and disturbance of the public peace
" of the kingdom, he should nevertheless be in that?
" credit with his majesty, as to be sent away by his
" majesty s own warrant to sir J. Pennington to land
" him beyond seas : from whence he vented his own
" traitorous conceptions, that his majesty should de-
" clare himself, and retire to a place of strength ; as
" if he could not be safe amongst his people. Which
" false and malicious counsel and advice, they said,
" they had great cause to doubt, made too deep an

P in that] of that
T 3

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"

278 THE HISTORY

BOOK " impression upon ^ his majesty, considering the

! " course he was pleased to take of absenting himself

42. 66 f rom his parliament, and carrying the prince with
" him ; which seemed to express a purpose in his
majesty to keep himself in a readiness for the act
ing of it.

9- " The many advertisements they had from
Rome, Paris, Venice, and other parts, that they
still expected that his majesty had some great de
sign in hand, for the altering of religion, and r the
" breaking the neck of his parliament. That the
pope s nuncio had solicited the kings of France
and Spain to lend his majesty four thousand men
apiece, to help to maintain his royalty against the
parliament. And they said, as that foreign force
was the most pernicious and malignant design of
" all the rest ; so they hoped it was, and should al
ways be, farthest from his majesty s thoughts ; be
cause no man would believe 5 he would give up
his people and kingdom to be spoiled by strangers,
" if he did not likewise intend to change both his
" own profession in religion, and the public profes-
" sion of the kingdom, that so he might be still more
" assured of those foreign states of the popish reli-
" gion for their future support and defence.

These, they said, were some of the grounds of
their fears and jealousies, which had made them
so earnestly implore his royal authority, and pro
tection, for their defence and security, in all the
"" ways of humility and submission ; which being de-
" nied by his majesty, seduced by evil counsel, they

q upon] in * would believe] could believe

r and] Not in MS.

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66
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OF THE REBELLION. 279

" did, with sorrow for the great and unavoidable BOO

IV.

" misery and danger, which was thereby 1 like to fall

\_s

upon his own person, and his kingdoms, apply
" themselves to the use of that power for the secu-
" rity and defence of both, which, by the funda
mental laws and constitutions of the kingdom, re
sided in them ; yet still resolving to keep them
selves within the bounds of faithfulness and allegi
ance to his sacred person, and crown. u

To the fears and jealousies expressed by his ma
jesty, when he said, that for his residence near the
parliament, he wished it might be so safe and ho-
" nourable, that he had no cause to absent himself
from Whitehall : that, they said, they took as the
" greatest breach of privilege, that could be offered ;
as the heaviest misery to himself, and imputation
upon them, that could be imagined, and the most
" mischievous effect of evil counsels ; it rooted up
the strongest foundation of the safety and honour
" the crown afforded ; it seemed as much as might
" be, they said, to cast upon the parliament such a
charge, as was inconsistent with the nature of that
great council, being the body, of which his ma
jesty was the head ; it struck at the very being
both of the x king and parliament, depriving his
majesty, in his own apprehension, of their fidelity,
" and them of his protection ; which are the natural
" bonds? and supports of government and subjec-
" tion.

" They said, they had, according to his majesty s
" desire, laid their hands upon their hearts ; they

I was thereby] thereby was x the] Not in MS.

II crown.] his crown. v bonds] bands

T 4

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280 THE HISTORY

BOOK " had asked themselves in the strictest examination
of their consciences ; they had searched their af-

u

a

42t " fections, their thoughts, considered their actions ;
" and they found none, that could give his majesty
" any just occasion to absent himself from White-
" hall, and his parliament ; but that he might, with
more honour and safety, continue there, than in
any other place. They said, his majesty laid a
general tax upon them : if he would be graciously
" pleased to let them know the particulars, they
" should give a clear and satisfactory answer. But,
" they said, they could have no hope of ever giving
" his majesty satisfaction, when those particulars,
" which he had been made believe were true, yet,
" being produced, and made known to them, ap-
" peared to be false ; and his majesty notwithstand-
" ing would neither punish nor produce the authors,
" but go on to contract new fears and jealousies,
" upon general and uncertain grounds ; affording
them no means or possibility of particular answer
to the clearing of themselves, of which they gave
him these instances. 1. The speeches pretended
to be spoken at Kensington concerning the queen,
which had been denied and disavowed; yet his
majesty had not named the authors. 2. The charge
" and accusation of the lord Kimbolton, and the
" five members, who refused no trial or examination,
" which might stand with the privileges of parlia-
" ment ; yet no authors, no witnesses, were pro-
" duced, against whom they might have reparation
" for the great injury, and infamy cast upon them.

They besought his majesty to consider in what
state he was, how easy and fair a way he had to
happiness, honour, greatness, and plenty, and se-

it
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U
(t

((
((

((
6(

(f
((

OF THE REBELLION. 281

" curity, if he would join with his parliament, and BOOK
" his faithful subjects, in the defence of the religion, , . ...
" and the public good of the kingdom. That, they
" said, was all they expected from him, and for that
they would return to him their lives, fortunes, and
utmost 2 endeavours to support his majesty, his
" just sovereignty, and power over them. But, they
" said, it was not words that could secure them in
those their humble desires ; they could not but too
well and sorrowfully remember, what gracious mes-
(( sages they had from him the last summer ; when,
" with his privity, the bringing up of a the army
" was in agitation : they could not but with the like
" affections recall to their minds, how, not two days
" before he gave direction for the aforementioned
" accusation, and his own coming to the commons
" house, that house received from him a gracious
" message, that he would always have care of their
" privileges, as of his own prerogative ; and of the
safety of their persons, as of his own children.

They said, that which they expected, and which
" would give them assurance that he had no thought
" but of peace, and justice to his people, must be
" some real effect of his goodness to them, in grant-
" ing those things, which the present necessity of the
" kingdom did enforce them to desire. And in the
first place, that he would be graciously pleased to
put from him those wicked and mischievous coun-
" sellors, which had caused all those dangers and
" distractions ; and to continue his own residence,
" and the prince s, near London, and the parlia-
" ment ; which, they hoped, would be a happy be-

z utmost] uttermost a of] Not in MS.

(6

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t(
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THE HISTORY

BOOK ginning of contentment, and confidence between
" him and his people ; and be followed with many
" succeeding blessings of honour and greatness to his
" majesty, and of security and prosperity to them."

In the debate of this declaration, the like whereof
had never before been heard of in parliament, in
which they took his majesty s doubt of his safety at
Whitehall so heavily, that, they said, " it seemed to
" cast such a charge upon the parliament, as was in-
" consistent with the nature of that great council,"
(so apprehensive they were of the least suspicion of
want of freedom,) the prevalent party carried them
selves with that pride and impetuosity, that they
would endure no opposition or dispute ; insomuch as
sir Ralph Hopton, (who indeed was very grievous to
them for not complying with them,) for objecting
against some sharp expressions in the declaration,
(before it passed the house, and when the question
was, whether it should pass,) as being too distant
from that reverence, which ought to be used to the
king ; and for b saying, upon a clause, in which they
mentioned their general intelligence from Rome,
Venice, Paris, and other places, of some design the
king had upon religion, and the parliament, from
whence they seemed to conclude that the king would
change his religion, " that they seemed to ground an
" opinion of the king s apostasy upon a less evidence,
" than would serve to hang a fellow for stealing a
" horse," was committed to the Tower of London,
" for laying an imputation upon that committee,
" which had drawn up the declaration." Notwith
standing which, after they had imprisoned him, they

b for] Not in MS.

OF THE REBELLION. 283

thought fit to make that expression less gross and BOOK

positive ; though, as it is set down above, (in which !

words it passed, and was delivered to the king,) it
was thought by standers-by to be very unagreeable
to the gravity of a wise court, and to the duty of
subjects.

But in this particular, in oppressing all those who
were of different opinions from them, their carriage
was so notorious and terrible, that spies were set
upon, and inquiries made upon all private, light,
casual discourses, which fell from those who were
not gracious to them : as Mr. Trelawny, c a member
of the house of commons, and a merchant of great
reputation, was expelled the house, and committed
to prison, for having said, in a private discourse in
the city, to a friend, " that the house could not ap-
" point a guard for themselves without the king s
" consent, under pain of high treason :" which was
proved by a fellow, who pretended to overhear him ;
when the person himself, with whom the conference
was held, declared, " that he said, it might be im-
" puted to them for high treason : d " and it was con
fessed on all parts, that the words were spoken long
before the discovery, and some days before the house
had resolved, " that they would have a guard." And
afterwards, upon the old stock of their dislike, when
the war begun 6 to break out, they again imprisoned
this honest f gentleman ; seized upon all his estate,
which was very good; and suffered him to die in
prison for want of ordinary relief and refreshment.

And in this very time we speak of, and in the

c as Mr. Trelawny,] as one e begun] began
Mr. Trelawny, f honest] poor

d high treason :] treason :

284 THE HISTORY

BOOK very business of the militia, when every day very
. great multitudes of petitions from most of the coun-

42t ties of England, and from the city of London, were
presented to both houses, to desire they might be h
put into a posture of defence ; and that they would
cause the ordinance for the militia to be speedily
executed, which was alleged to be an instance of
the people s desire throughout the kingdom, and the
chief ground of their proceeding ; the most substan
tial citizens of London, both in reputation and estate,
finding that the militia of that city, with which by
their charter, and constant practice, the lord mayor
had been always intrusted, was now with a most ex
travagant power to be committed to a number of
factious persons of the city, part 1 of whom consisted
of men of no fortune, or reputation, resolved to pe
tition both houses " not to alter the k original con-
" stitution and right of their city :" and, to that pur
pose, a petition was signed by some hundreds, and
very probably would in few days have been sub
scribed by all, or most of the substantial citizens
of London. The house had notice of this peti
tion, which they called another conspiracy and plot
against the parliament, and immediately employed a
member of their own to procure a sight of it ; who,
under a trust of redelivering it, got it into his hands,
and brought it to the house of commons ; upon which,
some principal citizens, who had subscribed it, were
examined, and committed to prison ; and a direction
given, that a charge and impeachment should be
prepared against the recorder of London, who, they

multitudes of petitions] mul- part] the major part
titudes with petitions k the] their

h they might be] them to be

OF THE REBELLION. 285

heard, had been of council in the drawing up and BOOK
preparing that petition, and, they knew, was oppo- , - !
site to their tumultuary proceedings. So when the
chief gentlemen of Oxfordshire heard, that a peti
tion had been delivered to the house of commons in
their name, and the name of that county, against
the established government of the church, and for
the exercise of the militia, they assembled together
to draw up a petition disavowing the former, and to
desire, " that the settled laws might be observed ;"
of which the lord Say having notice, he procured
the chief gentlemen to be sent for as delinquents,
and so suppressed that address : and this was the
measure of their justice in many other particulars of
the same nature, receiving and cherishing all mu
tinous and seditious petitions, and discountenancing
such as besought the continuance and vindication of
the so long celebrated and happy government in
church and state ; the prime leaders of that faction
not blushing, in public debates in the house, to aver,
" that no man 1 ought to petition for the government
" established by law, because he had already his
" wish ; but they that desired an alteration, could
" not otherwise have their desires known ; and there-
" fore were to be countenanced."

The committee, which presented the declaration They like-
to the king at Newmarket, presented likewise addi- sent the"
tional reasons, as they called them, for his majesty s

return, and continuance near the parliament ; as a his conti -

nuance near

matter, in their apprehension, of so great necessity the

j . ment.

and importance towards the preservation of his per
son, and his kingdom : and they said,

1 man] men

286 THE HISTORY

BOOK " They could not think they discharged their du
ties in the single expression of their desire, unless

IV.

ft
a

66
66
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4 ~- " they added some further reasons to back it with.
" 1. His majesty s absence would cause men to be-
" lieve, that it was out of design to discourage the
" undertakers, and hinder the other provisions for
raising money for defence of Ireland. 2. It would
very much hearten the rebels there, and disaffected
persons in this kingdom, as being an evidence, and
effect of the jealousy and division between his
majesty and his people. 3. That it would much
" weaken and withdraw the affection of the subject
" from his majesty ; without which, a prince is de-
" prived of his chiefest strength and lustre, and left
" naked to the greatest dangers and miseries that
can be imagined. 4. That it would invite and en
courage the enemies of our religion and the state
in foreign parts, to the attempting, and acting of
" their evil designs and intentions towards us. 5.
" That it did cause a great interruption in the pro-
" ceedings of parliament. Those considerations, they
" said, threatened so great dangers to his person,
" and to all his dominions, that, as his great council,
" they held it necessary to represent to him this n
" their faithful advice, that so, whatsoever should
" follow, they might be excused before God and

(6

tf

" man.

Whilst that declaration was reading, his majesty
expressed some passion upon particular expressions ;
and once, when that passage was read, that takes
notice " of the transportation of Mr. Jermyn by his

" majesty s own warrant, after he had given his

^

ni dangers] danger " this] that

OF THE REBELLION. 287

" word, that he had commanded that none of his BOOK
" servants should depart from court," interrupted IV

the earl of Holland, who read it, and said, " That s 1642.
" false ;" and when he was told, " it related not to
" the date, but the execution of the warrant," his
majesty said, " It might have been better expressed
" then : it is a high thing to tax a king with breach
" of promise." But after both the declaration and
reasons were read, the king, after a short pause, said
to them,

" I am confident that you expect not I should His majes-

, ,, . ty s answer

give you a speedy answer to this strange and un- to both.
" expected declaration ; and I am sorry, in the dis-
" traction of this kingdom, you should think this
" way of address to be more convenient, than that
" propounded, by my message of the twentieth of
" January last, to both houses. As concerning the
" grounds of your fears and jealousies, I will take
" time to answer them particularly ; and doubt not
" but I shall do it to the satisfaction of all the world.
God, in his good time, will, I hope, discover the
secrets and bottoms of all plots and treasons ; and
then I shall stand right in the eyes of all my peo
ple. In the mean time I must tell you, that I ra
ther expected a vindication for the imputation laid
" uponP me in Mr. Pym s speech, than that any
" more general rumours and discourses should get
" credit with you. For my fears and doubts, I did
" not think they should have been thought so trivial
" and groundless, whilst so many seditious pamphlets
" and sermons are looked upon, and so great tumults

them] Not in MS. P laid upon] laid on

..
..
a

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it

288 THE HISTORY

BOOK " remembered, <J unpunished and r uninquired into. I
^ " still confess my fears, and call God to witness, that

66
66
66
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1642. they are greater for the true protestant profession,
" my people and laws, than for my own rights, or
" safety ; though I must tell you, I conceive none of
" these are free from danger. What would you have ?
" Have I violated your laws ? Have I denied to pass
any one bill for the ease and security of my sub
jects ? I do not ask you what you have done for
me. Are my people transported with fears and
apprehensions ? I have offered as free and general
a pardon as yourselves can devise. There is a
" judgment from heaven upon this nation, if these
" distractions continue. God so deal with me, and
mine, as all my thoughts, and intentions, are up
right for the maintenance of the true protestant
profession, and for the observation and preserva
tion of the laws of the land : and I hope God will
" bless and assist those laws for my preservation."

This being suddenly, and with some vehemence,
spoken by his majesty, and he having taken further
time to answer the declaration, and the reasons, the
committee besought him, " since they were to carry
" back with them no other answer, that his majesty
" would vouchsafe to give them what he had spoken
" in writing ;" which, the next morning, he did : and
then the earl of Holland again desired him, " that
" he would reside nearer his parliament ;" whereunto
the king briefly s answered, " I would you had given
" me cause ; but I am sure this declaration is not

<i remembered,] are remem- r and] Not in MS.
bered, s briefly] shortly

66
it
66
66

a

a

a

OF THE REBELLION. 289

" the way to it." Then being asked by the earl of BOOK

Pembroke, whether the militia might not be granted,

as was desired by the parliament, for a time ? he an
swered, " By God, not for an hour. You have asked
" that of me in this, was never asked of a king, and
" with which I will not trust my wife and children."
He told them, " he could not have believed the par-
" liament would have sent him such a declaration,
" if he had not seen it brought by such persons : and
" said he was sorry for the parliament, but glad he
had it ; for by that he doubted not to satisfy his
people. He said they spoke t of ill councils ; but
he was confident they had worse information 11 ,
" than he had councils. He told them, the business
" of Ireland would never be done in the way they
" were in ; four hundred would never do that work ;
" it must be put into the hands of one : and, he said,
" if he were trusted with it, he would pawn his head
" to end that work."

As soon as the committee returned, and reported
what answer they had received, and in what disposi
tion and temper they found and left the king; it
was ordered, that their declaration, which they had
sent to him, should be speedily printed, and carefully
dispersed throughout the kingdom, that the people
might see upon what terms they stood ; and all other
possible courses were taken to poison the hearts and
affections of the subjects, and to suppress all those,
who, in any degree, seemed to dislike their high
proceedings. Above all, care was taken to place
such preachers and lecturers in the most populous
towns and parishes, as were well known to abhor

1 spoke] spake " information,] informations

VOL. II. U

230 THE HISTORY

BOOK the present government, and temperature of church
J and state; many of whom were recommended, and

1642. positively enjoined, and imposed upon parishes, by
the house of commons ; and others, by such factious
members, whose reputation was most current : and
all canonical clergymen, and orthodox divines, were,
with equal industry, discountenanced, imprisoned,
or forced to a long attendance upon committees, or
the house, (which was worse than imprisonment,)
under the notion and imputation of scandalous mi
nisters. Which charge and reproach reached all men,
whose inclinations they liked not, or whose opinions
they suspected. And that they might be sure to be
as strong and absolute at sea, as at land, they ap
pointed the lord admiral to send the names of all
those captains of ships, who were to attend the fleet
for that summer service, to them, to the end they
might have such men, in whom they might confide ;
which his lordship most punctually observed. By
which they helped to free him of those officers whom
he could not plausibly have discharged ; and struck
out the names of those, whose affections or relations
they thought themselves not secure in.
The king s The king thought it now time, according to his

message t .

to both former resolution, which he had not communicated
fairway 1 "o to many, to remove to York, which was a place of
good reception, x and conveniency, for those who were
willing to attend him ; and, to the end that there
might be public notice of it, he sent from Hunting-
ton, when he was upon his journey, a message to
both houses : " That, being then in his remove to
" his city of York, where he intended to make his

x good reception,] receipt,

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((

OF THE REBELLION. 291

" residence for some time, he thought fit to send BOOK
" that message to them, and very earnestly to desire
" them, that they would use all possible industry in 1642
" expediting the business of Ireland ; in which they
" should find so cheerful a concurrence from his ma-
" jesty, that no inconvenience should happen to that
" service by his absence, he having all that passion
for the reducing that kingdom, which he had ex
pressed in his former messages, and being, by
" words, unable to manifest more affection to it,
" than he had endeavoured to do by those messages :
having likewise done all such acts, as he had been
moved unto by his parliament. Therefore, if the
" misfortunes and calamities of his poor protestant
subjects there should grow upon them, (though he
should be deeply concerned in, and sensible of their
sufferings,) he said, he should wash his hands be-
" fore all the world from the least imputation of
" slackness in that most necessary and pious work.

" And, that he might leave no way un attempted,
" which might beget a good understanding between
him and his parliament, he said, he thought it ne
cessary to declare, that, as he had been so tender
of the privileges y of parliament, that he had been
" ready and forward to retract any act of his own,
" which he had been informed had trenched upon
their privileges ; so he expected an equal tender
ness in them of his known prerogatives, 2 which
are the unquestionable a privileges of the kingdom ;
amongst which, he was assured, it was a funda-
" mental one, that his subjects could not be obliged

privileges] privilege and unquestionable privileges,

known prerogatives,] known a unquestionable] Not in MS.

IT 2

tt
te

ft

tt
a

a

it

a
tt
tt

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292 THE HISTORY

BOOK "to obey any act, order, or injunction, to which he
" had not given his consent.

6(
it
66
66
66

" And, therefore, he thought it necessary to pub
lish, that he expected, and thereby required, obedi
ence from all his loving subjects to the laws esta
blished; and that they presumed not upon any
pretence of order, or ordinance, to which his ma
jesty was no party, concerning the militia, or any
" other thing, to do, or execute what was not war-
" rantable by those laws ; he being resolved to keep
" the laws himself, and to require obedience to them
" from all his subjects.

" He b once more recommended unto them the
" substance of his message of the twentieth of Ja-
" nuary last ; that they would compose, and digest
" with all speed, such acts as they should think fit
" for the c present and future establishment of their
" privileges, the free and quiet enjoying their estates
" and fortunes, the liberties of their persons, the se-
" curity of the true religion then professed in the
" church of England, the maintaining his regal and
" just authority, and settling his revenue ; he being
most desirous to take all fitting and just ways,
which might beget a happy understanding be
tween him and his parliament, in which he con
ceived his greatest power and riches did consist."
Both I have not known both houses in more choler and

houses

votes con- rage, than upon the receiving this message, which
militia, came early to them on Wednesday the sixteenth of
March. Now the day before had been spent in pre
paring all things ready for the execution of the or
dinance of the militia ; they had voted, and resolved,

f

b He] And he c the] their

66
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66

66

66

OF THE REBELLION. 293

u that it was not any way against the oath of alle- BOOK
" glance, that all the commissions to lieutenants

^J 1 /^ t ^-v

" under the great seal were illegal and void ; and
" that whosoever should execute any power over the
" militia by colour of any commission of lieutenancy,
" without consent of both houses of parliament,
" should be accounted a disturber of the peace of
" the kingdom." Then they agreed upon this pro
position, " That the kingdom had been of late, and
still was, in so evident and imminent danger, both
from enemies abroad, and a popish and discon
tented party at home, that there was an urgent
and inevitable necessity of putting his majesty s
subjects into a posture of defence, for the safe
guard both of the king and his people ; and that
" the lords and commons, apprehending that dan
ger, and being sensible of their own duty to pro
vide a suitable prevention, had, in several peti
tions, addressed themselves to his majesty for the
ordering and disposing the militia of the kingdom
in such a way, as was agreed upon, by the wisdom
" of both houses, to be most proper for the present
exigence of the kingdom : yet they could not ob
tain it ; but his majesty did several times refuse
to give his royal assent thereunto." Upon this
proposition, they resolved, " that in that case of ex
treme danger, and of his majesty s refusal, the or
dinance agreed on by both houses for the militia
" did oblige the people, and ought to be obeyed by
" the fundamental laws of the kingdom ; and that
such persons, as should be nominated deputy lieu
tenants, and approved of by both houses, should
" receive the commands of both houses, to take upon
" them to execute their offices." All which resolu-

u 3

66

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294 THE HISTORY

BOOK tions were ordered, the same night, to be printed

! and published. So that, when the king s message

42 - from Huntington was read the next morning, and
seemed to be against their votes of the day before,
they concluded, " that it could not be sent from the
" king, but that it had been inserted in blanks left
" in the town for such purposes ;" and immediately
made a committee, " to find out by whom that mes-
" sage was framed." But when they remember
ed, that they had voted as much a week before,
and had examined the gentleman who brought it,
and had received it from the king s own hand,
they proceeded no further in that inquisition ; but
satisfied themselves with a new vote, " that those
persons, who advised his majesty to absent him
self from the parliament, and those that advised
" him to that message, were enemies to the peace
" of the kingdom, and justly to be suspected to be
" favourers of the rebellion in Ireland." And for
the matter itself they resolved to insist upon their
former votes ; and withal declared, " that when the
" lords and commons in parliament, which is the su-
" preme court of judicature in the kingdom, should
" declare what the law of the land is, to have that
" not only questioned and controverted, but contra-
" dieted, and a command that it should not be obey-
" ed, was a high breach of the privilege of parlia-
" ment."

And this likewise they caused to be speedily
printed; lest the king should be able to persuade
the subjects, that an order of theirs, without his
consent, was no law to compel their obedience. And
from this last resolution, by which the law of the
land, and consequently the liberty of the subject,

66
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OF THE REBELLION. 295

was resolved into a vote of the two houses, which BOOK

IV.

passed without any dispute or hesitation, all sober

men discerned the fatal period of both, and saw a
foundation laid for all the anarchy and confusion that
hath followed.

It was now known, that the king was gone to Their order
York, which made them apprehend their principal
ity of Hull might be in danger ; and therefore they
immediately resolve, " that no forces whatsoever
" shall be admitted in that town, without the im-
" mediate consent of both houses :" which order
was sent thither by an express. And having pre
pared the people to be ready for the militia, by pub
lishing, " that, in case of extreme danger, they were
" to obey that ordinance ;" they were, in the next
place, to find the danger to be extreme ; and, to
that purpose, they produced letters without any
name, pretended to be written from Amsterdam,
signifying, " that they had intelligence there, that
" there was an army ready in Denmark to be trans-
" ported into England, and was to be landed at
" Hull; which, they said, had been confirmed to
" them by a person of reputation, from Newmarket,
" who confirmed the intelligence of Denmark : and
" added, that there were d likewise forces ready in
" France to be landed e at Hull."

Of f this, how gross and ridiculous soever it ap
peared to wise men, they made a double use, (be
sides the general impression in the people,) the one
to colour and countenance their orders to their go
vernor there ; the other, to make the king s resi
dence in those parts suspected and grievous, as if he

d were] was e landed] likewise landed f Of] And of

u 4*

296 THE HISTORY

BOOK came thither only to bring in foreign forces upon
them. With these alarms of foreign forces, they

mingled other intelligence of the papists in Eng
land, " that they had a purpose of making an insur-
" rection ;" and therefore they proceeded in prepar
ing a bill to secure the persons of those of the best
quality, and greatest interest, and enjoining the
oath of supremacy to be taken with great rigour ;
and, amongst other stratagems they had to humble
the papists, I remember, upon an information that
they used their protestant tenants worse in the rais
ing their rents, than they did those of their own re
ligion, there was an order, " that they should not
" raise the rents of their tenants, above the rates
" that the protestant landlords adjoining received
" from their tenants :" by virtue of which, in some
places, they undertook to determine what rents
their tenants should pay to them. But, in this zeal
against the papists, they could not endure that the
king should have any share ; and therefore, when
they found, that his majesty had published a pro
clamation in his journey towards York, " command-
" ing all the judges and justices of peace, and other
" officers, to put in due execution all the laws and
" statutes of the kingdom, against popish recusants,
" without favour or connivance," they presently sent
for the sheriffs of London to the house of commons,
and examined them, " why seven priests, who were
" in Newgate, and had been long condemned, were
" not executed ?" the reason whereof they well
knew : and when the sheriffs h said, " that they had
" received a reprieve for them under the king s

alarms] alarums h the sheriffs] they

OF THE REBELLION. 297

" hand," they published that with great care in BOOK

their prints, to take off the credit of the new pro-

clamation ; and appointed their messengers, whom
they were then sending to the king with a new de
claration, to move his majesty, " that he would take
" off his reprieve, and suffer those seven condemned
" priests to be executed, according to the judg-
" ments they had received."

They proceeded now to provide all necessary
means for the raising great sums of money, by the
diligent collection of what was granted by former
acts, and by a new bill for the raising of four hun
dred thousand pounds for the payment of the great
debts of the kingdom, (by which they meant the
remainder of the three hundred thousand pounds,
they had bountifully given to their brethren of Scot
land,) and the support of the war of Ireland : all
which monies were to be received and disposed as
the two houses should direct ; of which though the
king saw the danger, that might, and did after en
sue thereupon, i yet he thought that probable incon
venience and mischief to be less, than that, which
the scandal of denying any thing, upon which the
recovery of Ireland seemed to depend, would inevita
bly bring upon him ; and so ratified whatsoever they
brought to him of that kind.

Amongst other expedients for raising of money They make
for the war of Ireland, about this time, they made
certain propositions to encourage men to be adven-;
turers in that traffick, thus : they concluded " that, land -

in so general a rebellion, very much land must
" escheat to the crown by the forfeiture of treason,

1 and did after ensue thereupon,] and after did ensue to them,

66
66

298 THE HISTORY

BOOK and that, out of such forfeitures, satisfaction might
-" be given to those, who should disburse money to-
16 2 * "wards the suppression of the rebels; so many
" acres of land to be allowed for so much money,
according to the value of the lands in the several
provinces, which was specified in the proposi-
" tions ;" which, having passed both houses, were
presented to the king, who (it being about the be
ginning of February, when the breach of their pri
vileges rung k in all men s ears) answered, " that as
" he had offered, and was still ready to venture, his
" own person for the recovery of that kingdom, if
" his parliament should advise him thereunto ; so
" he would not deny to contribute any other assist
ance he could to that service, by parting with any
profit or advantage of his own there ; and there
fore, relying upon the wisdom of his parliament,
The king " he did consent to every proposition, now made to
them. " him, without taking time to consider and exa-
" mine, whether that course might not retard the
reducing that kingdom, by exasperating the re
bels, and rendering them desperate of being re-
" ceived into grace, if they should return to their
" obedience. And, he said, he would be ready to
" give his royal assent to such bills, as should be
" tendered to him by his parliament for the con-
" firmation of those propositions."

Which answer, together with their propositions,
they caused forthwith to be printed; made their
committees, in all places, to solicit subscriptions,
and to receive the monies, the principal and most
active persons subscribing first, for the example of

k rung] rang

66
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ft

66

66

OF THE REBELLION. 299

others; and delayed the framing and presenting the BOOK
bill to the king, till they had received great sums of

money, and procured very many persons of all con
ditions to subscribe, many coming in out of pure
covetousness to raise great fortunes ; five hundred
acres of land being assigned for one hundred pound
in some counties, and not much under that propor
tion in others ; some out of pure fear, and to win
credit with the powerful party, which made this
new project a measure of men s affections, and a
trial how far they might be trusted, and relied on.

Then they sent those propositions digested into a
bill to the king, with such clauses of power to them,
and diminution of his own, that, upon the matter,
he put the making a peace with the rebels there
out of his power, l though upon the most advantage
ous terms ; which he was likewise necessitated to
pass.

But notwithstanding all these preparations on The king
this side the sea, the relief and provision was VW^
slowly supplied to the other side: where the rebels pose *
still increased in strength, and by the fame of these
propositions enlarged their power, very many per
sons of honour and fortune, who till then had sat
still, and either were, or seemed to be, averse to the
rebellion, joining with them, as being desperate, and
conceiving the utter suppressing their religion, and
the very extirpation of their nation, to be decreed
against them. And, without doubt, the great re
formers here were willing enough to drive them to
any extremity, both out of revenge and contempt,
as a people easy to be rooted out, and that the war

1 his power,] his own power,

300 THE HISTORY, &c.

BOOK might be kept up still ; m since they feared an union
in that kingdom might much prejudice their designs

1 642 * in this, both as it might supply the king with power,
and take away much of theirs ; whereas now they
had opportunity, with reference to Ireland, to raise
both men and money, which they might be able to
employ upon more pressing occasions, as they will
be found afterwards to have done. Neither was it
out of their expectation and view, that, by the
king s consenting to that severe decree, he might
very probably discourage his catholic subjects, in his
other dominions, from any extraordinary acts of
duty and affection : at least, that it would render
him less considered by most n catholic princes. And
they knew well what use to make of any diminution
of his interest or reputation. These matters thus
settled, for the ease of the two houses, who were
now like to have much to do, they appointed the
whole business of Ireland to be managed by com
mission under the great seal of England, by four
lords and eight commoners, whom they recom
mended to the king, and who were always to re
ceive instructions from themselves. And in this
state and disposition were the affairs of Ireland,
when the king went to York, where let us now re
sort to him.

m up still ;] still up ; n most] the most

THE END OF THE FOURTH BOOK.

THE

HISTORY

OF THE

REBELLION, &c.

BOOK V.

a ISA. iii.

As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women
rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee
cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths a .

AS soon as the king came to York, which was 1642.
about the end of the year 1641, and found his re
ception there to be equal to his expectation, the
gentry, and men of ability of that great and popu
lous county, (some very few excepted,) expressing
great alacrity for his majesty s being with them, and
no less sense of the insolent proceedings of the par
liament ; thereupon b he resolved to treat with the
two houses in another manner than he had done,
and to let them clearly know, " that as he would
" deny them nothing that was fit for them to ask,
" so he would yield to nothing that was unreason-

a ISA. iii. 12. As for thy b thereupon] whereupon
paths. ] Not in MS.

302 THE HISTORY

BOOK " able for him to grant; and that he would have

" nothing extorted from him, that he was not very

I642 - we ll inclined to consent to." So, within few days

after his coining thither, he sent them c a declara

tion (which he caused to be printed, and, in the

frontispiece, recommended to the consideration of

all his loving subjects) in answer d to that presented

to him at Newmarket some days before : he told

them,

His majes- " That, though that declaration, presented to
" at Newmarket from both houses of parlia-

Mardi 9. " niciit, was e of so strange a nature, in respect of
what he expected, (after so many acts of grace
and favour to his people,) and some expressions in
it so different from the usual language to princes,
that he might well take a very long time to con
sider it ; yet the clearness and uprightness of his
" conscience to God, and love to his subjects, had
supplied him with a speedy answer ; and his unal
terable affection to his people prevailed with him
to suppress that passion, which might well enough
become him upon such invitation f . He said, he
" had reconsidered & his answer of the first of that
" month at Theobalds, which was urged h to have
given just cause of sorrow to his subjects : but, he
said, whoever looked over that message, (which
was in effect to tell him, that if he would not join
with them in an act, which he conceived might
prove prejudicial and dangerous to him, and the
whole kingdom, they would make a law without

ft
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ft

(f
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ft

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c them] Not in MS. f such invitation.] such an

d in answer] to them, in an- invitation,
swer g reconsidered] considered

e was] were h urged] said

OF THE REBELLION. 303

" him, and impose it upon his people,) would not BOOK
" think that sudden % answer could be excepted to.

66

61

66

66

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66

" He said, he had little encouragement to replies of 1642%
that nature, when he was told of how little value
his words were like to be with them, though they
came accompanied with all the actions of love and
justice, (where there was room for actions to ac-
" company them ;) yet he could not but disavow the
having any such evil counsel, or counsellors about
him, to his knowledge, as were mentioned by
them ; and, if any such should be discovered, he
would leave them to the censure and judgment of
" his parliament. In the mean time he could wish,
" that his own immediate actions, which he did
" avow, and his own honour, might not be so roughly
" censured and wounded, under that common style
" of evil counsellors. For his faithful and zealous
" affection to the true protestant profession, and his
" resolution to concur with his parliament in any
" possible course for the propagation of it, and the
suppression of popery, he said he could say no
more than he had already expressed in his de-
" claration to all his loving subjects, published in
January last, by the advice of his privy council ;
in which he endeavoured to make as lively a con-
" fession of himself in that point as he was able, be-
" ing most assured, that the constant practice of his
" life had been answerable thereunto : and there-
" fore he did rather expect a testimony, and ac
knowledgment of such his zeal and piety, than
those expressions he met with in that declaration
of any design of altering religion in this kingdom.
" And he said, he did, out of the innocency of his
" soul, wish, that the judgments of Heaven might

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66
66
66

304 THE HISTORY

BOOK "be manifested upon those, who have or had any
such design.

66

66

-,
66

66

" As for the Scots troubles, he told them, he had
" thought, that those unhappy differences had been
" wrapped up in perpetual silence by the act of ob
livion ; which, being solemnly passed in the par
liaments of both kingdoms, stopped his own mouth
from any other reply, than to shew his great dis-
" like for reviving the memory thereof. He said, if
" the rebellion in Ireland, so odious to all Christians,
" seemed to have been framed and maintained in
England, or to have any countenance from hence,
he conjured both his houses of parliament, and all
his loving subjects whatsoever, to use all possible
" means to discover and find such out, that he might
" join in the most exemplary vengeance upon them,
" that could be imagined. But, he told them, he
" must think himself highly and causelessly injured
" in his reputation, if any declaration, action, or
" expression of the Irish rebels ; any letters 1 from
" the count Rozetti to the papists, for fasting and
" praying ; or from Tristram Whetcomb, of strange
speeches uttered in Ireland, should beget any jea
lousy or misapprehension in his subjects of his jus
tice, piety, and affection : it being evident to all
understandings, that those mischievous and wick-
" ed rebels are not so capable of great advantage, as
by having their false discourses so far believed, as
to raise fears and jealousies to the distraction of
this kingdom ; the only way to their security. He
said, he could not express a deeper sense of the
sufferings of his poor protestant subjects in that

letters] letter

a

6f

66
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a
((

66
66

OF THE REBELLION. 305

" kingdom, than he had done in his often messages BOOK

66

6(
66

" to both houses ; by which he had offered, and was .
" still ready, to venture his royal person for their
" redemption ; well knowing, that as he was, in his
" own interests, more concerned in them ; so he was
" to make a strict account to Almighty God for any
" neglect of his duty, or their preservation.

" For the manifold attempts to provoke his late
" army, and the army of the Scots, and to raise a
" faction in the city of London, and other parts of
" the kingdom, if it were said as relating to him, he
" could not without great indignation suffer himself
to be reproached to have intended the least force,
or threatening to his parliament ; as the being
privy to the bringing up the army k would imply.
" Whereas, he called God to witness, he never had
" any such thought, nor knew 1 of any such resolu-
" tion concerning his late army. For the petition
" shewed to him by captain Leg, he said, he well
<s remembered the same, and the occasion of that
" conference. Captain Leg being lately come out
" of the north, and repairing to him at Whitehall,
" his majesty asked him of the state of his army ;
" and, after some relation of it, he told his majesty,
" that the commanders and officers of the army had
a mind to petition the parliament, as others of his
people had done, and shewed him the copy of a
petition ; which he read, and finding it to be very
humble, desiring the parliament might receive no
interruption in the reformation of church m and
state, to the model of queen Elizabeth s days, his

k the army] of the army m of church] of the church

1 nor knew] or knew

VOL, II. X

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306 THE HISTORY

BOOK "majesty told him, that he saw no harm in it;

- " whereupon captain Leg replied, that he believed

" all the officers of the army would like it ; only, he
." thought, sir Jacob Ashley would be unwilling to
sign it, out of fear that it would n displease him.
His majesty then read the petition over again ;
and observing nothing in matter or form he con
ceived could possibly give just cause of offence, he
delivered it to him again, bidding him give it to
sir Jacob Ashley, for whose satisfaction he writ
C. R. upon it, to testify his approbation ; and he
" wished that the petition might be seen and pub-
" lished, and then he believed it would appear no
dangerous one, nor a just ground for the least jea
lousy or misapprehension.

For Mr. Jermyn, he said, it was well known
that he was gone from Whitehall, before he re-
" ceived the desire of both houses for the restraint
" of his servants ; neither returned he thither, or
" passed over by any warrant granted by him after
" that time. For the breach of privilege in the ac-
" cusation of the lord Kimbolton, and the five mem-
" bers of the house of commons, he told them, he
thought, he had given so ample satisfaction in his
several messages to that purpose, that it should
have been no more pressed against him ; being con
fident, if the breach of privilege had been greater
than ever had been before offered, his acknow
ledgment and retractation had been greater than
ever king had given : besides the not examining
how many of his privileges had been invaded in
" defence and vindication of the other. And there-

n would] might

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OF THE REBELLION. 307

" fore he hoped his true and earnest protestation in BOOK

v
" his answer to their order concerning the militia, -.

" would so far have satisfied them of his intentions
" then, that they would no more have entertained
" any imagination of any other design, than he there
" expressed. But why the listing so many officers,
" and entertaining them at Whitehall, should be
" misconstrued, he said, he much marvelled, when
" it was notoriously known the tumults at West-
" minster were so great, and their demeanour so
" scandalous and seditious, that he had good cause
" to suppose his own person, and those of his wife
" and children, to be in apparent danger ; and there-
" fore he had great reason to appoint a guard about
" him, and to accept the dutiful tender of the ser-
" vices of any of his loving subjects, which was all
he did to the gentlemen of the inns of court.

For the lord Digby, he assured them in the word
" of a king, that he had his warrant to pass the seas,
"and had left his court, before ever he heard of the
" vote of the house of commons, or had any cause
t( to imagine that his absence would have been ex-
" cepted against. What their advertisements were
" from Rome, Venice, Paris, and other parts, or what
" the pope s nuncio solicits the kings of France and
" Spain? to do, or from what persons such informa-
" tions come to them, or how the credit and reputa-
" tion of such persons had been sifted and examin-
" ed, he said, he knew not ; but was confident, no
" sober honest man in his kingdoms could believe,
" that he was so desperate, or so senseless, to enter-
" tain such designs, as would not only bury this his

at Westminster] about Westminster P and Spain] or Spain

Xo
%t

ft
it

308 THE HISTORY

BOOK " kingdom in sudden distraction and ruin, but his
own name and posterity in perpetual scorn and

"
"

1642. a i n f am y . And therefore, he said, he could have
" wished in matters of so high and tender a nature,
" wherewith the minds of his good subjects must
" needs be startled, all the expressions had been so
" plain and easy, that nothing might stick with them
" that reflected upon his majesty; since they thought
" fit to publish it at all.

And having now dealt thus plainly and freely
with them, by way of answer to the particular
" grounds of their fears, he said, he hoped, upon a
" due consideration and weighing of both together,
" they would not find the grounds to be of that mo-
" ment to beget, or longer to continue, a misunder-
" standing between them ; or force them to apply
" themselves to the use of any other power, than
what the law had given them : the which he al
ways intended should be the measure of his own
power, and expected it should be the rule of his
subjects obedience.

" Concerning his own fears and jealousies, as he
" had no intention of accusing them, so he said, he
" was sure no words spoken by him on the sudden
" at Theobalds would bear that interpretation. He
" had said, for his residence near them, he wished it
" might be so safe and honourable, that he had no
" cause to absent himself from Whitehall ; and how
" that could be a breach of privilege of parliament
" he could not understand. He said, he had ex-
" plained his meaning in his answer at Newmarket,
" at the presentation of that declaration, concerning
" the printed seditious pamphlets, and sermons, and
" the great tumults at Westminster : and he said, he

"
"

"
"

OF THE REBELLION. 309

" must appeal to them, and all the world, whether BOOK

" he might not justly suppose himself in danger of !

" either. And if he were now at Whitehall, he
" asked them, what security he had, that the like
" should not be again ? especially if any delinquents
" of that nature had been apprehended by the mi-
" nisters of justice, and had been rescued by the
" people, and so as yet had escaped unpunished. He
" told them, if they had not yet been informed of
" the seditious words used in, and the circumstances
" of those tumults, and would appoint some way for
" the examination of them, he would require some
" of his learned council to attend with such evidence
" as might satisfy them ; and till that were done, or
" some other course should be taken for his security,
" he said, they could not with reason wonder, that
" he intended not to be, where he most desired to
" be.

" He asked them, whether there could yet want
evidence of his hearty and importunate desire to
join with his parliament, and all his faithful sub
jects, in defence of the religion and public good of
" the kingdom ? Whether he had given them no
" other earnest but words, to secure them of those
" desires ? He told them the very remonstrance of
" the house of commons (published in November
" last) of the state of the kingdom allowed him a
" more real testimony of his good affections, than
" words ; that remonstrance valued his acts of grace
" and justice at so high a rate, that it declared the
" kingdom to be then a gainer, though it had charged
itself, by bills of subsidies and poll-money, with
the levy of six hundred thousand pounds, besides
" the contracting a debt of two hundred and twenty

x 3

a

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310 THE HISTORY

BOOK " thousand pounds more to his subjects of Scotland.
He asked them, whether the bills for the trien-

42< " nial parliament, for relinquishing his title of impos-
" ing upon merchandise, and power of pressing of

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soldiers, for the taking away the star-chamber and
high-commission courts, for the regulating the
" council table, were but words ? whether the bills
" for the forests, the stannary courts, the clerk of
" the market, and the taking away the votes of bi
shops out of the lords house, were but words ?
Lastly, what greater earnest of his trust, and re
liance on his parliament, could he give, * than the
" passing the bill for the continuance of this pre-
" sent parliament ? the length of which, he said, he
" hoped, would never alter the nature of parliaments,
" and the constitution of this kingdom ; or invite his
subjects so much to abuse his confidence, as to
esteem any thing fit for this parliament to do,
" which were not fit, if it were in his power to dis-
" solve it to-morrow. And after all these, and many
" other acts of grace on his part, that he might be
" sure of a perfect reconciliation between him and
" all his subjects, he had offered, and was still ready
" to grant, a free and general pardon, as ample as
" themselves should think fit. Now if those were
" not real expressions of the affections of his soul
" for the public good of this kingdom, he said
" he must confess that he wanted skill to manifest
" them.

" To conclude : although he thought his answer
" already full to that point concerning his return to
" London, he told them, that he was willing to de-

v could he give,] he could give,

OF THE REBELLION. 311

" clare, that he looked upon it as a matter of so BOOK
" great weight, as with reference to the affairs of -

" this kingdom, and to his own inclinations and de-
" sires, that if all he could say, or do, could raise a
" mutual confidence, (the only way, with God s bless-
" ing, to make them all happy,) and, by their en-
" couragement, the laws of the land, and the govern-
" ment of the city of London, might recover some
" life for his security ; he w r ould overtake their de-
" sires, and be as soon with them, as they could
" wish. And, in the mean time, he would be sure
" that neither the business of Ireland, nor r any other
" advantage for this kingdom, should suffer through
" his default, or by his absence ; he being so far
" from repenting the acts of his justice and grace,
" which he had already performed to his people,
" that, he said, he should, with the same alacrity,
" be still ready to add such new ones, as might best
" advance the peace, honour, and prosperity of this
" nation."

They who now read this declaration, and remem
ber only the insolent and undutiful expressions in
that declaration, to which this was an answer, and
the more insolent and seditious actions which pre
ceded, accompanied, and attended it, may think that
the style was not answerable to the provocation,
nor princely enough for such a contest ; and may be
lieve, that if his majesty had then expressed himself
with more indignation for what he had suffered, and
more resolution, " that he would no more endure
" those sufferings," they who were not yet grown to
the hardiness of avowing the contempt of the king

v nor] or

x 4

312 THE HISTORY

BOOK (and most of them having designs to be great with
! and by him, whom they provoked) would sooner
42 * have been checked, and recovered their loyalty and
obedience. But they again, who consider and re
member that juncture 8 of time, the incredible dis
advantage his majesty suffered by the misunder
standing of his going to the house of commons, and
by the popular mistake of privilege of parliament,
and consequently of the breach of those privileges ;
and, on the contrary, the great height and reputa
tion the factious party had arrived to, the stratagems
they used, and the infusions they made into the peo
ple, " of the king s disinclination to the laws of the
" land ;" and especially, " that he had consented to
all those excellent laws made this parliament (of
which the people were possessed) very unwillingly,
" and meant to avoid them : that the queen had an
" irreconcileable hatred to the religion professed, and
" to the whole nation, and that her power was un-
" questionable : that there was a design to send the
" prince beyond the seas, and to marry him to some
" papist :" above all, (which the principal of them,
with wonderful confidence, in all places avowed to
be true,) " that the rebellion in Ireland was foment-
" ed, and countenanced at least, by the queen, that
" good terms might be got for the catholics in Eng-
" land :" I say, whoever remembers all 1 this, and,
that though it might be presumed, that the exor
bitancy of the parliament might be very offensive to
some sober and discerning men, yet his majesty had
no reason to presume of their eminent and vehement
zeal on his behalf, since he saw all those (some few u

s juncture] conjuncture u some few] two or three

t all] Not in MS.

a

u

OF THE REBELLION.

only excepted) from whom he might challenge the BOOK

duty, and faith of servants usque ad aras, and for .

whose sake he had undergone many difficulties, either
totally aliened from his service, and engaged against
him, or, like men in a trance, unapplicable to it : he
will, I say, v conclude that it concerned his majesty,
by all gentleness and condescension, to undeceive
and recover men to jtheir sobriety and understand
ing, before he could hope to make them apprehen
sive of their own duty, or the reverence that was
due to him ; and therefore, that he was to descend
to all possible arts and means to that purpose, it being
very evident, that men would no sooner discern his
princely justice and clemency, than they must be sen
sible of the indignities which were offered to him, and
incensed against those who were the authors of them.

And the truth is, (which I speak knowingly,) at
that time, the king s resolution was to shelter him
self wholly under the law ; to grant any thing, that
by the law he was obliged to grant ; and to deny
what by the law was in his own power, and which
he found inconvenient to consent to ; and to oppose
and punish any extravagant attempt by the force
and power of the law, presuming that the king and
the law together would have been strong enough for
any encounter that could happen ; and that the law
was so sensible a thing, that the people would easily
perceive who endeavoured to preserve, and who to
suppress it, and dispose themselves accordingly.

The day before this answer of his majesty came to
the members then sitting at Westminster, x though

v J say,] Not in MS. at Westminster,] to them,

* to the members then sitting

314 THE HISTORY

BOOK they knew they should speedily receive it, lest some
what in it might answer, and so prevent some other

1642. scandals they had a mind to lay to his majesty s
charge, they sent a petition to him, in the name of
the lords and commons, upon occasion of the short
cursory speech he made to their committee, (which
is before mentioned,) at the delivery of their declara
tion at Newmarket, in which they told him,
The peti- That the lords and commons in parliament could

tion of the

lords and " not conceive, that that declaration, which he re-
commons -in i TVT i i T 1

presented ceived irom them at JMewmarket, was such as did
jty T " deserve that censure his majesty was pleased to
March 26 " ^ av u P on them in that speech, which his majesty
1642. made to their committee ; their address therein,
" being accompanied with plainness, humility, and
" faithfulness, they thought more proper for the re
moving the distraction of the kingdom, than if
they had then proceeded according to his message
of the twentieth of January ; by which he was
pleased to desire, that they would declare, what
they intended to do for his majesty, and what they
" expected to be done for themselves ; in both which,
they said, they had been very much hindered by
his majesty s denial to secure them, and the whole
kingdom, by disposing the militia as they had di
vers times most humbly petitioned. And yet,
they said, they had not been altogether negligent
of either, having lately made good proceedings in
preparing a book of rates, to be passed in a bill of
tonnage and poundage, and likewise the most ma-
" terial heads of those humble desires, which they
" intended to make to his majesty for the good and
" contentment of his majesty and his people ; but

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OF THE REBELLION. 315

" none of those r could be perfected before the king- BOOK

" dom be put in safety, by settling the militia : and .

" until his majesty should be pleased to concur with
" his parliament in those necessary things, they held
" it impossible for his majesty to give the world, or
his people, such satisfaction concerning the fears
and jealousies, which they had expressed, as they
hoped his majesty had already received touching
that exception, which he was pleased to take to
" Mr. Pym s speech. As for his majesty s fears and
" doubts, the ground whereof was from seditious
pamphlets and sermons, they said, they should be
as careful to endeavour the removal of them 2 , as
soon as they should understand what pamphlets
and sermons were by his majesty intended, as they
had been to prevent all dangerous tumults. And
if any extraordinary concourse of people out of the
city to Westminster had the face and show of tu
mult and danger, in his majesty s apprehension, it
would appear to be caused by his majesty s denial
of such a guard to his parliament, as they might
have cause to confide in ; and by taking into
Whitehall such a guard for himself, as gave just
cause of jealousy to the parliament, and of terror
" and offence to his people. They told him, they
sought nothing but his majesty s honour, and the
peace and prosperity of his kingdoms ; and that
" they were heartily sorry they had such plentiful
" matter for an answer a to that question, whether
" his majesty had violated their laws? They be-
" sought his majesty to remember, that the govern-
" ment of this kingdom, as it was, in a great part,

y those] these a for an answer] of an answer

2 of them] Not in MS.

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316 THE HISTORY

BOOK " managed by his ministers before the beginning of

. " this parliament, consisted of many continued and

42 " multiplied acts of violation of laws ; the wounds
" whereof were scarcely healed, when the extremity
" of all those violations was far exceeded by the late
" strange and unheard of breach of their laws in the
" accusation of the lord Kimbolton, and the five mem-
" bers of the commons house, and in the proceedings
" thereupon ; for which they had yet received no
" full satisfaction.

" To his majesty s next question, whether he had
" denied any bill for the ease and security of his
" subjects ? they wished they could stop in the midst
" of their answer ; that with much thankfulness they
" acknowledged, that his majesty had passed many
" good bills full of contentment and advantage to his
" people : but truth and necessity enforced them to
" add this, that, even in or about the time of passing
those bills, some design or other had been on foot,
which, if it had taken effect, would not only have
deprived them of the fruit of those bills, but have
" reduced them to a worse condition of confusion,
" than that wherein the parliament found them.

And if his majesty had asked them the third ques
tion intimated in that speech, what they had done
for him? they told him, their answer would have
been much more easy ; that they had paid two ar
mies with which the kingdom was burdened the
" last year, and had undergone the charge of the war
in Ireland at this time, when, through many other
excessive charges and pressures, his subjects b had
" been exhausted, and the stock of the kingdom very

b his subjects] whereby his subjects

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OF THE REBELLION. 317

" much diminished; which great mischiefs, and the BOOK
" charges thereupon ensuing, had been occasioned

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by the evil counsels so powerful with his majesty, 1642
" which had c and would cost this kingdom more
" than two millions ; all which, in justice, ought to
" have been borne by his majesty.

" As for that free and general pardon his majesty
" had been pleased to offer, they said, it could be no
" security to their fears and jealousies, for which his
majesty seemed to propound it ; because they arose
not from any guilt of their own actions, but from
the evil designs and attempts of others.
" To that their humble answer to that speech,
they desired to add an information, which they had d
lately received from the deputy governor of the
" merchant adventurers at Rotterdam in Holland,
that an unknown person, appertaining to the lord
" Digby, did lately solicit one James Henly, a ma-
" riner, to go to Elsinore, and to take charge of a
" ship in the fleet of the king of Denmark, there pre-
" pared ; which he should conduct to Hull. In which
" fleet likewise, he said, a great army was to be
" transported : and although they were not apt to
give credit to informations of that nature, yet they
could not altogether think it fit to be neglected;
but that it might justly add somewhat to the
weight of their fears and jealousies, considering
" with what circumstances it was accompanied ; with
" the lord Digby s preceding e expressions in his letter
" to her majesty, and sir Lewis Dives ; and his ma-
jesty s succeeding course of withdrawing himself
northward from his parliament, in a manner very

c which had] Not in MS. e preceding] precedent

d had] Not in MS.

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66

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318 THE HISTORY

BOOK " suitable and correspondent to that evil counsel;
which, they doubted, would make much deeper im-

answer.

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66

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66
66

42. 66 p ress i on j n the generality of his people : and there-
" fore they most humbly advised, and besought his
majesty, for the procuring and settling the confi
dence of his parliament and all his subjects, and
" for the other important reasons concerning the re
covery of Ireland, and securing this kingdom,
which had been formerly presented to him, he
would be graciously pleased, with all convenient
speed, to return to those parts, and to close with
" the counsel and desire of his parliament ; where
" he should find their dutiful affections and endea
vours ready to attend his majesty with such enter
tainment, as should not only give him just cause
of security in their faithfulness, but other manifold
evidences of their earnest intentions, and endea
vours to advance his majesty s service, honour, and
" contentment ; and to establish it upon the sure
" foundation of the peace and prosperity of all his
" kingdoms."

This, which they called a petition, being presented
to the king, his majesty immediately returned, by
the same messengers, his answer in these words :

If you would f have had the patience to have
expected our answer to your last declaration,
(which, considering the nature of it, hath not been
long in coming,) we believe, you would have saved
yourselves the labour of saying much of this mes
sage. And we could wish, that our privileges on
all parts were so stated, that this way of corre-
spondency might be preserved with that freedom,

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61
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f If you would, &c.] This an- writing of lord Clarendon s sc-
swer of his majesty is in the hand- cretary.

OF THE REBELLION. 319

" which hath been used of old. For we must tell BOOK

\T

you, that if you may ask any thing of us by mes-

, .
..

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66

" sage, or petition, and in what language (how unu-
" sual soever) you think fit ; and we must neither
" deny the thing you ask, nor give a reason why we
" cannot grant it, without being taxed of breaking
your privileges, or being counselled by those, who
are enemies to the peace of the kingdom, and fa-
" vourers of the Irish rebellion, (for we have seen
your printed votes upon our message from Hunt-
ington,) you will reduce all our answers hereafter
into a very little room ; in plain English, it is to
take away the freedom of our vote ; which, were
we but a subject, were high injustice; but being
" your king, we leave all the world to judge what
" it is.

" Is this the way to compose all misunderstand-
" ings ? we thought we shewed you one, by our mes-
" sage of the twentieth of January ; if you have a
" better or readier, we shall willingly hearken to it,
" for hitherto you have shewed us none. But why
" the refusal to consent to your order, which you
" call a denial of the militia, should be any interrup-
" tion to it, we cannot understand. For the militia,
" which we always thought necessary to be settled,
we never denied the thing (as we told you in our
answer of the twenty- eighth of January) to the pe
tition of the house of commons ; for we accepted
the persons, except for corporations ; we only de-
" nied the way. You ask it by way of ordinance,
" and with such a preface, as we can neither with
" justice to our honour or innocency consent to. You
" exclude us from any power in the disposition or
" execution of it together with you, and for a time

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(6
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320 THE HISTORY

BOOK " utterly unlimited. We tell you, we would have
" the thing done ; allow the persons, with that ex-
1 642. ception ; desire a bill, the only good s old way of
" imposing on our subjects : we are extremely unsa-
" tisfied what an ordinance is, but well satisfied, that
" without our consent it is nothing, nor h binding :
and it is evident by the long time spent in this ar
gument, the necessity and danger was not so im-
" minent, but a bill might have been prepared ;
" which if it shall yet be done, with that due regard
" to us, and care of our people, in the limitation of
" the power and other circumstances, we shall recede
from nothing we formerly expressed in that answer
to your order ; otherwise, we must declare to all
" the world, that we are not satisfied with, or shall
" ever allow our subjects to be bound by, your printed
" votes of the fifteenth or sixteenth of this month ;
" or that, under pretence of declaring what the law
" of the land is, you shall, without us, make a new
law, which is plainly the case of the militia : and
what is this but to introduce an arbitrary way of
government ?

Concerning Pym s speech, you will have found,
by what the lord Compton and Mr. Baynton
brought from us in answer to that message they
brought to us, that, as yet, we rest nothing satis-
" fied in that particular.

" As for the seditious pamphlets and sermons, we
are both sorry and ashamed (in so great a variety,
and in which our rights, honour, and authority
are so insolently slighted and vilified, and in which
the dignity and freedom of parliaments k is so much

fitf

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if

(f

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66

66

e good] Not in MS. that,] and,

h nor] not k parliaments] parliament

OF THE REBELLION.

" invaded and violated) it should be asked of us to BOOK

v.
" name any. The mentioning of the Protestation

" Protested, the Apprentices Protestation, To your
" tents, O Israel, or any other, would be too great
" an excuse for the rest : if you think them not worth
" your inquiry, we have done. But we think it
" most strange to be told, that our denial of 1 a guard
" (which we yet never denied, but granted in an-
" other manner, and under a command at that time
" most accustomed in the kingdom,) or the denial of
" any thing else, (which is in our power legally to
" deny,) which in our understanding, of which God
" hath surely given us some use, is not fit to be
" granted, should be any excuse for so dangerous a m
" concourse of people ; which, not only in our appre-
" hension, but, we believe, in the interpretation of
" the n law itself, hath been always held most tu-
" multuous and seditious. And we must wonder,
" what, and whence come the instructions and in-
" formations, that those people have, who can so ea-
" sily think themselves obliged by the protestation
" to assemble in such a manner for the defence of
" privileges, which cannot be so clearly known to
" any of them, and so negligently pass over the con-
" sideration and defence of our rights, so beneficial
and necessary for themselves, and scarce unknown
to any of them ; which by their oaths of allegiance
" and supremacy, and even by the same protestation,
they are at least equally obliged to defend. And
what interruptions such kind of assemblies may be
to the freedom of future parliaments, (if not sea
sonably discountenanced and suppressed,) we must

1 of] to n t he] Not in MS.

m a] Not in MS. whence come] whence comes

VOL. II. Y

tt

66

66
66

66
66

THE HISTORY

BOOK " advise you to consider; as likewise, whether both

- ! " our rights and powers may not by such means be

" usurped, by hands not trusted by the constitution

" of this kingdom. For our guard, we refer you to

" our answer to your declaration.

" By that question of violating your laws, by
" which we endeavoured to express our care and re-
" solution to observe them, we did not expect you
" would have been invited to have looked back so
" many years, for which you have had so ample re-
" paration ; neither looked we to have been re-
" preached with the actions of our ministers then
" against the laws, whilst we express so great zeal P
" for the present defence of them ; it being our reso-
" lution, upon observation of the mischief which then
grew by arbitrary power, (though made plausible
to us by the suggestions of necessity and imminent
danger ; and take you heed, you fall not into the
same error, upon the same suggestions,) hereafter
to keep the rule ourself, and to our power require
" the same from all others. But above all, we must
" be most sensible of what you cast upon us for re-
" quital of those good bills, you cannot deny. We
" have denied any such design ; and as God Al-
" mighty must judge in that point between us, who
" knows our upright intentions at the passing those
" laws, so in the mean time we defy the Devil to
" prove, that there was any design (with our know-
" ledge or privity) in or about the time of passing
" those bills, that, had it taken effect, could have de-
" prived our subjects of the fruit of them. And
" therefore we demand full reparation in this point,

v zeal] a zeal

"
"
"
"
"

a
66

66

ft
66

OF THE REBELLION. 823

" that we may be cleared in the sight of all the BOOK
" world, and chiefly in the eyes of our loving sub-
" jects, from so notorious and false an imputation as
" this is.

" We are far from denying what you have done ;
" for we acknowledge the charge our people hath 1
" sustained in keeping the two armies, and in reliev
ing Ireland ; of which we are so sensible, that, in
regard of those great burdens our people hath r un-
" dergone, we have, and do patiently suffer those ex
treme personal wants, as our predecessors have
been seldom put to, rather than we would press
upon them ; which we hope in time will be consi-
" dered on your parts.

"In our offer of a general pardon, our intent was
" to compose and secure the general condition of our
" subjects, conceiving that, in these times of great
" distractions, the good laws of the land have not
been enough observed : but it is a strange world,
when princes proffered favours are counted re
proaches : yet if you like not this our offer, we
" have done.

" Concerning any discourses of foreign forces,
" though we have given you a full answer in ours to
" your last declaration, yet we must tell you, we
" have neither so ill an opinion of our own merit, or
the affections of our good subjects, as to think our-
self in need of any foreign forces to preserve us
" from oppression ; and we shall not need for any
" other purpose : but are confident, through God s
providence, not to want the good wishes and as
sistance of the whole kingdom, being resolved to

i hath] have r hath] have

66
66
66

(6

66

66
66

THE HISTORY

BOOK " build upon that sure foundation, the law of the
v> " land : and we take it very ill, that general s dis-

<(
66

1 642. courses between an unknown person and a ma-
te riner, or inferences upon letters, should be able to
" prevail in matters so improbable in themselves,
" and scandalous to us ; for which we cannot but
" likewise ask reparation, not only for the vindica-
" tion * of our own honour, but also thereby to settle
" the minds of our subjects, whose fears and jea-
" lousies would soon vanish, were they not fed and
" maintained by such false and malicious rumours as
" these.

" For our return to our parliament, we have given
" you a full answer in ours to your declaration ; and
you ought to look on us as not gone, but driven
(we say not by you, yet) from you. And if it be
" not so easy for you to make our residence in Lon-
" don so safe as we could desire, we are and will be
" contented, that our parliament be adjourned to
" such a place, where we may be fitly and safely
" with you. For though we are not pleased to be at
" this distance, yet you u are not to expect our pre-
" sence, until you x shall both secure us concerning
our just apprehensions of tumultuary insolences,
and likewise give us satisfaction for those insup
portable and insolent scandals, that are raised
" upon us.

" To conclude : as we have or shall not refuse any
agreeable way to justice ? or honour, which shall
be offered to us for the begetting a right under
standing between us ; so we are resolved that no

s general] any general x you] ye

I vindication] vindicating y agreeable way to justice]

II you] ye way agreeable to justice

6

66
66

66
66

66

OF THE REBELLION. 325

" straits or necessities, to which we may be driven, BOOK
" shall ever compel us to do that, which the reason

and understanding that God hath given us, and
" our honour and interest, with which God hath
(( trusted us for the good of our posterity and king-
" doms, shall render unpleasant and grievous to us.
" And we assure you, how z meanly soever you are
" pleased to value the discharge of our public duty,
" we are so conscious to ourself of having done our
" part since this parliament, that, in whatsoever con-
" dition we now stand, we are confident of the con-
" tinued protection from Almighty God, and the con-
" stant gratitude, obedience, and affection from our
" people. And we shall trust God with all."

These quick answers from the king gave them
very much trouble, and made it evident to them,
that he would be no more swaggered into concessions
that he thought unreasonable, or persuaded to them
upon general promises, or an implicit confidence in
their future modesty ; but that he demanded repara
tion for the breach of his privileges, and so fought
with them with their own weapons, troubled them
much more ; apprehending that, in a short time, the
people might be persuaded to believe, that the king
was in the right, and had not been well dealt with :
and though some few, who thought themselves too
far engaged to retire, were glad of the sharpness of
these paper skirmishes, which they believed made
the wound still wider, and more incurable ; yet the
major part, which had been induced to join with
them out of confidence that the king would yield,
and that their boldness and importunity in asking

z how] that how
Y 3

66
66
66

326 THE HISTORY

BOOK would prevail with his majesty to consent, wished

themselves fairly unentangled: and I have heard

J 642. man y o f the fiercest concurrers, and who have ever
since kept them company, at that time profess,
" that if any expedient might be found to reconcile
" the present difference about the militia, they
" would no more adventure upon demands of the
" like nature :" and the earl of Essex himself was
startled, and confessed to his friends, " that he de
sired a more moderate proceeding should be in
parliament ; and that the king, who had given so
much, should receive some satisfaction." But those
of the court, who thought their faults to their mas
ter most unpardonable, could not endure that the
youngest courtier a should be the eldest convert;
and therefore, by repeating what the king and
queen had said of him heretofore, and by fresh in
telligence, which they procured from York, of what
the king then thought of him, they persuaded him,
" that his condition was too desperate to recede :"
and all men were persuaded, that this steady b de
portment of the king proceeded from some new
evil counsellors, c who would be as soon destroyed
as discovered ; and that then they would so carry
themselves, that the king should owe his greatness
and his glory (for they still said, " he should excel
" all his predecessors in both") to their formed coun
sels and activity, and not to the whispers of those
who thought to do his business without them. And
I am persuaded, that even then, and I was at that

a that the youngest courtier] c from some new evil coun-

that he being the youngest sellers,] from the spirit of some

courtier new evil counsellors,

b steady] severe

OF THE REBELLION. 327

time no stranger to the persons of most that go- BOOK
verned, and a diligent observer of their carriage,

they had rather a design of making themselves
powerful with the king, and great at court, than of
lessening the power of the one, or reforming the
discipline of the other : but, no doubt, there were
some few in the number that looked further ; yet,
by pretending that, kept up the mettle of writing,
and inclined them for their honour to new declara
tions.

The king d found himself at some ease, and most
persons of quality of that great county, and of the
counties adjacent, resorted to him, and many per
sons of condition from London, d and those parts, who
had not the courage to attend upon him at White
hall ; so that the court appeared with some lustre.
And now he begun e to think of executing some of
those resolutions, which he had made with the
queen before her departure ; one of which was, and
to be first done, the removing the earls of Essex
and Holland from their offices in the court, the one
of chamberlain, the other of groom of the stole,
which hath the reputation and benefit of being first
gentleman of the bedchamber. Indeed no man could
speak in the justification of either of them, yet no
man thought them equally f culpable. The earl of
Holland was a person merely of the king s and his
father s s creation; raised from the condition of a
private gentleman, a younger brother of an extrac-

d The king London,] Thus of quality from London, &c.

in MS. : When the king came e begun] began

to York, he found himself at f equally] both equally

ease ; the country had received g and his father s] Not in

him with great expressions of MS.
joy and duty, and all persons

Y 4

328 THE HISTORY

BOOK tion that lay under a great blemish, and without

! any fortune, to a great height by their h mere favour

2< and bounty. And they i had not only adorned him
with titles, honours, and offices, but enabled him to
support those in the highest lustre, and with the
largest expense : and this king k had drawn many
inconveniences, and great disadvantages, upon him
self and his service, by his preferring him to some
trusts, which others did not only think themselves,
but really were, worthier of; but especially by in
dulging him so far in the rigorous execution of his
office of chief justice in eyre, in which he brought
more prejudice upon the court, and more discontent
upon the king, from the most considerable part of
the nobility and gentry in England, than proceeded
from 1 any one action, that had its rise from the
king s will and pleasure, though it was not without
some warrant from law; but m having not been
practised for n some hundreds of years, was looked
upon as a terrible innovation and exaction upon
persons, who knew not that they were in any fault ;
nor was any imputed to them, but the original sin
of their forefathers, even for which they were
obliged to pay great penalties and ransoms. That
such a servant should suffer his zeal to lessen and
decay towards such a master, and that he should
keep a title to lodge in his bedchamber, from whose
court he had upon the matter withdrawn himself,
and adhered to and assisted those who affronted
and contemned his majesty so notoriously, would
admit of no manner of interposition and excuse.

h their] the king s l proceeded from] Not in MS.

1 And they] And he m but] which

k this king] Not in MS. n for] in

OF THE REBELLION. 329

Less was to be objected against the earl of Essex, BOOK
who, as he had been, all his life, without obligations

from the court, and believed he had undergone op- 42
pression there, so he was, in all respects, the same
man he had always professed himself to be, when
the king put him into that office ; and in receiving
of which, many men believed, that he rather grati
fied the king, than that his majesty had obliged him
in conferring it; and it had been, no doubt, the
chief reason of putting the staff in his hand, because
in that conjuncture no other man, who would in
any degree have appeared worthy of it, had the
courage to receive it. However having taken the
charge upon him, he ought, no doubt, to have taken
all his master s concernments more to heart, than
he had done ; and he can never be excused for stay
ing in Whitehall, when the king was with that out
rage driven from thence, and for choosing to behold
the triumph of the members return to Westminster,
rather than to attend his majesty s person in so
great perplexity to Hampton -court ; which had been
his duty to have done, and for failing wherein no
other excuse can be made, but that, after he had
taken so full a resolution to have waited upon his
majesty thither, that he had dressed himself in his
travelling habit, he was diverted from it by the earl
of Holland, who ought to have accompanied him in
the service, and by his averment, " that if he went,
" he should be assassinated ;" which it was not pos
sible should have ever been so much as thought
of .

Notwithstanding all this, the persons trusted by

5 which it was not possible as thought of.] which was never
should have ever been so much thought of.

330 THE HISTORY

BOOK his majesty, and remaining at London, had no

. sooner notice of it, (which his majesty sent to them,

42> that he might be advised the best way of doing it,)
but they did all they could to dissuade the pursuing
it. They did not think it a good conjuncture to
make those two persons P desperate ; and they knew
that they were not of the temper and inclinations
of those, who had too much credit with them, nor
did desire to drive things to the utmost extremities,
which could never better their conditions ; and that
they did both rather desire to find any expedients,
by which they might make a safe and an honour
able retreat, than to advance in the way they were
engaged in^. But the argument they chiefly in
sisted on to the king, was, " that, being deprived of
their offices, they would be able to do more mis
chief, and ready to embark themselves with the
most desperate persons, in the most desperate at
tempts ;" which fell out accordingly. And there is
great reason to believe, that if that resolution the
king had taken had not been too obstinately pur
sued at that time, many of the mischiefs, which af
terwards fell out, would have been prevented ; and,
without doubt, if the staff had remained still in the
hands of the earl of Essex, by which he was charged
with the defence and security of the king s person,
he would never have been prevailed with to have
taken upon him the command of that army, which
was afterwards raised against the king, and with
which so many battles were fought. And there
can be as little doubt in any man, who knew well
the nature and temper of that time, that it had

P persons] Not in MS. * in] Not in MS.

66
66
66
66

..

(6

OF THE REBELLION. 331

been very difficult, if not r utterly impossible, for the BOOK

two houses of parliament to have raised an army .

then, if the earl of Essex had not consented to be
general of that army.

But the king was inexorable in the point; he
was obliged by promise to the queen at parting,
which he would not break; and her majesty had
contracted so great an indignation against the earl
of Holland, whose ingratitude indeed towards her
was very odious, that she had said, " she would
" never live in the court, if he kept his place." And
so the king sent an order to Littleton, the 8 lord
keeper of the great seal, " that he should require
the staff and key from the one and the other, and
receive them into his custody." The keeper trem
bled at the office, and had not courage to undertake
it. He went presently to the lord Falkland, and 1
desired him to assist him in making his excuse to
the king. He made many professions of his duty to
the king, " who, he hoped, would not command
" him in an affair so unsuitable to the office he held
" under him ; that no keeper had been u employed
" in such a service ; that if he should execute the
" order he had received, it would in the first place
" be voted a breach of privilege in him, being a
" peer ; and the house would commit him to prison,
" by which the king would receive the greatest af-
" front, though he should be ruined ; whereas the
" thing itself might be done by a more proper of-
" ficer, without any inconvenience."

How weak soever the reasons were, the passion

r very difficult, if not] Not l and] Not in MS.
in MS. had been] had ever been

8 the] then

332 THE HISTORY

BOOK was strong; and the lord Falkland could not refuse

! to convey his letter to the king, which contained

42> his answer in his own words, with all the imagin-
ahle professions of duty and zeal for his service.
How ill soever his majesty was satisfied, he saw the
business would not be done that way ; and there
fore he writ immediately a letter, all in his own
hand, to the lord Falkland; in which with some
gracious expressions of excuse for putting that work
upon him, he commanded him " to require the sur-
" render of the ensigns of their offices from those
" two earls." The lord Falkland was a little trou
bled in receiving the command : they were persons
from whom he had always received great civilities,
and with whom he had much credit ; and this harsh
office might have been more naturally, and as ef
fectually, performed by a gentleman usher, as the
same staff had been demanded before from the earl
of Pembroke, within less than a year. However,
he would make no excuse, being a very punctual
and exact person in the performances x of his duty ;
and so went to both of them, and met them coming
to the house, and imparted his message to them :
they desired him very civilly, " that he would give
" them leave to confer a little together, and they
" would, within half an hour, send for him into the
" house of commons :" whither he went, and they,
within less time, sent to him to meet them in sir
Thomas Cotton s garden, (a place adjacent, where
the members of both houses used frequently to
walk,) and there, with very few words, they deli
vered the staff and the key into his hands, who im-

x performances] performance

OF THE REBELLION. 333

mediately carried them to his lodging; and they BOOK
went up to the house of peers : and presently y both

houses took notice of it, and with passion, and bitter
expressions against the evil counsellors, who had
given his majesty that counsel, they concurred in a
vote, " that whosoever presumed to accept of either
" of those offices, should be reputed an enemy to his
" country ;" and then they proceeded with more im
petuosity in the business of the militia, and all other
matters which most trenched upon the king s au
thority.

Whilst they were so eager in pursuit of the mili
tia, and pretended the necessity so imminent, that
they could not defer the disposition thereof till it
might be formally and regularly settled by bill, they
had their eye upon another militia, the royal navy ;
without recovering of which to their own power,
(though they were satisfied by the pulse of the peo
ple, that they would join with them, and be ge
nerally obedient to their commands,) they had no
mind to venture upon the execution of their land
ordinance. And therefore, in the beginning of the
spring, when the fleet for that year was provided,
after they had 2 excepted against such persons to be
captains of ships, as they thought not devoted to
them, (as is before mentioned,) they sent a formal
message to the lords, " that the earl of Northumber-
" land, lord admiral, might be moved to constitute
" the earl of Warwick his admiral of the fleet for
that year s service, being a person of such honour
and experience, as they might safely confide in
him ; and that the earl of Warwick might be de-

y presently] immediately z had] Not in MS.

a

6(
6(

334 THE HISTORY

BOOK " sired to undertake that service." The lords thought
fit that the king s approbation might be first desired,

^ *- * i^-/

42t before it was recommended to the earl of Northum
berland : but the commons thought that superfluous,
since the officers of the fleet were absolutely in the
earl s disposal ; a and therefore refused to send to the
king, but of themselves sent to both the one earl
and the other ; and the earl of Warwick, being well
pleased with the trust, very frankly, without wait
ing the king s consent, declared, " that he was ready
" to undertake the employment." But this being
so publicly agitated, the king could not but take no
tice of it ; and finding that the business should not
be proposed to him, thought it necessary to signify
his pleasure in it, that so at least the lord admiral
might not pretend innocence, if ought should be
done to his disservice ; and therefore he appointed
Mr. Secretary Nicholas to write to the earl of Nor
thumberland, " that his majesty expected that sir
" John Pennington should command that fleet, as
" he had done two or three years before." This let
ter being communicated to both houses, and the lord
admiral being thereby upon the disadvantage of a
single contest with the king, the house of commons,
rather out of kindness and respect to the earl, than
of duty to the king, condescended to join with the
lords in a message to his majesty ; b which they sent
not by members of their own, but directed the lord
keeper " to inclose it in a letter to the secretary at-
" tending the king, and to send the same to York ;"
which he did accordingly. The message was :

a since the officers of the fleet in the earl s disposal to dispose
were absolutely in the earl s dis- of the officers of the fleet ;
posal ;] since it was absolutely l) his majesty ;] the king ;

OF THE REBELLION. 835

w That the lords and commons, in this present BOOK

v.

66
66
66

6(

66

" parliament assembled, having found it necessary
" to provide, and set to sea, a strong and powerful

A message

" navy for the defence of this kingdom against fo- from both
" reign force, and for the security of his majesty s th^ng ,
other dominions, the charge whereof was to be^^J 1 :8>
borne by the commonwealth : and taking notice of
the indisposition of the lord admiral, which dis
abled him, at that time, for commanding the fleet
in his own person, did thereupon recommend unto
his lordship the earl of Warwick, a person of such
" quality and abilities, as c in whom they might best
" confide, to supply his lordship s room for this em-
" ployment : and understanding that his majesty
hath since signified his pleasure concerning that
command for John Pennington, they said, they
did hold it their duty to represent to his majesty
the great danger and mischief the commonwealth
was like f o sustain by such interruption ; and there
fore did humbly beseech his majesty, that the noble
person, recommended by both houses of parliament
" for this service, might be no longer d detained from
" it, out of any particular respect to any other person
" whatsoever."

The same day that this message came to his ma- The king
jesty, he despatched an answer to the lord keeper ; in
which he told him, " that he wondered both at the
" form and matter of that inclosed paper he had sent
to him, in the name of both houses of parliament ;
it being neither by the way of petition, declara
tion, or letter ; and for the matter, he believed, it
was the first time, that the houses of parliament

c as] Not in MS. J be no longer] no longer be

t(
66
66
(6

66

66
66

^ S

answer.

66
66
66
66

336 THE HISTORY

BOOK "had taken upon them the nomination, or recom-
. " mendation of the chief sea-commander : but it
" added to the wonder, that sir John Pennington
" being already appointed by him for that service,
" upon the recommendation of his admiral, and no
" fault so much as alleged against him, another
" should be recommended to him. Therefore, he
" said, his resolution upon that point was, that he
" would not alter him, whom he had already ap-
* pointed to command that year s fleet ; whose every
" ways sufficiency was so universally known, the
" which he was confident his admiral, if there should
" be occasion, would make most evident ; against
" whose testimony he supposed his parliament would
" not except. And though there were yet none ap-
" pointed, or the said sir John, through some acci-
" dent, not able to perform the service ; yet, he said,
" the men of that profession were so well known to
" him, besides many other reasons, that (his admiral
" excepted, because of his place) recommendations
" of that kind would not be acceptable to him."

This answer was no other than they expected,
though they seemed troubled at it, and pretended
that they had many things of misdemeanour to ob
ject against sir John Pennington, at least such mat
ters as would render him incapable of that trust ;
the greatest of which was, that he had conveyed
the lord Digby over sea ; though they well knew (as
is before mentioned) that he had the king s warrant
and command for that purpose ; and therefore moved
the lords that he might be sent for to be examined
upon many particulars : and in the mean time, whilst
they caused him to attend their leisure to be ex
amined, they proceeded in hastening the earl of War-

OF THE REBELLION. 337

wick to make himself ready for the service, who BOOK
made no scruple of undertaking it ; and the earl of.

Northumberland receiving the order, and desire of
both houses, " to grant his commission to him to be
" admiral of that fleet/ thought himself sufficiently
excused towards the king, and did it accordingly ;
the two houses in the mean time, without any fur
ther thought of procuring the king s consent, prepar
ing reasons to satisfy his majesty for the necessity or
conveniency of their proceeding.

Many men, especially they who at a distance ob
served and discerned the difficulties the king was
like to encounter, wondered that upon so apparent a
breach of trust, and act of undutifulness, his majesty
did not at that time revoke the lord admiral s com
mission, which was but during pleasure ; and so put
that sure guard of the kingdom, his navy, under such
a command as he might depend upon. But the truth
is, it was not then counsellable ; for (besides that it
was easier to resolve, " that it was fit to remove the
" earl of Northumberland/ than to find a man com
petent for the place) that way it might have been
possible to have prevented the going out of any fleet
to sea, which would have confirmed the frantic jea
lousies of bringing in foreign forces : but 6 not have
reduced it to his own obedience.

They had, by degrees, so ordered the collection of
tonnage and poundage, by passing bills for six weeks
and two months at a time, and putting those, who
should receive or pay those duties, otherwise than
they were granted by those bills, into a pramiimre ;
and so terrified the old customers, that the king had

e but] Not in MS.
VOL, II. Z

338 THE HISTORY

BOOK no other means of setting out his fleet, than by the
monies arising by the customs, which they absolutely

1642< disposed of; and at this time had contracted with
the victualler, made the ships ready, and hired many
merchants ships to join in that fleet for the guard of
the seas. And whilst this matter of the admiral was
in suspense, they suffered the former bill of tonnage
and poundage to expire, and did not, till the very
night before, pass a new bill ; which could not have
the royal assent till many days after, the king being
then at York. Yet the house of commons, to salve
all danger of the prcemumre, on the twenty-fourth
of March, being the very day that the former bill
expired, sent an order to all the collectors of the
customs, many of which could not receive it in ten
days after ;

" That the new bill being passed by both houses
" for the continuance of those payments until the
" third day of May, (which could not yet receive
" the royal assent, in regard of the remoteness of
" his majesty s person from the parliament,) which
" monies to be collected by that bill were to be em-
" ployed in f the necessary guarding of the seas, and
" defence of the commonwealth : it was therefore
" ordered by the commons in parliament, that the
" several officers belonging to the custom-house, both
" in the port in London, and the out-ports, should
" not permit any merchant or other to lade or un-
" lade any goods, or merchandises, before such per-
" sons do make^ due entries thereof in the custom-
" house. And it was declared also by the said com-
" mons, that such officers, upon the respective entry

in] for B make] first make

OF THE REBELLION. 339

" made by any merchant as aforesaid, should inti- BOOK
" mate to such merchant, that it was the advice of.

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the commons, for the better ease of the said mer- J 642 *
chants, and in regard the respective duties would
relate, and become due as from that day ; that the
said merchants upon entry of their goods, as usually
they did, when a law was in force to that purpose,
would deposit so much money as the several cus-
" toms would amount unto, in the hands of such
officers, to be by them accounted to his majesty,
as the respective customs due by the said bill,
" when the said bill should have the royal assent ; or
" otherwise, his majesty refusing the passing thereof,
" the said monies to be restored, upon demand, unto
" the several merchants respectively."

By which order, which was a more absolute dis
pensation for a pr&munire, than ever any non-
obstante granted by the crown, the customs were as
frankly and fully paid, as if an act of parliament
had been passed to that purpose ; and as soon as the
commission could be sent, and returned from York,
the act was passed. But no doubt they had a fur
ther design in suffering the bill totally to expire, be
fore they prepared a new one h , than at that time was
apprehended; and intended, under such a popular
necessity, which seemed to be occasioned by the
king s absence, to bring their own orders in such
a 1 reputation, that in another necessity which they
should declare, they might by the precedent of this,
.which was the only indemnity all those merchants
who paid, and the officers who received, customs,
had for the preservation of their estates, be current
ly and absolutely obeyed and submitted to.

11 one] Not in MS. * a] Not in MS.

z 2!

340 THE HISTORY

BOOK By this it appears the king could not at that time,

with conveniency or safety to his affairs, displace

1642 the earl of Northumberland; and he believed, if his
occasions should hereafter require it, that the time
would be much more seasonable, when the fleet was
at sea ; and the thing itself more practicable : which
was a true conclusion. However, he expressed so
much dislike against the earl of Warwick s com
manding that fleet, that he was not willing that
any officers whom he valued should take employ
ment under him ; which he had shortly after cause
to repent. For, by this means, the vice-admiralty?
which was designed to captain Cartwright, the comp
troller of the navy, who hath since sufficiently testi
fied how advantageously to his majesty he would
have managed that charge, upon his refusal (which
was occasioned by intimation from his majesty, as
shall be hereafter mentioned) was conferred upon
Batten, an obscure fellow ; and, though a good sea
man, unknown to the navy, till he was, two or three
years before., for money, made surveyor, who exe
cuted it ever since with great animosity against the
king s service, of which more hereafter.

Being, by this means, secure at sea, they pro
ceeded with more vigour at land ; and, though they
thought it not yet seasonable to execute their ordi
nance for the militia with any form and pomp, they
directed, underhand, their agents and emissaries,
" that the people, of themselves, should choose cap-
" tains and officers, and train under the name of
" volunteers ;" which begun k to be practised in many
places of the kingdom, but only in those corpora
tions, and by those inferior people, who were noto-

k begun] began

a

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OF THE REBELLION. 341

rious for faction and schism in religion. The king s BOOK
declarations, which were now carefully published, __!__
gave them some trouble, and made great impression
in sober men, who were moved with the reason, and
in rich men, who were startled at the commands in
them. But that clause in the king s answer to their
declaration, presented to him at Newmarket, in which
he told them, " that if they had not been informed
" of the seditious words used in, and the circum-
" stances of the tumults, and would appoint some
way for the examination of them, that he would
require some of his learned council to attend with
such evidence as might satisfy them," troubled
them much more. For if there were still so much
courage left in the king s council, that they durst
appear to inform against any of those proceedings,
which they favoured, they should find men grow
more afraid of the law than of them ; which would
destroy all their designs. Therefore they resolved
to proceed with all expedition, and severely, 1 against
the attorney general for his trespass and presump
tion upon their privileges, in the accusation of the
five members, and the lord Kimbolton : of the cir
cumstances of which proceeding, and judgment there
upon, being as extraordinary, and as distant from the
rules of justice, at least of practice, as any thing
that then happened, it will not be amiss to set down
two or three particulars.

Shortly after they had impeached him, (which is
mentioned before,) and the king had found it neces
sary to give over any prosecution against the others, 111
his majesty being desirous, now he had freed them,
that they should free his attorney, writ a letter from

1 severely,] severity, m the others,] them,

z 3

342 THE HISTORY

BOOK Royston, when he was in his way to York, to the
lord keeper ; in which he told him, " that the arti-

42 " cles, which had been preferred against the mem-
" bers, were, n by himself, delivered to his attorney

"

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general, engrossed in paper ; and that he had then
" commanded him to accuse those persons, upon
" those articles of high treason, and other misde
meanours ; and, in his name, to desire a committee
of lords might be appointed to take the examina
tion of such witnesses as should be produced, as
formerly had been done in cases of like nature,
according to the justice of the house. And his
" majesty did further declare, that his said attorney
" did not advise or contrive the said articles, nor
" had any thing to do with, or in advising, any
" breach of privilege that followed after. And for
" what he did in obedience to his commands, he
" conceived he was bound by oath, and the duty of
" his place, and by the trust reposed in him by his
" majesty, so to do : and that, if he had refused to
" obey his majesty therein, his majesty would have
" questioned him for breach of oath, duty, and trust ;
" but now having declared that he found cause wholly
" to desist from proceeding against the persons ac-
" cused, he had commanded him to proceed no fur-
" ther therein, nor to produce nor discover? any proof
" concerning the same."

Though this testimony of his majesty s clearly
absolved him from the guilt, with which he was
charged, yet it rather hastened the trial, and sharp
ened the edge, that was before keen enough against

n were,] was, p discover] to discover

examination] examinations

OF THE REBELLION. 343

him ; and the day of trial being come, when the BOOK
members of the commons, who were appointed for

the prosecution, found that council was ready (which
had been assigned by the lords) for the defence of
the attorney general, they professed, " that they
" would admit no council; that it was below the
" dignity of the house of commons to plead against
" fee d council ; that whoever presumed to be of
" council with a person accused by the commons of
" England, should be taught better to know his
" duty, and should have cause to repent it." The
lords seemed much moved with this reproach, that
their acts of judicature should be questioned, and
the council, which had been justly and regularly as
signed by them, should be threatened for submitting
to their order. But that which troubled them most,
was, that the council, which was assigned by them,
upon this reprehension and threat of the commons,
positively refused to meddle further in the business,
or to make any defence for the attorney. Hereupon
they put off the trial, and commit to the Tower of
London sir Thomas Bedingfield, and sir Thomas
Gardiner, for their contempt in refusing to be of
council with the attorney upon their assignment :
standers by looking upon- the justice of parliament
with less reverence, to see the subject, between the
contradictory and opposite commands of both houses,
(the displeasure of either being insupportable,) pu
nished and imprisoned for doing, *i by one, what r he
was straitly inhibited from doing by the other. 8

However, this difference gave only respite for
some days to the attorney, who was quickly again

( i for doing,] for not doing s from doing by the other.]

r what] which bv the other not to do.

344 THE HISTORY

BOOK called before his judges. To what was passionately
~ and unreasonably objected against him, " of breach
42. (( Q f p r i v ii e g e an( j scandal," he confidently alleged
" the duty of his place ; that his master s command
" was warrant for what he had done ; and that he
" had been justly punishable, if he had refused to do
" it when commanded ; that there had never been a
pretence of privilege in case of treason, the con
trary whereof was not only understood by the law,
but had been by themselves confessed, in a peti
tion delivered by them in the beginning of this
king s reign, upon the imprisonment of the earl of
Arundel ; in which it was acknowledged, that the
privileges 1 of parliament extended not to treason,
felony, or refusal to find sureties for the peace ;
that he had no reason to suspect the executing the
duty of his place would have been imputed to him
for any trespass, since the very same thing he had
" now done, and of which he stood accused, was
done, in the first year of this king s reign, by sir
Robert Heath, the then attorney general ; who ex-
hibited articles of high treason before their lord-
ships, against the earl of Bristol, which was not
" then understood to be any breach of privilege ;
and therefore, having so late a precedent, most of
" their lordships being then judges, he hoped he
" should be held excusable for not being able to
" discern that to be a crime, which they had yet
" never declared to be so." The undeniable reasons
of his defence (against which nothing was replied,
" but the inconvenience and mischief, which would
" attend a parliament, if the members might be ac-

1 privileges] privilege

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OF THE REBELLION. 345

" cused of high treason without their consent") pre- BOOK
vailed so far with the major part of the house of.

peers, though the prosecution was carried on u with all
imaginable sharpness and vehemence by the house
of commons, and entertained by those peers who
were of that party, as a matter of vast concernment
to all their hopes, that the questions being put, whe
ther he should be deprived of his place of attorney ?
whether he should be fined to the king ? whether he
should pay damages to the persons accused? and
whether he should be committed to the Tower?
which were the several parts of the sentence, which
many of the lords had pressed he should undergo,*
the negative prevailed in every one of the particu
lars ; so that the attorney was understood by all
men, who understood the rules and practice of par
liament, to be absolutely absolved from that charge
and impeachment, by the judgment of the house of
peers.

The house of commons expressed all possible re
sentment, and declared, " that they would not rest
" satisfied with the judgment ;" and some lords, even
of those who had acquitted him, were very desirous
to find out an expedient, whereby the house of com
mons might be compounded with ; and it was be
lieved, that the attorney himself was much shaken
with the torrent of malice and prejudice, which the
house of commons seemed now to threaten him with ;
conceiving, " that he and his office now triumphed
over the whole body, and not over six members
only :" and therefore, after some days, the house
of peers considering, " that his discharge was but

1 carried on] Not in MS. dergo,] had judged him to un-

x had pressed he should un- dergo,

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346 THE HISTORY

BOOK * negative, that he should not be punished in this
" and that degree ; and that he had no absolution

1642. t( f rom the crimes, y with which he was charged,"
proceeded to a new judgment, (contrary to all course
and practice of parliament, or of any judicial court,)
and complying with all their other votes, resolved,
by way of judgment upon him, " that he should be
" disabled from ever being a parliament man ; in-
" capable of any place of judicature, or other pre-
* ferment, than of attorney general ;" which they
could not deprive him of, by reason of the former
vote ; and " that he should be committed to the
" prison of the Fleet." Which sentence was with
all formality pronounced against him, and he com
mitted to the Fleet accordingly : with which sen
tence the commons were no more satisfied 2 than
with the former ; some of them looking that their

favourite, the solicitor, should have the place of at-

\ *

torney ; others, that the accused members should re
ceive ample damages by way of reparation ; with
out which they could not think themselves secure
from the like attempts.

Having, by this extraordinary and exemplary pro
ceeding, fortified their privileges against such at
tempts, and secured their persons from being ac
cused, or proceeded against by law, they used no
less severity against all those who presumed to ques
tion the justice or prudence of their actions, espe
cially against those, who, following the method that
had done so much hurt, drew the people to petition
for that which they had no mind to grant ; and in

y crimes,] crime, fied] the which the commons

z with which sentence the was no more satisfied with
commons were no more satis-

OF THE REBELLION. 347

this prosecution they were not less severe and vehe- BOOK
ment, than against the highest treason could be ima- v
gined. 1642.

Upon the petition mentioned before, that was
framed in London against their settling the militia,
they committed one George Binion, a citizen of
great reputation for wealth and wisdom, and who ft
was indeed a very sober man. After he had lain
some time in prison, the lords, according to law,
bailed him ; but the commons caused him the next
day to be recommitted, and preferred an impeach
ment against him, for no other crime but " advising
" and contriving that petition." The gentleman de
fended himself, " that it was always held, and so
" publicly declared this parliament, to be lawful, in
" a modest way, to petition for the removal or pre-
" vention of any grievance : that observing b very
many petitions to be delivered, and received, for
the settling the militia in another way than was
" then agreeable to the law, or had been practised,
" and conceiving that the same would prove very
prejudicial to the city of London, of which he was
a member, he had joined with many other citi
zens, of known ability and integrity, in a petition
against so great an inconvenience ; which he pre-
" sumed was lawful for him to do." How reason
able soever this defence was, the house of peers ad
judged him " to be disfranchised, and incapable of
any office in the city; to be committed to the
common gaol of Colchester," (for his reputation
was so great in London, that they would not trust
him in a city prison,) and fined him three thousand
pounds.

a who] Not in MS. b observing] he observing

"
"

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348 THE HISTORY

BOOK About the same time, at the general assizes in
Kent, the justices of peace, and principal gentlemen

1642. o f that county, prepared a petition to be presented
to the two houses, with a desire, " that the militia
" might not be otherwise exercised in that county,
" than the known law permitted : and that the Book
" of Common -Prayer, established by law, might be
" observed." This petition was communicated by
many to their friends, and copies thereof sent abroad,
before the subscription was ready; whereupon the
house of peers took notice of it, as tending to some
commotion in Kent ; and, in the debate, the earl of
Bristol taking notice, " that he had seen a copy of
" it, and had had some conference about it with
" judge Mallet," who was then judge of assize in
Kent, and newly returned out of his circuit, both
the earl and judge, for having but seen the petition,
were presently committed to the Tower ; and a de
claration published, " that none should presume to
" deliver that, or the like petition to either house."
Notwithstanding which, some gentlemen of Kent,
with a great number of the substantial inhabitants
of that county, came to the city ; which, upon the
alarum, was put in arms ; strong guards placed at
London-bridge, where the petitioners were disarmed,
and only some few suffered to pass with their peti
tion to Westminster ; the rest forced to return to
their country. And, upon the delivery thereof to
the house of commons, (though the same was very
modest, and in a more dutiful dialect than most pe
titions delivered to them,) the bringers of the peti
tion were sharply reprehended ; two or three of them
committed to several prisons; the principal gentle
men of the country, who had subscribed and advised

OF THE REBELLION. 349

it, sent for as delinquents; charges, and articles of BOOK

impeachment, drawn up against them ; and a decla- !

ration published, " that whosoever should hence-
" forth advise or contrive the like petitions, should
" be proceeded against, as enemies to the common-
" wealth." So unlike and different were their tem
pers, and reception of those modest addresses, which
were for duty and obedience to the laws established,
and those which pressed and brought on alteration
and innovation. But that injustice gave great life
and encouragement to their own proselytes ; and
taught others to know that their being innocent
would not be long easy or safe : and this kind of
justice extended itself in the same measure to their
own members, who opposed their irregular determi
nations; who, besides the agony and vexation of
having the most plain d reason, and confessed law,
rejected, and overruled with contempt and noise,
were liable to all the personal reproaches and dis
countenance, that the pride and petulancy of the
other party could lay upon them ; and were some
times imprisoned and disgraced, for freely speaking
their opinions and conscience in debate.

All sorts of men being thus terrified, the com
mons remembered, that a great magazine of the
king s ammunition lay still at Hull; and though
that town was in the custody of a confident of their
own, yet they were not willing to venture so great
a treasure so near the king, who continued at York,
with a great resort of persons of honour and quality
from all parts ; and therefore they resolved, under
pretence of supplying Ireland, to remove it speedily

c charges,] and charges, (1 plain] abstract

350 THE HISTORY

BOOK from thence; and 6 moved the lords, " to join with
" them in an order to that purpose." The lords,

1G42. w ho proceeded with less fury, and more formality,
desired, " that it might be done with the king s con-
" sent." After a long debate, the one thinking they
merited much by that civility, the other contented
to gratify those in the ceremony, who, they knew,
would in the end concur with them, a petition was
agreed upon to be sent to his majesty; in which,
that he might the sooner yield to them in this mat
ter, they resolved to remember him of that, which,
they thought, would reflect on him with the people,
and to " move him to take off the reprieve from the
" six priests," which is before mentioned. And so
A petition they sent their petition to him, telling him, " that
two houses " they found the stores of arms and ammunition in
- " the Tower of London much diminished ; and that
^ e necess ity f r supply of his kingdom of Ireland
(for which they had been issued from thence) daily
" increased ; and that the occasion, for which the
magazine was placed at Hull, was now taken
away ; and considering it would be kept at Lon
don with less charge, and more safety, and trans
ported thence with much more convenience for
the service of the kingdom of Ireland ; they there
fore humbly prayed, that his majesty would be gra
ciously pleased to give leave, that the said arms,
cannon, and ammunition, now in the magazine of
Hull, might be removed to the Tower of London,
according as should be directed by both his houses
of parliament. And whereas six priests, then in
Newgate, were condemned to die, and by his ma-

e and] and to that purpose

"

"

ft

(f
ft

ft
ft
tt
ft
ft
ft
ft

OF THE REBELLION. 351

" jesty had been reprieved, they humbly prayed his BOOK
" majesty to be pleased, that the said reprieves might
" be taken off, and the priests executed according 1642<
" to law." To which petition his majesty immedi
ately returned answer in these words :

"

We rather f expected, and have done long,s that His

. ty s answer.

you should have given us an account, why a gar

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rison hath been placed in our town of Hull, with
out our consent, and soldiers billeted there against
" law, and express words of the Petition of Right,
" than to be moved, for the avoiding of a needless
" charge you have put upon yourselves, to give our
" consent for the removal of our magazine and mu-
" nition, our own proper goods, upon such general
" reasons as indeed give no satisfaction to our judg-
" ment : and since you have made the business of
Hull your argument, we would gladly be informed,
why our own inclination, on the general rumour
" of the designs of papists in the northern parts, was
" not thought sufficient ground for us to put a per
son of honour, fortune, and unblemished reputa
tion, into a town and fort of our own, where our
own magazine lay : and yet the same rumour be
warrant enough for you to commit the same town
" and fort, without our consent, to the hands of sir
" John Hotham, with a power unagreeable to the
" law of the land, or the liberty of the subject.

" And yet of this, in point of right, or privilege,
" for sure we are not without privilege too, we have
" not all this while complained : and being confident
" that the place, whatsoever discourse there is of

f We rather^ This answer is rcndoris secretary.
in the handwriting of lord Cla- e done long,] done so long,

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352 THE HISTORY

BOOK " public or private instructions to the contrary, shall
! " be speedily given up, if we shall require it, we shall
42 - " be contented to dispose our munition there, as we
have done in other places, for the public ease and
benefit, as, upon particular advice, we shall find
convenient ; though we cannot think it fit, or con
sent, that the whole magazine be removed toge
ther. But when you shah 1 agree upon such pro
portions, as shall be held necessary for any parti
cular service, we shall sign such warrants as shall
be agreeable to wisdom and reason ; and if any
" of them be designed for Ulster, or Lemster, h you
" know well the conveyance will be more easy and
convenient from the place they are now in. Yet we
must tell you, that if the fears are so great from
the papists at home, or of foreign force, as is pre-
" tended, it seems strange that you make not provi-
" sion of arms and munition for defence of this king-
" dom, rather than seek to carry any more from
" hence, without some course taken for supply; espe-
" cially, if you remember your engagement to our
" Scots i subjects, for that proportion of arms which
is contained in your treaty. We speak not this, as
not thinking the sending of arms to Ireland very
necessary, but only for the way of the provision.
For you know what great quantities we have as
signed out of our several stores, which, in due
" time, we hope, you will see replenished. For the
charge of looking to the magazine at Hull, as it
was undertaken voluntarily by you at first, and, to
say no more, unnecessarily ; so you may free our
good people of that charge, and leave it to us to

h Lemster,] Leinster, Scots] Scotch

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(C

u

OF THE REBELLION. 353

" look to, who are the proper owner of it. And this, BOOK

" we hope, will give you full satisfaction in this .

" point, and that ye do not, as you k have done in 1642>
" the business of the militia, send this message out
" of compliment and ceremony, resolving to be your
" own carvers at last. For we must tell you, if any
" attempt shall be made or given in this matter,
without our consent or approbation, we shall esteem
it as an act of violence against us ; and declare it
to all the world, as the greatest violation of our
" right, and breach of our privilege.

" Concerning the six priests condemned, it is true,
" they were reprieved by our warrant, we 1 being in-
" formed, that they were, by some restraint, disabled
" to take the benefit of our former proclamation : since
that, we have issued out another, for the due exe-
" cution of the laws against papists ; and have most
solemnly promised, in the word of a king, never to
pardon any priest without your consent, which
shall be found guilty by law ; desiring to banish
these, having herewith sent warrant to that pur
pose, if, upon second thoughts, you do not disap
prove thereof. But if you think the execution of
" these persons so very necessary to the great and
pious work of reformation, we refer it wholly to
you ; declaring hereby, that upon such your reso-
" lution signified to the ministers of justice our war
rant for their reprieve is determined, and the law
" to have the course. And now let us ask you,, (for
" we are willing to husband time, and to despatch
" as much as may be under one message ; God knows
" the distractions of this kingdom want a present re-

k y ou l y e l we ] Not in MS.

VOL. ii. A a

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354 THE HISTORY

BOOK " medy,) will there never be a time to offer to, as
" well as to ask of us ? We will propose no more

1C42. particulars to you, having no luck to please, or to
66 be understood by you ; take your own time for what
" concerns our particular : but be sure you have an
" early, speedy care of the public ; that is, of the
" only rule that preserves the public, the law of the
" land ; preserve the dignity and reverence due to
" that. It was well said in a speech, made by a pri
vate person ; it was Mr. Pym s speech against the
earl of Strafford, but published by order of the
house of commons this parliament : the law is that
which puts a difference betwixt good and evil, be
twixt just and unjust. If you take away the law,
all things will fall into a confusion, every man will
become a law unto himself; which, in the depraved
condition of human nature, must needs produce
many great enormities. Lust will become a law,
" and envy will become a law; covetousness and am-
" bition will become laws ; and what dictates, what
" decisions, such laws will produce, may easily be
discerned. So said that gentleman, and much
more, very well, in defence of the law, and against
" arbitrary power. It is w^orth looking over, and
" considering : and if the most zealous defence of
" the m true protestant profession, and the most re-
" solved protection of the law, be the most necessary
" duty of a prince, we cannot believe this miserable
" distance and misunderstanding can be long conti-
" nued between us ; we having often and earnestly
" declared them to be the chiefest desires of our soul,
" and the end and rule of all our actions. For Ire-

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m

the] Not in MS.

OF THE REBELLION. 355

" land, we have sufficiently, and we hope satisfacto- BOOK
" rily, expressed to all our good subjects our hearty
" sense of that sad business, in our several messages ] 6/12t
" on n that argument, but especially in our last of
" the eighth of this month, concerning our resolution
" for that service ; for the speedy, honourable, and
" full performance whereof, we conjure you to yield
" all possible assistance and present advice."

This answer was received with the usual circum
stances of trouble and discontent, the taxing of evil
counsellors and malignant persons about the king :
and that clause about the condemned priests exceed
ingly displeased them ; for by the king s reference of
the matter entirely to them, he had removed the
scandal from himself, and laid it at their doors ; and
though they were well content, and desirous, that
they should have been executed by the king s war
rant, for taking off his own reprieve, (whereby they
should have made him retract an act of his own
mercy, and undeniably within his own power ; and
thereby have lessened much of the devotion of that
people to him, when they should have seen him quit
his power of preserving them in the least degree,)
yet, for many reasons, they were not willing to take
that harsh part upon themselves ; and so those con
demned priests were no more prosecuted, and were
much safer under that reference for their execution,
than they could have been, at that time, by a pardon
under the great seal of England. For the other part
of the answer concerning the magazine, it made no
pause with them ; but, within few days after, they
sent a warrant to their own governor, sir John Ho-

n on] in taxing] taxation

A a i

356 THE HISTORY

BOOK tham, to deliver it; ar\d to their own admiral, the
earl of Warwick, to transport it to London; which

1642. wagj notwithstanding the king s inhibition, done ac
cordingly. But they had at that time another mes
sage from the king, which was referred to in the last
clause of that answer, and came to their hands some
few days before, that gave them some serious trou
ble and apprehension ; the grounds and reasons of
which were these :

The king finding that, notwithstanding all the
professions and protestations he could make, the bu
siness of Ireland was still unreasonably objected to
him, as if he were not cordial in the suppressing that
rebellion, sent a message to both houses :
His majes- That being grieved at the very soul for the cala-

ty s message ...

to both " mities of his good subjects of Ireland, and being
April s, " most tenderly sensible of the false and scandalous

reports dispersed amongst the people concerning
person into u fae rebellion there ; which not only wounded his

Ireland. J

" majesty in honour, but likewise greatly retarded
" the reducing that unhappy kingdom, and multi
plied the distractions at home, by weakening the
mutual confidence between him and his people :
out of his pious zeal to the honour of Almighty
" God, in establishing the true protestant profession
" in that kingdom, and his princely care for the good
" of all his dominions, he had firmly resolved to go
" with all convenient speed into Ireland, to chastise
" those wicked and detestable rebels, odious to God
" and all good men ; thereby so to settle the peace
of that kingdom, and the security of this, that the
very name of fears and jealousies might be no more
heard of amongst them.
" And he said, as he doubted not but his parliament

"

"

a
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OF THE REBELLION. 357

" would cheerfully give all possible assistance to this BOOK

" good work., so he required them, and all his loving !

" subjects, to believe, that he would, upon those con-
" siderations, as earnestly pursue that design, not
" declining any hazard of his person in performing
" that duty, which he owed to the defence of God s
" true religion, and his distressed subjects, as he un-
" dertook it for those only ends ; to the sincerity of
" which profession he called God to witness, with
" this further assurance, that he would never con-
" sent, upon whatsoever pretence, to a toleration of
" the popish profession there, or the abolition of the
" laws now in force against popish recusants in that
" kingdom.

" His majesty further advertised them, that, to-
" wards this work, he intended to raise forthwith,
" by his commissions, P in the counties near West
" Chester, a guard for his own person, (when he
" should come into Ireland,) consisting of two thou-
" sand foot, and two hundred horse, which should be
" armed at West Chester, from his magazine at Hull ;
" at which time, he said, all the officers and soldiers
" should take the oaths of supremacy and allegiance;
" the charge of raising and paying whereof, he de-
" sired the parliament to add to their former under-
" takings for that war ; which he would not only
" well accept, but, if their pay should be found too
" great a burden to his good subjects, he would be
" willing, by the advice of his parliament, to sell, or
" pawn, any of his parks, lands, or houses, towards
" the supplies of the service of Ireland. With the
" addition of these levies to the former of English,

P commissions,] commission,

A a 3

358 THE HISTORY

BOOK " and Scots, agreed upon in parliament, he said, he

" hoped so to appear in that action, that, by the as-

1612. s i s tance of Almighty God, that kingdom, in a short

" time, might be wholly reduced, and restored to

" peace, and some measure of happiness ; whereby

" he might cheerfully return, to be welcomed home

" with the affections and blessings of all his good

" English people.

" Towards this good work, he said, as he had
" lately made despatches into Scotland, to quicken
<c the levies there for Ulster, so he heartily wished,
" that his parliament would give all possible expedi-
" tion to those, which they had resolved for Mun-
" ster and Connaught ; and hoped the encourage-
66 ment, which the adventurers, of whose interests he
" would be always very careful, would hereby re-
" ceive, would raise full sums of money for the doing
" thereof. He told them, that out of his earnest de-
" sire to remove all occasions, which did unhappily
" multiply misunderstandings between him and his
" parliament, he had likewise prepared a bill to be
offered to them by his attorney concerning the mi
litia; whereby he hoped the peace and safety of
the kingdom might be fully secured to the general
satisfaction of all men, without violation of his ma
jesty s just rights, or prejudice to the liberty of the
subject. If this should be thankfully received, he
" said, he should be glad of it ; if refused, he must
" call God, and all the world, to judge on whose part
" the default was ; only he required, if the bill should
" be approved of, that if any corporation should make
" their lawful rights appear, they might be reserved
" to them. He said, before he would part from
" England, he would take all due care to intrust

..
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((
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OF THE REBELLION. 359

" such persons with such authority in his absence, as BOOK

" he should find to be requisite for the peace and

" safety of the kingdom, and the happy progress of 1642
" the parliament."

They neither before nor after ever received any
message from his majesty, that more discomposed
them ; and so much the more, because that which
gave them most umbrage could not be publicly and
safely avowed by them. For though, to those who
had a due reverence to the king s person, and an im
patient desire, that all misunderstandings might be
composed, they urged, " the hazard and danger to
" his majesty s person, in such an expedition, and
the increase of jealousies and distractions, that
would ensue in this kingdom by his absence ;" and
to others, who ! from the barbarity, inhumanity, and
unheard of cruelty, exercised by the rebels in Ireland
upon the English protestants, (of which they every
day received fresh and bleeding evidence,) had con
tracted a great animosity against that whole nation, r
and were persuaded that the work of extirpation was
not so difficult as in truth it was ; and s to the adven
turers, who had disbursed great sums of money, and
had digested a full assurance of ample recompence,
by confiscations and forfeitures ; " that by this voy-
" age of the king a peace would be in a short time
" concluded in that kingdom, to their great disad-
" vantage and damage ;" yet the true reasons, which
surprised and startled them, were, that hereby the
managing the war of Ireland would be taken out of
their hands ; and so, instead of having a nursery for

q who] as well those who s and] as

r that whole nation,] the nation,

A a 4

360 THE HISTORY

BOOK soldiers of their own, which they might employ as
they saw occasion ; and a power of raising what mo-

1642. ne y they pleased in this kingdom under that title,
which they might dispose, as they found most fit for
their affairs; the king would probably in a short
time recover one entire kingdom to his obedience,
by which he might be able to preserve the peace of
the other two. However, working by several t impres
sions upon several u affections, they found it no diffi
cult thing to persuade, almost an unanimous, aversion
from approving the journey ; they who visually op
posed their advice not enduring to think of staying
in England, where the power, at least for a time,
would be in them, whose government, they knew,
would be terrible, when his majesty should be in Ire
land. Upon this x they despatched a magisterial an
swer to the king, in which they told him :
The answer That the lords and commons in parliament had

houses to " duly considered the message, received from his ma
im raaies- ., . .,. r> T i i

ty s message J es ty? concerning his purpose of going into Ireland
in *!erson ing " n ^ s own P erson to prosecute the war there, with
into ire- (6 fa^ bodies of his English subjects, levied, trans-

land, April

28, 1642. " ported, and maintained at their charge; which he
was pleased to propound to them, not as a matter,
wherein he desired the advice of his parliament,
but as already firmly resolved on, and forthwith to
be put in execution, by granting out commissions
for the levying of two thousand foot, and two hun-
* dred horse, for a guard for his person, when he
should come into that kingdom ; wherein they said,
they could not but, with all reverence and humili-
ty to his majesty, observe, that he had declined his

several] the several u several] the several x Upon this] And then

a

.

(6

a
66
66

OF THE REBELLION. 361

" great council, the parliament, and varied from the BOOK

" usual course of his royal predecessors ; that a bu -

" siness of so great importance concerning the peace
and safety of all his subjects, and wherein they
have a special interest, by his majesty s promise,
and by those great sums, which they had dis-
" bursed, and for which they stood engaged, should
" be concluded, and undertaken, without their ad-
" vice ; whereupon, they said, they held it their
duty to declare, that if, at that time, his majesty
should go into Ireland, he would very much en
danger the safety of his royal person and king
doms, and of all other states professing the pro-
testant religion in Christendom, and make way to
the execution of that cruel and bloody design of
the papists, every where to root out and destroy
the reformed religion ; as the Irish papists had
already y, in a great part, effected in that king
dom ; and, in all likelihood, would quickly be at-
" tempted in other places, if the consideration of
the strength and union of the two nations of
England and Scotland did not much hinder and
discourage the execution of any such design. And
that they might manifest to his majesty the dan
ger and misery, which such a journey and enter
prise would produce, they presented to his ma
jesty the reasons of that their humble opinion and
" advice :

1. " His royal person would be subject, not only
" to the casualty of war, but to secret practices and
conspiracies ; especially his majesty continuing his
profession to maintain the protestant religion in

y already 1 Not in MS.

v -1

..

66
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66

66
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66
66
66
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it
66

THE HISTORY

BOOK that kingdom, which the papists were generally

! " bound by their vow to extirpate.

2 - 2. " It would exceedingly encourage the rebels ;
" who did generally profess and declare, that his
" majesty did favour and allow their proceedings,
" and that this insurrection was undertaken by the
" warrant of his commission ; and it would make
66 good their expectation of great advantage, by his
" majesty s presence at that time, of so much dis-
" traction in this kingdom, whereby they might
" hope the two houses of parliament would be dis-
" abled to supply the war there, especially there ap-
" pearing less necessity of his majesty s journey at
" that time, by reason of the manifold successes,
" which God had given against them.

3. " It would much hinder and impair the means
" whereby the war was to be supported, and in-
" crease the charge of it, and in both these respects
" make it more insupportable to the subject ; and
" this, they said, they could confidently affirm ; be-
" cause many of the adventurers, who had already
" subscribed, did, upon the knowledge of his ma
jesty s intention, declare their resolution not to
pay in their money ; and others, very willing to
have subscribed, do now profess the contrary.

4. " His majesty s absence must necessarily very
much interrupt the proceedings of parliament ;
and deprive his subjects of the benefit of those

" further acts of grace and justice, which they
" should humbly expect from his majesty for the
" establishing a perfect union, z and mutual confi-
" dence between his majesty and his people, and

7 a perfect union,] of ii perfect union,

,*

..

..
..

OF THE REBELLION. 363

y

" procuring and confirming the prosperity and hap- BOOK

v

..
..

it
a

" piness of both.

5. " It would exceedingly increase the fears and [642
" jealousies of his people ; and render their doubts

" more probable, of some force intended, by some
evil councils near his majesty, in opposition of the
parliament, and favour of the malignant party of

" this kingdom.

6. " It would bereave his parliament of that ad-
" vantage, whereby they were induced to undertake

that war, upon his majesty s promise, that it
should be managed by their advice ; which could
" not be done, if his majesty, contrary to their coun-
" sels, should undertake to order and govern it in
his own person.

Upon which, and divers other reasons a , they
said, they had resolved, by the full and concur
rent agreement of both houses, that they could
not, with discharge of their duty, consent to any
" levies or raising of soldiers to be made by his ma
jesty, for that his intended expedition into Ire-
" land ; or to the payment of any army, or soldiers
" there, but such as should be employed and go-
66 verned according to their advice and direction :
" and that, if such levies should be made by any
" commission of his majesty s, not agreed to by both
" houses of parliament, they should be forced to in-
" terpret the same to be raised to the terror of his
" people, and disturbance of the public peace ; and
" did hold themselves bound, by the laws of the
" kingdom, to apply the authority of parliament to
" suppress the same.

1 and divers other reasons,] Not in MS.

(6

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66

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U

66

364 THE HISTORY

BOOK And, they said, they did further most humbly
." declare, that if his majesty should by ill counsel

66
66

66

v V

1 642. c jj e persuaded to go, contrary to that advice of his
parliament, (which they hoped his majesty would
not,) they did not, in that case, hold themselves
bound to submit to any commissioners, which his
majesty should choose ; but did resolve to pre-
" serve and govern the kingdom, by the counsel
" and advice of parliament, for his majesty and his
posterity, according to their allegiance, and the
law of the land : wherefore they did most humbly
pray, and advise his majesty, to desist from that
his intended passage into Ireland, and from all
preparation of men and arms tending thereunto ;
" and to leave the managing of that war to his
parliament, according to his promise made unto
them, and his commission granted under his great
" seal of England, by advice of both houses ; in
prosecution whereof, by God s blessing, they had
already made a prosperous entrance, by many de
feats of the rebels, whereby they were much
weakened and disheartened ; and had no probable
means of subsistence, if the proceedings of the
" two houses were not interrupted by that inter
position of his majesty s journey : but they hoped,
upon good grounds, that, within a short time,
" without hazard of his person, and so much dan-
" gerous confusion in his kingdoms, which must
" needs ensue, if he should proceed in that resolu
tion, they should be enabled fully to vindicate his
majesty s right, and authority in that kingdom ;
and punish those horrible, outrageous cruelties,
which had been committed in the murdering and
spoiling so many of his subjects ; and to bring

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66

66
66

66
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OF THE REBELLION. 365

" that realm to such a condition, as might be much BOOK
" to the advantage of his majesty and the crown,

\^J

and the honour of his government, and content-
" ment of his people : for the better and more
" speedy effecting whereof, they did again renew
c * their humble desires of his return to his parlia-
" ment ; and that he would please to reject all
" counsels and apprehensions, which might any way
" derogate from that faithfulness and allegiance,
" which, in truth and sincerity, they had always
" borne and professed to his majesty, and should
" ever make good, to the uttermost, with their lives
" and fortunes."

To b this petition (the matter whereof finding a
general concurrence, there was the less c debate and
contradiction upon the manner of expression) being
sent to the king to York ; and, in the mean time,
all preparations being suspended for the necessary
relief for Ireland, insomuch as with the votes (which
were presently printed) against the king s journey,
there was likewise an order printed to discourage
the adventurers from bringing in their money ; the
which, though it had no approbation from either
house, and seemed to be angrily interpreted by
them, and the printer was ordered to be found out
and punished, yet did wholly stop that service ; and
by the no-inquiry, or punishment of that boldness,
appeared to be done by design ; his majesty speedily
returned this answer :

" That he was so troubled, and astonished to find The kin s s

reply

" that unexpected reception and misunderstanding touching

n i . , . T . , . ,, his going

or his message concerning his Irish journey, that into ire-

land.
b To] Not in MS. c less] least

66

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366 THE HISTORY

BOOK " (being so much disappointed of the approbation

! " and thanks he looked for to that declaration) he

1642. 66 had great cause to doubt, whether it were in his
" power to say or do any thing, which would not
" fall within the like interpretation : but he said, as
" he had, in that message, called God to witness
" the sincerity of the profession of his only ends for
" the undertaking that journey ; so he must appeal
to all his good subjects, and the whole world,
whether the reasons alleged against that journey
were of weight to satisfy his understanding; or
the counsel, presented to dissuade him from it,
were full of that duty, as was like to prevail over
his affections. For the resolving of so great a
business without the advice of his parliament, he
" said, he must remember them d , how often, by his
" message, e he made the same offer, if they should
" advise him thereunto ; to which they never gave
" him the least answer ; but, in their late declara-
" tion, told him, that they were not to be satisfied
66 with words : so that he had reason to conceive,
they rather avoided, out of regard to his person,
to give him counsel to run that hazard, than that
" they disapproved the inclination. And, he asked
them, what greater comfort or security the pro-
testants of Christendom could receive, than by
seeing a protestant king venture, and engage his
person for the defence of that religion, and the
suppression of popery ? to which he solemnly pro-
" tested, in that message, never to grant a tolera
tion, upon what pretence soever, or any f abolition
of any of the laws there in force against the pro-

66
(6

66
66
66
66
66

66
66

u them] Not in MS. e message,] messages, any] an

OF THE REBELLION. 367

" fessors of it. And, he said, when he considered BOOK
" the great calamities, and unheard of cruelties, his

(6
66

" poor protestant subjects in that kingdom had un-
" dergone for the space of near, or full six months ;
" the growth and increase of the strength of those
" barbarous rebels ; and the evident probability of
" foreign supplies, if they were not speedily sup-
" pressed ; the very slow succours hitherto sent
" them from hence : that the officers of several regi-
" ments, who had long time been allowed entertain-
" ment from them & for that service, had not raised
" any supply or succour for that kingdom ; that
many troops of horse had long lain near Chester
untransported ; that the lord lieutenant of Ire-
" land, on whom he relied principally for the con-
" duct and managing of affairs there, was still in
" this kingdom, notwithstanding his majesty s ear-
" nestness expressed, that he should repair to his
" command : and when he considered the many
" and great scandals raised upon himself by report
" of the rebels, and not sufficiently discountenanced
here, notwithstanding so many professions of his
majesty ; and had seen a book, lately printed by
" the order of the house of commons, entitled, A
Remonstrance of divers remarkable Passages con
cerning the Church and Kingdom of Ireland, where-
" in some examinations were set down, (how im-
" probable or impossible soever,) which might make
" an impression in the minds of many of his weak
" subjects : and, lastly, when he had duly weighed
" the dishonour that would h perpetually lie upon
" this kingdom, if full and speedy relief were not

& from them] Not in MS. h that would] which would

6f
f(

((
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368 THE HISTORY

BOOKJ " despatched thither; his majesty could not think of
a better way to discharge his duty to Almighty

66
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66

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a

66
66

342. (( Q o & 9 f or the defence of the true protestant reli-
" gion, or to manifest his affection to his three
kingdoms, for their preservation, than by engag
ing his person in that expedition, as many of his
royal progenitors had done, even in foreign parts,
upon causes of less importance and piety, with
great honour to themselves, and advantage to this
kingdom. And therefore he expected at least
" thanks for such his inclination.

" For the danger to his person, he said, he con-
" ceived it necessary, and worthy of a king, to ad
venture his life to preserve his kingdoms ; i nei
ther could it be imagined, that he would sit still,
and suffer his kingdoms to be lost, and his good
protestant subjects to be massacred, without ex-
" posing his own person to the utmost hazard for
" their relief and preservation ; his life, when it was
most pleasant, being nothing so precious to him,
as it was, and should be, to govern and preserve
" his people with honour and justice.

" For any encouragement to the rebels, because
" of the reports they raised, he said, he could not
conceive, that the rebels were capable of a greater
terror, than by the presence of their lawful king,
" in the head of an army, to chastise them. Be-
" sides, it would be an unspeakable advantage to
" them, if any report of theirs could hinder him
" from doing any thing, which were fit for him to
" do, if such report were not raised : that would
" quickly teach them, in this jealous age, to pre-

1 kingdoms ;] kingdom ;

66

6t

66
66

OF THE REBELLION. 369

" vent, by such reports, any other persons coming BOOK

" against them, whom they had no mind should be -

employed. 1642

" He told them, that k he marvelled, that the ad-
" venturers, whose advantage was a principal mo-
" tive (next the reasons before mentioned) to him,
" should so much mistake his purpose ; whose in-
" terest he conceived must be much improved by
the expedition he hoped, by God s blessing, to use
in that service ; that being the most probable way
for the speedy conquest of the rebels, their lands
were sufficiently secured by act of parliament.

He told them, he thought himself not kindly
used, that the addition of so few men to their
levies (for a guard to his person in Ireland)
should be thought fit for their refusal ; and much
more, that having used so many cautions in that
message, both in the smallness of the number ; in
his having raised none, until their answer; in
their being to be raised only near the place of
shipping; in their being there to be armed, and
that not till they were ready to be shipped ; in
the provision, by the oaths, that none of them
" should be papists, (all which were sufficient to de-
" stroy all grounds of jealousy of any force intended
by them in opposition to the parliament, or favour
to any malignant party,) any suspicion should,
notwithstanding, be grounded upon it.
" Neither, he said, could it be understood, that,
" when he recommended the managing of that war
" to them, he ] intended to exclude himself, or not
" to be concerned in their counsels, that if he found

k that] Not in MS. l he] that he

VOL, II. B b

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370 THE HISTORY

BOOK " any expedient, (which, in his conscience and un-

" derstanding, he thought necessary for that great

" work,) he might not put it in practice. He told
" them, he looked upon them as his great council,
" whose advice he always had, and would, with
" great regard and deliberation, weigh and con-
" sider : but he looked upon himself as neither de-
" prived of his understanding, or divested of any
" right he had, if there were no parh ament sitting.
" He said, he called them together by his own writ
" and authority (without which they could not have
" met) to give him faithful counsel about his great
<e affairs ; but he resigned not up his own interest
" and freedom ; he never subjected himself to their
" absolute determination ; he had always weighed
" their counsels, as proceeding from a body m in-
" trusted by him ; and when he had dissented from
" them, he had returned them the reasons, which
" had prevailed with his conscience and under-
" standing, with that candour, which a prince should
" use towards his subjects ; and that affection, which
" a father could express to his children. What ap-
" plication had been used to rectify his understand
ing by reasons, or what motives had been given
to persuade his affections, he would leave all the
world to judge. And then, he said, he must tell
" them, howsoever a major part might bind them in
" matter of opinion, he held himself (and he was
" sure the law and constitution of the kingdom had
" always held the same) as free to dissent, till his
" reason was u convinced for the general good, as if
66 they had delivered no opinion.

u
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body] council " was] were

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OF THE REBELLION. 371

" For his journey itself, he told them the circum- BOOK

" stances of their petition w r ere such, as he knew .

" not well what answer to return, or whether he
were best to give any ; that part which pretended
to carry reason with it did no way satisfy him ;
the other, which was rather reprehension and
menace, than advice, could not stagger him. His
answer therefore was, that he should be very glad
" to find the work of Ireland so easy as they seemed
to think it ; which did not so appear by any thing
known to him, when he sent his message : and
though he would never refuse, or be unwilling, to
" venture his person for the good and safety of his
" people, he was not so weary of his life, as to ha-
" zard it impertinently ; and therefore, since they
" seemed to have received advertisements of some
" late and great successes in that kingdom, he would
" stay some time to see the event of those, and not
" pursue his resolution till he had given them a se~
" cond notice : but, if he found the miserable condi-
" tion of his poor subjects of that kingdom were
" not speedily relieved, he would, with God s assist-
" ance, visit them with such succours as his parti-
" cular credit and interest could supply him with, if
" they refused to join with him. And he doubted
not but the levies he should make (in which he
would observe punctually the former, and all other
cautions, as might best prevent all fears and jea-
" lousies ; and to use no power but what was legal)
" would be so much to the satisfaction of his sub-
" jects, as no person would dare presume to resist
" his commands ; and if they should, at their peril

(

(

() such] Not in MS.

B b 2

372 THE HISTORY

BOOK " be it P. In the mean time, he hoped his forward-
" ness., so remarkable to that service, should be no-

66
(f

66
66
66

66

42 - " torious to all the world ; and that all scandals,
" laid on him in that business, should be clearly
" wiped away.

" He told them, he had been so careful that his
journey into Ireland should not interrupt the pro
ceedings of parliament, nor deprive his subjects of
any acts of justice, or further acts of grace, for the
real benefit of his people, that he had made a free
offer of leaving such power behind, as should not
only be necessary for the peace and safety of the
" kingdom, but fully provide for the happy progress
" of the parliament : and therefore he could not but
" wonder, since such power had been always left
here, by commission, for the government of this
kingdom, when his progenitors had been out of the
same, during the sitting of parliaments ; and since
themselves desired that such a power might be left
here by his majesty, at his last going into Scot
land ; what law of the land they had now found to
dispense with them from submitting to such au
thority, legally derived from him, in his absence ;
and to enable them to govern the kingdom by their
own mere authority.

" For his return to London, he said, he had given
them so full answers in his late declaration, and
answers that he knew not what to add to% if they
" would not provide for his security with them, nor
agree to remove to another place, where there
might not be the same danger to his majesty. He
" told them, he expected, that (since he had been

P be it] JVo* in MS. 1 to] Not in MS.

66
66
66
66
66
66
66
66
66
66

66
66

66
66

S6

u

66

OF THE REBELLION. 373

" so particular in the causes and grounds of his fears) BOOK

" they should have sent him word, that they had

" published such declarations against future tumults
" and unlawful assemblies, and taken such courses
" for the suppressing seditious pamphlets and ser
mons, that his fears of that kind might be laid
aside, before they should press his return.
" To conclude, he told them, he could wish, that
they would, with the same strictness and severity,
" weigh and examine their messages and expressions
" to him, as they did those they received from him.
" For he was very confident, that if they examined
" his rights and privileges, by what his predecessors
" had enjoyed ; and their own addresses, by the
" usual courses observed by their ancestors ; they
" would find many expressions in that petition, war-
" ranted only by their own authority ; which indeed
" he forbore to take notice of, or to give answer to,
" lest he should be tempted, in a just indignation,
" to express a greater passion, than he was yet will-
" ing to put on. God in his good time, he hoped,
would so inform the hearts of all his subjects, that
he should recover from the mischief and danger of
that distemper ; on whose good pleasure, he said,
" he would wait with all patience and humility."

From r this time the purpose was never resumed
of his majesty s personal expedition into Ireland,
and so they were freed from that apprehension. The
truth is, that counsel for his majesty s journey into
Ireland was very suddenly taken, and communi
cated to very few, without consideration of the ob-

r From] And from
Bb 3

tt
(t
(t

374 THE HISTORY

BOOK jections, that would naturally arise against it; and
was rather resolved as a probable stratagem, to com-
* pose the two houses to a better temper and sobriety,
upon the apprehension of the king s absence from
them, and the inconveniences that might thence
ensue, than sufficiently considered and digested for
execution. For none were more violent against it
than they who served the king most faithfully in
the houses; who, in the king s absence, and after
such a grant of the militia, as was then offered,
looked upon themselves as sacrificed to the pride
and fury of those, whose inclinations and temper
had begot the confusions they complained of. But
if it had been so duly weighed and consulted, and
men so disposed, that it might have been executed,
and the king had 8 taken a fit council and retinue
about him, it would at that time have been no hard
matter speedily to have reduced Ireland; and, by
the reputation and authority of that, the other two
kingdoms might have been contained within their
proper bounds. But, as it fell out, the overture
proved disadvantageous to the king, and gave the
other party new cause of triumph, that they had
plainly threatened him out of what he pretended to
have firmly resolved to do ; which disadvantage was
improved by the other proposition, that attended it,
concerning the militia. For the bill, sent by the
king upon that argument, brought the business
again into debate; and, though nothing was con
cluded upon it, the king was a loser by the propo
sition, though not so much as he feared he should

* had] Not in MS.

OF THE REBELLION. 375

have been, when he saw his journey into Ireland BOOK
desperate; upon the supposition of which, he had -
only made that tender.

The bill sent by the king, and preferred to the
house of peers, by the attorney general, granted the
militia, for one year, to the persons first nominated
by the houses in their ordinances 1 to his majesty ;
and made those persons, in the execution of that
trust, subject to the authority of his majesty and the
two houses jointly, whilst his majesty was within the
kingdom; and, in his absence, of the two houses
only. What alterations and amendments they made
in it before they returned it again for the royal as
sent, will best appear by the king s answer, which
he sent to them at the time of his refusal to pass it ;
which was,

" That he had, with great deliberation and pa- His

*

"

tv*s Hies

tience, weighed and considered (as it concerned him sage to both
" much to weigh the consequences of every law be- ^p"- 1*28,

" fore he passed it) their bill lately sent to him for the ]642 . } co ?.

<f cernmg his

" settling the militia ; and though it had not been refusal to

pass the bill

; usual to give any reason for the refusal to pass any for the mi-
" bill, it being absolutely in his power to pass, or not !
" to u pass, any act sent to him, if he conceived it
" prejudicial to himself, or inconvenient to his sub-
" jects, for whom he was trusted, and must one day
" give an account ; yet, in that business of the mili-
" tia, which, being misunderstood amongst his good
t( subjects, had been used as an argument, as if he
" were not vigilant enough for the public safety, and
" lest he should be thought less constant in his reso-
" lutions, and that bill to be the same he had sent

1 ordinances] ordinance u to] Not in MS,

B b 4

"
"

"

"

376 THE HISTORY

V

BOOK to them, he thought fit to give them, and all the
" world, particular satisfaction, why he could not,
1642. OU ght not, must not pass that bill, being the first
" public bill he had refused this parliament : and
" therefore, he told them, he must complain, that
" having expressed himself so clearly and particu-
" larly to them in that point, they should press any
" thing upon him, which they could not but foresee
he x must refuse ; except he departed from those
resolutions, grounded upon so much reason, he had
so earnestly before acquainted them with, and
against which they had not given one argument
" to satisfy his judgment.

" He told them, he was pleased they had declined
" the unwarrantable course of their ordinance, (to
" the which, he was confident, his good subjects
" would never have yielded their consent,) and
" chosen that only right way of imposing upon the
" people, which he would have allowed but for the
" reasons following :

" He said, he had refused to consent to their or-
" dinance, as for other things, so for that the power
was put into the persons nominated therein by di-
rection of both houses of parliament, excluding his
majesty from any power in the disposition or exe-
cution of it together with them : he had then ad-
vised them, for many reasons, that a bill should be
prepared ; and after, in his answer of the 26th of
" March to the petition of both houses, he had told
them, if such a bill should be prepared with that
due regard to his majesty, and care of his people,
* in the limitation of the power, and other circum-

x he] that he

"
"
"
"
"
"

"

"

OF THE REBELLION. 377

" stances, he should recede from nothing he formerly BOOK

V

ti

C(

66
a

expressed.

" What passed (enough to have discouraged him ] 642>
" from being further solicitous in that argument)
" after his full and gracious answers, he was content
" to forget. When he resolved on? his journey into
" Ireland, so that, by reason of his absence, there
" might be no want of settling that power ; besides
" complying with their fears, he sent, together with
" a message of that his purpose, a bill for 2 settling
" the power for a year ; hoping in that time to re-
" turn to them, and being sure that, in much less
" time, they might do the business, for which at first
they seemed to desire this ; which was, that they
might securely consider his message of the 20th
of January last. By that bill, which he sent, he
consented to those names they proposed in their
ordinance, and in the limitation of the power;
provided, that himself should not be able to exe-
" cute any thing but by their advice ; and, when he
should be out of the kingdom, the sole execution
to be in them ; with many other things, of so arbi
trary and uncircumscribed a power, that he should
" not have consented to, but with reference to the
absence of his own person out of the kingdom ;
and thought it the more sufFerable, in respect the
" time was but for a year. Whether that bill, they
had sent to him to pass, were the same, the world
would judge.

He said, they had, by that bill tendered to his
majesty, without taking notice of him, put the
power of the whole kingdom, the life and liberties

> resolved on] resolved of z for] for the

a

66
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66

66
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66

f(
t(

6t

378 THE HISTORY

BOOK "of the subjects of all degrees and qualities, into
" the hands of particular men, for two years. He
1642. asked them, if they could imagine he would trust
" such an absolute power in the hands of particular
" persons, which he had refused to commit to both
" houses of parliament ? Nay, if the power itself
" were not too absolute, too unlimited, to be com-
" mitted into any private hands ? Whether sir John
" Hotham s high insolence shewed him not, what he
" might expect from an exorbitant legal power, when
" he, by a power not warrantable a by law, durst ven
ture upon a treasonable disobedience? But his
majesty would willingly know, and indeed such
an account in ordinary civility, he said, he might
" have expected, why he was, by that act, absolutely
" excluded from any power, or authority, in the exe-
" cution of the militia. He said, sure their fears
" and jealousies were not of such a nature, as were
capable of no other remedy, than by leaving him
no power in a point of the greatest importance ;
" in which God, and the law, had trusted him solely,
" and which he had been contented to share with
" them by his own bill, by putting it, and a greater,
into the hands of particular subjects. He asked
" them, what all Christian princes would think of
him after he had passed such a bill ? How they
" would value his sovereignty ? And yet, he said,
sure his reputation with foreign princes was some
ground of their security. Nay, he was confident,
by that time they had throughly considered the
possible consequence of that bill, upon themselves,
" and the rest of his good subjects, they would all

u warrantable] warranted

a

.,

a

44
44
44
<4

44
6t

OF THE REBELLION. 379

" give him thanks for not consenting to it; finding BOOK
" their condition, if it should have passed, would not

a
a
a
a

(6

tt

66

have been so pleasing to them. He told them, he
hoped that animadversion would be no breach of
their privileges. In that throng of business and
distemper of affections, it was possible, second
thoughts might present somewhat to their con
siderations, which escaped them before.
" He remembered them, that he had passed a bill
this parliament, at their entreaty, concerning the
captives of Algiers, and waved many objections of
his own to the contrary, upon information that the
business had been many months considered by
" them ; whether it proved suitable to their inten-
" tions, or whether they had not, by some private
" orders, suspended that act of parliament upon
" view of the mistakes, themselves best knew ; as
likewise, what other great b alterations they had
made upon other bills, passed this session. He
" told them, he could not pass over the putting their
" names out of that bill, whom before they had re-
" commended to him in their ordinance, not think
ing fit, it seemed, to trust those who would obey
no guide but the law of the land, (he imagined
they would not wish he should in his estimation of
others follow that their rule,) and the leaving out,
by special provision, the present lord mayor of
London, as a person in their disfavour; whereas,
he said, he must tell them, his demeanour had
been such, that the city, and the whole kingdom,
was beholding to him for his example.
" To conclude, he said, he did not find himself

b great] Not in MS.

(t

66

66

66
66
66
61
66
66
66
66

380 THE HISTORY

BOOK " possessed of such an excess of power, that it was
" fit to transfer, or consent it should be in other per-

(6

it
(6

42< " sons, as was directed by that bill ; and therefore
" he should rely upon that royal right and jurisdic-
" tion, which God and the law had given him, for
the suppressing of rebellion, and resisting foreign
invasion ; which had preserved the kingdom in the
time of all his ancestors, and which he doubted
" not but he should be able to execute. And, not
" more for his own honour and right, than for the
" liberty and safety of his people, he could not con-
" sent to pass that bill."

Though no sober man could deny the reasonable
ness of that answer, and that there was indeed so
great a difference between the bill sent by his ma
jesty, and that presented to him from the two houses,
that it could not soberly be imagined he would con
sent to it ; yet, it had been better for his majesty,
that the first overture from himself had never been
made ; it giving new life, spirit, and hopes to them ;
and they making the people believe (who understood
not the difference, and knew not that the king s
pleasure, signified by both houses of parliament, was
in effect d the pleasure of both houses without the
king) that his majesty now refused to consent to
what himself had offered and proposed ; whilst his
own party (for so those begun 6 now to be called,
who preserved their duty and allegiance entire) was
as much troubled to find so sovereign a power of the
crown offered to be parted with to the two houses,
as was tendered to them by the king s own bill ; and

c that the first overture from a in effect] Not in MS.
himself] that that overture e begun] began

OF THE REBELLION. 381

that it was possible for his majesty to recede from; BOOK
his firmest resolves, even in a point that would not
naturally admit of the least division or diminution.

The king, being well pleased that he had gone
through one of his resolutions, and not much trou
bled at the anger f it had produced, and finding his
court full of persons of quality of the country, who s
made all expressions of affection and duty, which
they thought would be most acceptable to him, re
solved 11 to undertake another enterprise, which was
of more importance, and which in truth was the sole
motive of his journey into those parts. The great
magazine of arms and ammunition, which was left
upon the disbanding the army, remained still at Hull,
and was a nobler proportion than remained in the
Tower of London, or all other his majesty s stores ;
and there had been formerly a purpose to have se
cured the same by the earl of Newcastle s presence
there, which had been disappointed, as hath been be
fore mentioned, and sir John Hotham sent thither
to look to it ; who was now there only with one of
the companies of the trained bands : and so the king
resolved that he would himself make a journey thi
ther, with his own usual train ; and being there, that
he would stay there, till he had secured the place to
him. This was his purpose ; which he concealed to
that degree, that very few about him knew any thing
of it.

As soon as it was known that his majesty meant
to reside in York, it was easily suspected, that he
had an eye upon that magazine -, 1 and therefore they

f anger] anger and trouble that magazine ;] the maga-

g who] which zine ;

h resolved] he resolved

382 THE HISTORY

BOOK made an order in both houses, " That the magazine
" should be removed from Hull to the Tower ;" and

42> ships were making ready for the transportation ; so
that his majesty could no longer defer the execution
of what he designed. k And, being persuaded, 1 by
some who believed themselves, that, if he went
thither, it would neither be in sir John Hotham s
will, nor m his power, to keep him out of that town ;
and that, being possessed of so considerable a port,
and of the magazine there," he should find a better
temper towards a modest and dutiful treaty ; his
majesty took the opportunity of a petition presented
to him by the gentlemen of Yorkshire, (who in truth
were much troubled at the order for removing the
magazine from Hull ; and were ready to appear in
any thing for his service,) in which? " they desired
" him to cast his eye<i and thoughts upon the safety

k he designed.] The history vants to sir J. Hotham, that his
is thus continued in ; MS. B. from majesty would dine with him
which this portion is taken : And that day ; with which message
therefore he sent the duke of he was exceedingly surprised
York, (who came to him few and confounded. The man was
days before from Richmond by of a fearful nature, p. 384, /. 1.
his command,) attended only by ] And, being persuaded,] This
a few gentlemen and servants, paragraph begins thus in MS. C.
whereof sir Lewis Dives was Whilst these things were agitat-
one, who had much acquaint- ing, the king, who found the re-
ance with Hotham, to see the sort and affections of the north
town, and without any other to be answerable to his expec-
pretence. He was received by tation, and the principal gentle-
sir J. Hotham with all respect, men to be inclined very heartily
and was treated and lodged by and devoutly to his service, and
him in such a manner as was being persuaded, &c.
fit. The next morning the king m nor] or
himself, with a choice number n magazine there,] MS. adds :
of about twenty or thirty gen- (which the houses had ordered
tlemen, who were appointed to to be speedily sent to London)
attend by himself, and all others in truth] Not in MS.
inhibited to go, went from York, P in which] by which
and sent word by one of his ser- <i his eye] his eyes

OF THE REBELLION. 383

" of his own person, and his princely issue, and that BOOK
" whole county ; a great means whereof, they said,
(S did consist in the arms and ammunition at Hull,
" placed there by his princely care and charge ; and
" since, upon general apprehensions of dangers from
" foreign parts, thought fit to be continued : and they
" did very earnestly beseech him, that he would take
" such course, that it might still remain there, for
" the better securing those, and the rest of the nor-
" them parts." Hereupon r he resolved to go thither
himself; and, the night before, he sent his son the
duke of York, who was lately arrived from Rich
mond, accompanied with the prince elector, s thither,
with some other persons of honour ; who knew no
more, than that it was a journey given to the plea
sure and curiosity of the duke. Sir John Hotham
received them with that duty and civility that be
came him. The next morning early, the king took
horse from York ; and, attended with two or three
hundred of his servants, and gentlemen of the coun
try, rode thither ; and, when he came within a mile
of the town, sent a gentleman to sir John Hotham,
" to let him know that the king would that day dine
" with him ;" with which he was strangely surprised,
or seemed to be so.*

r Hereupon,] Thus originally nued : It was then reported, and

in MS. Hereupon he resolved to was afterwards averred by himself

go thither himself in person, the to some friends, that he had re-

which he kept very private till ceived the night before adver-

the night before, and then he tisement, from a person very

sent, &c. near to, and very much trusted

s the prince elector,] Origi- by his majesty, of the king s

nally in MS. the palsgrave, purpose of coming thither, and

* Instead of the ensuing para- that there was a resolution of

graph, which is taken from MS. hanging him, or cutting his

B. the other MS. is thus conti- throat as soon as he was in the

384 THE HISTORY

BOOK The man was of a fearful nature, and perplexed
understanding, and could better resolve upon delibe-

ration than on a sudden ; and many were of opinion,
that if he had been prepared dexterously beforehand,
and in confidence, he would have conformed to the
king s pleasure ; for he was master of a noble for
tune in land, and rich in money ; of a very ancient
family, and well allied ; his affections to the govern
ment very good ; and no man less desired to see the
nation involved in a civil war, than he : and, when
he accepted this employment from the parliament,
he never imagined it would engage him in rebellion ;
but believed, that the king would find it necessary to
comply with the advice of his two houses ; and that
the preserving that magazine from being possessed
by him, would likewise prevent any possible rupture
into arms. He was now in great confusion ; and
calling some of the chief magistrates^ and other offi
cers, together to consult, they persuaded him, not to
suffer the king to enter into the town. And his ma
jesty coming within an hour after his messenger,
found the gates shut, and the bridges drawn, u and
the walls manned ; all things being in a readiness for
the reception of an enemy. Sir John Hotham him
self from the walls, with several professions of duty,
and many expressions of fear, telling his majesty,
" that he durst not open the gates, being trusted by
" the parliament ;" the king told him, " that he be-
" lieved he had no order from the parliament to shut

town. Whether this or any u the bridges drawn,] The

thing else wrought with him, I continuation of this part of the

know not, but when the king history, according to MS. B, will

came he found the gates shut, be found in the Appendix, L.
&c. as in page 384, line 22.

OF THE REBELLION. 385

" the gates against him, or to keep him out of the BOOK

" town." He replied, " that his train was so great, .
" that if it were admitted, he should not be able to
" give a good account of the town." Whereupon the
king offered " to enter with twenty horse only, and
" that the rest should stay without." The which the
other refusing, the king desired him " to come to
" him, that he might confer with him, upon his
" princely word of safety, and liberty to return." And
when he excused himself likewise from that, his ma
jesty told him, " that as this act of his was unparal-
" leled, so it would produce some notable effect ; that
" it was not possible for him to sit down by such an
" indignity, but that he would immediately proclaim
" him traitor, and proceed against him as such; that
" this disobedience of his would probably bring many
" miseries upon the kingdom, and much loss of blood ;
" all which might be prevented, if he performed the
" duty of a subject ; and therefore advised him to think
" sadly of it, and to prevent the necessary growth
" of so many calamities, which must lie all upon
te his conscience." The gentleman, with much distrac
tion in his looks, talked confusedly of " the trust he
" had from the parliament ;" then fell on his knees,
and wished, " that God would bring confusion upon
" him, and his, if he were not a loyal and faithful
" subject to his majesty ;" but, in conclusion, plainly
denied to suffer his majesty to come into the town.
Whereupon, the king caused him immediately to be
proclaimed a traitor ; which the other received with
some expressions of undutifulness and contempt. And
so the king, after the duke of York, and the x prince
elector, with their retinue, were come out of the

x the] Not in MS.
VOL. II. C C

386 THE HISTORY

BOOK town, where they were kept some hours, was forced
.to retire that night to Beverly, four miles from that

"
"

42 place ; and y the next day returned to York, full of
trouble and indignation for the affront he had re
ceived ; which he foresaw would produce a very great
deal z of mischief.
The king s The king sent an express to the two houses with

message to

the two a message, declaring what had passed ; and, that
sir John Hotham had justified his treason and dis
loyalty, by pretence of an order and trust from
" them ; which as he could not produce, so, his ma-
" jesty was confident, they would not own ; but
" would be highly sensible of the scandal he had laid
" upon them, as well as of his disloyalty to his ma-
" jesty. And therefore he demanded justice of them
" against him, according to law." The houses had
heard before of the king s going out of York thither,
and were in terrible apprehension that he had pos
sessed himself of the town ; and that sir John Ho
tham, (for they were not confident of him, as of a
man of their own faith,) by promises or menaces, had
given up the place to him ; and, with this apprehen
sion, they were exceedingly dejected : but when they
heard the truth, and found that Hull was still in their
hands, they were equally exalted, magnifying their
trusty governor s faith, and fidelity against the king.
In the mean time, the gentlemen of the north ex
pressed a marvellous sense and passion on his ma
jesty s behalf; and offered to raise the force of the
county to take the town by force. But the king
chose, for many reasons, to send again to the houses
another message, in which he told them,

y and] and so z a very great deal] a world

OF THE REBELLION. 387

" That he was so much concerned in the undutiful BOOK
" affront (and indignity all his good subjects must

"

66
66
66
66
66

66
66
66

disdain in his behalf) he had received from sir John H .
" Hotham at Hull, that he was impatient till he re-*) 7 8 second

message to

" ceived justice from them; and was compelled to the two

, ., , houses con-

" call again for an answer, being confident, however C emin g
" they had been so careful, though without his con- l
" sent, to put a garrison into that his town, to secure
" it and his magazine against any attempt of the pa
pists, that they never intended to dispose and main
tain it against him, their sovereign. Therefore he
required them forthwith (for the business would
admit no delay) to take a some speedy course, that
his said town and magazine might be immediately
" delivered up unto him ; and that such severe ex
emplary proceedings should be against those per
sons, who had offered that insupportable affront
and injury to him, as by the law was provided ;
" and, till that should be done, he would intend no
" business whatsoever, other than the business of
" Ireland. For, he said, if he were brought into a
" condition so much worse than any of his subjects,
that, whilst they all enjoyed their privileges, and
might not have their possessions disturbed, or their
titles questioned, he only might be spoiled, thrown
" out of his towns, and his goods taken from him, it
" was time to examine how he had lost those privi-
" leges ; and to try all possible ways, by the help of
" God, the law of the land, and the affection of his
" good subjects, to recover them, and to vindicate
" himself from those injuries ; and, if he should mis-
" carry therein, he should be the first prince of this

a to take] that they took

c c 2

66
6t
66

388 THE HISTORY

BOOK " kingdom, which b had done so, having no other
" end but to defend the true protestant religion, the

42 - " law of the land, and the liberty of the subject ; and
" he desired God so to deal with him, as he conti-
" nued in those resolutions."

Instead of any answer to his majesty upon these
two messages, or sadly considering how this breach
might be made up, they immediately publish (toge
ther with a declaration of their former jealousies of
the papists ; of the malignant party ; of the lord
Digby s letter intercepted ; of the earl of Newcastle s
being sent thither, upon which they had first sent
down a governor, and put a garrison into Hull) seve
ral votes and resolutions, by which they declared,

" That sir John Hotham had done nothing but
" in obedience to the command of both houses of
" parliament, and that the declaring of him a traitor,
being a member of the house of commons, was a
high breach of the privilege of parliament, and,
" being without due process of law, was against the
" liberty of the subject, and against the law of the
land."

And hearing at the same time, that a letter, com
ing from Hull to them the night after the king s
being there, had been intercepted by some of his ma
jesty s servants, they declared, " that all such inter
cepting of any letters sent to them, was a high
breach of the privilege of parliament, which by the
laws of the kingdom, and the protestation, they
" were bound to defend with their lives, and their
" fortunes, and to bring the violator thereof to con-
" dign punishment." Then they ordered, that the

b which] that

(6
(6

a

cc

OF THE REBELLION. 389

sheriffs and justices of the peace of the counties of BOOK
York and Lincoln, and all others his majesty s of

ficers, should suppress all forces, that should be raised
or gathered together in those counties, either to force
the town of Hull, or stop the passages to and from
the same, or in any other way to disturb the peace
of the kingdom. All which votes, orders, and de
clarations, being printed, and diligently dispersed
throughout the kingdom before any address made to
his majesty in answer of his messages, and coming
to his view, the king published an answer to those
votes and declarations, in which he said :

"Since his gracious messages to both houses ofeismajes-
" parliament, demanding justice for the high andjji
" unheard of affront offered unto him, at the gates
" of Hull, by sir John Hotham, was not thought concerning

* Hull.

worthy of an answer; but that, instead thereof,
they had thought fit, by their printed votes, to
own and avow that unparalleled act to be done in
obedience to the command of both houses of par
liament, (though at that time he could produce no
such command,) and, with other resolutions against
" his proceedings there, to publish a declaration con-
" cerning that business, as an appeal to the people,
" and as if their intercourse with his majesty, and
" for his satisfaction, were now to no more purpose ;
" though he knew that course of theirs to be very
" unsuitable to the modesty and duty of former
" times, and unwarrantable by any precedents, but
" what themselves had made ; yet, he was not un-
" willing to join issue with them in that way, and to
" let all the world know, how necessary, just, and

c unsuitable] unagreeable

c c 3

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390 THE HISTORY

BOOK " lawful all his proceedings had been in that point,
! " and that the defence of those proceedings was the
42. defence of the law of the land, of the liberty, and
property of the subject ; and that by the same rule
of justice, which was now offered to him, all the
private interest and title of all his good subjects
to all their lands and goods was confounded and
destroyed. He remembered them, that Mr. Pym
had said in his speech against the earl of Strafford,
(which was published by order of the commons
* house;) the law is the safeguard, the custody of all
private interest ; your honours, your lives, your li-
" berties, and estates are all in the keeping of the
" law ; without this every man hath a like right to
" any thing. And he said, he would fain be an-
" swered what title any subject of his kingdom had
" to his house or land, that he had not to his town
" of Hull? or what right any subject had to his
" money, plate, or jewels, that his majesty had not
" to his magazine and d munition there? If he had
" ever such a title, he said he would know when
" he lost it ? And if that magazine and munition,
" bought with his own money, were ever his, when
" and how that property went out of him ? He very
" well knew the great and unlimited power of a
" parliament ; but he knew as well, that it was only
" in that sense, as he was a part of that parliament ;
" without him, and against his consent, the votes of
either or both houses together must not, could
not, should not (if he could help it, for his sub
jects sake, as well as his own) forbid any thing
that was enjoined by the law, or enjoin any thing

d and] or

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OF THE REBELLION. 391

" that was forbidden by the law. But in any such BOOK

v
alteration, which might be for the peace and hap- ..

piness of the kingdom, he had not, should not re-
" fuse to consent. And he doubted not, but that all
" his good subjects would easily discern, in what a
miserable insecurity and confusion they must ne
cessarily and inevitably be, if descents might be
altered; purchases avoided; assurances and con
veyances cancelled ; the sovereign legal authority
despised, and resisted by votes, or orders of either
" or both houses. And this, he said, he was sure,
" was his case at Hull ; and as it was his this day, by
" the same rule, it might be theirs to-morrow.

" Against any desperate design of the papists, of
" which they discoursed so much, he had sufficiently
" expressed his zeal and intentions ; and should be
" as forward to adventure his own life and fortune,
to oppose any such designs, as the meanest sub
ject in his kingdoms. 6

For the malignant party, he said, as the law had
not, to his f knowledge, defined their condition, so
neither house had presented them to his majesty,
under such a notion, as he might well understand,
whom they intended; and he should therefore only
inquire after and avoid the malignant party, under
the character of persons disaffected to the peace
and government of the kingdom, and such who,
neglecting and despising the law of the land, had
given themselves other rules to walk by, and so dis-
" pensed with their obedience to authority ; of those
persons, as destructive to the commonwealth, he
should take all possible caution.

c kingdoms.] kingdom. f his] their

c c 4

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392 THE HISTORY

BOOK Why any letters intercepted from the lord Dig-
" by, wherein he mentioned a retreat to a place of
" safety, should hinder him from visiting his own
" fort, and how he had opposed any ways of accom
modation with his parliament, and what ways and
overtures had been offered in any way, or like any
" desire of such accommodation ; or whether his
message of the twentieth of January last, so often
in vain pressed by him, had not sufficiently ex
pressed his earnest desire of it, he said, all the
world should judge ; neither was it in the power
of any persons to incline him to take arms against
his parliament and his good subjects, and miser
ably to embroil the kingdom in civil wars. He
had given sufficient evidence to the world how
much his affections abhorred, and how much his
heart did bleed at, the apprehension of a civil war.
And, he said, God and the world must judge, if
his care and industry were not, only to defend
and protect the liberty of the subject, the law of
; * the kingdom, his own just rights, (part of that
law,) and his honour, much more precious than
" his life : and if, in opposition to these, any civil
" war should arise, upon whose account the blood,
* and destruction that must follow, must be cast :
" God, and his own conscience, told him, that he was
" clear.

" For captain Leg s being sent heretofore to Hull,
or for the earl of Newcastle s being sent thither by
his warrant and authority, he said, he had asked a
question long ago, in his answer to both houses
" concerning the magazine at Hull, which, he had

* not! Not in MS.

ft

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OF THE REBELLION. 393

" cause to think, was not easy to be answered ; why BOOK
" the general rumour of the design of papists, in the

S(

Si
6t

" northern parts, should not be thought sufficient
" ground for his majesty to put h such a person of
" honour, fortune, and unblemished reputation, as
" the earl of Newcastle was known to be, into a
" town and fort of his own, where his own maga-
" zine lay ; and yet the same rumour be warrant
" enough to commit the same town and fort, with-
" out his consent, to the hands of sir John Hotham,
" with such a power as was now too well known, and
" understood ? How his refusal to have that maga-
" zine removed, upon the petition of both houses,
" could give any advantage against him, to have it
" taken from him, and whether it was a refusal, all
men would easily understand, who read his an
swer to that petition ; to which it had not been
yet thought fit to make any reply.
" For the condition of those persons, who pre-
" sented the petition to him at York (whom that
" declaration called, some few ill-affected persons
" about the city of York) to continue the magazine
at Hull ; he said, he made no doubt, but that pe
tition would appear to be attested, both in number
and weight, by persons of honour and integrity,
" and much more conversant with the affections of
" the whole country, than most of those petitions,
" which had been received with so much consent
" and approbation. And for the 1 presumption of in-
" terposing their advice, his majesty the more won-
" dered at that exception, when such encourage-
" ment had been given, and thanks declared to mul-

h put] put in ! for the] for their

a

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394 THE HISTORY

BOOK " titudes of mean, unknown people, apprentices, and
- " porters, who had accompanied petitions of very

46

ft

strange natures.

" For the manner of his going to Hull, he said,
he had clearly set forth the same, in his message to
both houses of that business ; and for any intelli-
" gence given to sir John Hotham of an intention to
" deprive him of his life, as he knew there was no
" such intention in him, having given him all possi-
" ble assurance of the same, at his being there, so
" he was confident, no such intelligence was given*
" or if it were, it was by some villain, who had no-
" thing but malice or design to fright him from his
" due obedience ; k and sir John Hotham had all the
" reason to assure himself, that his life would be in
" much more danger by refusing to admit his king
" into his own town and fort, than by yielding him
that obedience, which he owed by his oaths of
allegiance and supremacy, and the protestation,
" which he knew was due and warrantable, by the
" laws of the land. For the number of his attend-
" ants, though that could be no warrant for such
" a disobedience in a subject, he said, it was well
" known (as his majesty had expressed in his mes-
" sage to both houses, to which credit ought to have
" been given) that he offered to go into the town
" with twenty horse only, his whole train being un-
" armed ; and whosoever thought that too great an
" attendance for his majesty and his two sons, had
" sure an intention to bring him to a meaner retinue,
" than they w^ould yet avow.

" Here then, he said, was his case, of which all

k obedience ;] obedience, to warrant him ;

6i

it

OF THE REBELLION. 895

" the world should judge: his majesty endeavoured BOOK
" to visit a town and fort of his own, wherein his

" own magazine lay : a subject, in defiance of him, 1642
" shuts the gates against him ; with armed men re-
" sists, denies, and opposes his entrance ; tells him,
" in plain terms, he should not come in. He said,
" he did not pretend to understand much law, yet,
" in the point of treason, he had had much learning
" taught him this parliament ; and if the sense of
" the statute of the 25th year of Edward III. chap.
" 2. were not very differing from the letter, sir John
" Hotham s act was no less than plain high treason :
" and he had been contemptibly stupid, if he had,
" after all those circumstances of grace and favour
" then shewed to him, made any scruple to proclaim
" him traitor. And whether he were so, or no, if
he would render himself, his majesty would re
quire no other trial, than that which the law had
appointed to every subject, and which he was con
fident he had not, in the least degree, violated in
those proceedings ; no more than he had done the
privilege of parliament, by endeavouring, in a just
way, to challenge his own unquestionable privi
leges. So that, 1 in such a m case, the declaring
" him traitor, being a member of the house of com
mons, without process of law, should be a breach
of privilege of parliament, (of which he was sure
none extended to treason, felony, or breach of
peace,) against the liberty of the subject, or against
" the law of the land, he must have other reasons
" than bare votes. He said, he would know if sir
" John Hotham had, with the forces by which he

1 So that,] For that, m a] Not in MS.

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396 THE HISTORY

BOOK " kept him out of his town of Hull, pursued him to
the gates of York, which he might as legally have

1642. done, whether his majesty must have staid from
" declaring him traitor till process of law might
" have issued against him ? Would fears and jea-
lousies dispense with necessary and real forms ?
" And must his majesty, when actual war is levied
upon him, observe forms which the law itself doth
not enjoin ? The case, he said, was truly stated,
let all the world judge (unless the mere sitting of
a parliament did suspend all laws, and his majesty
was the only person in England against whom
" treason could not be committed) where the fault
was ; and whatsoever course he should be driven
to for the vindication of that his privilege, and for
the recovery and maintenance of his known un
doubted rights, he doth promise, in the presence
of Almighty God, and as he hopes for his blessing
" in his success, that he would, to the utmost of his
power, 11 defend and maintain the true protestant
profession, the law of the land, the liberty of the
subject, and the just privilege and freedom of par-
" liament.

" For the order of assistance given to the com-
" mittees of both houses, concerning their going to
" Hull, he said, he should say no more, but that
" those persons, named in that order, he presumed,
" would give no commands, or his good subjects
obey other, than what were warranted by the law,
(how large and unlimited soever? the directions
are, or the instructions might be,) for to that rule

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" his power,] his powers, p and unlimited soever] Not

committees] committee in MS.

OF THE REBELLION. 397

" he should apply his own actions, and by it require BOOK

" an account from other men ; and that all his good . !

" subjects might the better know their duty in mat-
" ters of this nature, he wished them carefully to
" peruse the statute of the eleventh year of king
" Henry VII. ch. 1. He said, he would conclude
" with Mr. Pym s own words : If the prerogative of
" the king overwhelm the liberty of the people, it
" will be turned to tyranny ; if liberty undermine
" the prerogative, it would grow into anarchy, and
" so into confusion V

Besides their declaration, votes, and orders in the
justification of sir John Hotham, for his better en
couragement, and for a ground of his son s residence
at Hull, in whom they had in truth a firmer con
fidence than in the father, they ordered, " That if,
" by any force or accident, sir John Hotham should
" lose his life, or otherwise die in that service, that
" his son should succeed him in the government ;"
and having thus declared themselves, they thought
fit at last to send some particular answer to the king
upon that business; which they were the rather in
clined to do, that under that pretence they might
send down a committee of their own to reside at
York : whereby they might receive constant animad
versions of what happened, and what was designed,
and their friends and dependents in that large, po
pulous, and rich county, be the better confirmed in
their affections and devotions to them ; and, to that
purpose, they sent down the lord Howard of Es-
crick, the lord Fairfax, sir Hugh Cholmely, (a fast
friend to sir John Hotham,) sir Philip Stapleton,

<i and so into confusion] Not In MS.

com- "

398 THE HISTORY

BOOK who had likewise married Hotham s daughter, and

.... sir Harry Cholmely, who presented their answer in

1642. writing to his majesty; the which, being of a mould

unusual, and a dialect higher and rougher than even

themselves had yet used, I have thought fit to insert

in the same words it was delivered ; thus :

The most humble answer of the lords and commons
in parliament to two messages from your sacred
majesty concerning sir John Hotham s refusal
to give your majesty entrance into the town of
Hull

The answer " Your majesty r may be pleased to understand,
that we, your great council, finding manifold evi-
" dences of the wicked counsels and practices of

two mes- some in near trust and authority about you, to

sages con
cerning " put the kingdom into a combustion, by drawing

" your majesty into places of strength, remote from
" your parliament, and by exciting your people to
" commotions, under pretence of serving your ma-
" jesty against your parliament, lest this malignant
party, by the advantage of the town and magazine
at Hull, 8 should be enabled to go through with
their mischievous intentions, did, in discharge of
" the great trust that lies upon us, and by that
" power which in cases of this nature resides in us,
" command the town of Hull to be secured by a
" garrison of the adjoining trained bands, 1 under
" the government of sir John Hotham ; requiring
" him to keep the same for the service of your ma-
" jesty and the kingdom : wherein we have done

(6
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r <

Your majesty] This an- 8 at Hull,] of Hull,
swer is in the handwriting of lord * trained bands,] trained band,
Clarendon s secretary.

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OF THE REBELLION. 399

nothing contrary to your royal sovereignty in that BOOK

town, or legal propriety in the magazine. !

" Upon consideration of sir John Hotham s pro- 1642 -
ceeding at your majesty s being there, we have
upon very good ground 11 adjudged, that he could
not discharge the trust, upon which, nor make good
the end, for which he was placed in the guard of
that town and magazine, if he had let in your ma
jesty with such counsellors and company as were x

" then about you.

" Wherefore, upon full resolution of both houses,

" we have declared sir John Hotham to be clear

" from that odious crime of treason ; and have avow
ed, that he hath therein done nothing but in obe
dience to the command of both houses of parlia
ment ; assuring ourselves, that, upon mature deli
beration, your majesty will not interpret his obe
dience to such authority to be an affront to your
majesty, or to be of that nature, as to require any
justice to be done upon him, or satisfaction to be

" made to your majesty : but that you will see just
cause of joining with your parliament, in preserv-

" ing and securing the peace of the kingdom ; sup
pressing this wicked and malignant party ; who,
by false colours, and pretensions of maintaining
your majesty s prerogative against the parliament,
(wherein they fully agree with the rebels in y Ire
land,) have been the causes of all our distempers

" and dangers.

For prevention whereof we know no better re
medy, than settling the militia of the kingdom,
according to the bill, which we have sent your ma-

11 ground] grounds x were] was > in] of

tt

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400 THE HISTORY

BOOK " jesty, without any intention of deserting, or declin-
e ing the validity, or observance of that ordinance,

42. tt w hich passed both houses, upon your majesty s for-
" mer refusal : but we still hold that ordinance to be
" effectual by the laws of this kingdom. And we
shall be exceeding glad, if your majesty, by approv
ing these our just, dutiful, and necessary proceed
ings, shall be pleased to entertain such counsel, as
we assure ourselves, by God s blessing, will prove
very advantageous for the honour and greatness of
your majesty ; the safety and peace of your people ;
amongst which we know none more likely to pro
duce such good effects, than a declaration from
your majesty of your purpose to lay aside all
thoughts of going into Ireland, and to make a
speedy return into these parts, to be near your
parliament. Which, as it is our most humble de
sire, and earnest petition, so shall it be seconded
" with our most dutiful care for the safety of your
royal person, and constant prayers, that it may
prove honourable and successful, in the happiness
" of your majesty, and all your kingdoms."

To this answer, with all formality delivered to his
majesty by the committee, the king returned a quick
reply :

His majes- " That he had been in good hope, that the reason,
" why they had so long deferred their answer to his
messages concerning Hull, had been ; that they
might the better have given him satisfaction there-
" in, which now added the more to his z astonish-
" ment, finding their answer, after so long advise-
" ment, to be of that nature, which could not but

1 to his] Not in MS.

ft
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tt
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ft

ff
ff

ff

ff
ff

OF THE REBELLION. 401

" rather increase than diminish the present distrac- BOOK

v.
" tions, if constantly adhered to by the parliament.

..
..

" He asked them, whether it was not too much, that
" his town of Hull had a garrison put into it, to the
" great charge of the country, and inconvenience to
" the poor inhabitants, without his consent and ap
probation, under colour at that time of foreign in
vasion, and apprehensions of the popish party ; but
" that now the reasons thereof should be enlarged
" with a scandal to his majesty, and his faithful
" servants, only to bring in the more specious pre-
" text for the avowing sir John Hotham s insolence
" and treason ?

" He said, he had often heard of the great trust,
" that, by the law of God and man, was committed
" to the king for the defence and safety of his peo
ple ; but as yet he never understood, what trust or
power was committed to either or both houses of
parliament, without the king ; they being summon
ed to counsel and advise the king. But by what
" law or authority they possess themselves of his
" majesty s proper right and inheritance, he was con-
" fident, that as they had not, so they could not
" shew. He told them, that he had not hitherto
" given the least interruption to public justice ; but
" they, rather than suffer one of their members to
" come so much as to a legal trial for the highest
crime, would make use of an order of parliament
to countenance treason, by declaring him free from
that guilt, which all former ages never accounted
other ; and that without so much as inquiring the
" opinion of the judges ; for he was confident, they
" would have mentioned their opinion, if they had
" asked it.

VOL. ii. n d

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402 THE HISTORY

BOOK " Therefore he expected, that upon further and
" better consideration of the great and necessary
J642. 66 consequence of the business of Hull, and seriously
weighing, how much it did concern the peace and
quiet of the kingdom, they would, without further
instance from his majesty, give him full and speedy
justice against sir John Hotham. And he said, he
would leave all his good people to think, what hope
of justice there was left for them, when they re
fused, or delayed, to give their own sovereign sa-
" tisfaction. And, as he had already said, till that
" should be done, he would intend no business what-
" soever, other than that of Ireland.

" And he said, he likewise expected that they
" would not put the militia in execution, until they
" could shew him by what law they had authority to
" do the same, without his consent ; or if they did,
" he was confident, that he should find much more
" obedience according to law, than they would do
" against law. And he should esteem all those, who
" should obey them therein, to be disturbers of the
" peace of the kingdom ; and would, in due season,
" call them to a legal account for the same.

" Concerning his return, he told them, he never
" heard that the slandering of a king s government,
" and his faithful servants, the refusing of him jus-
" tice, and in a case of treason, and the seeking to
" take away his undoubted and legal authority, un-
" der the pretence of putting the kingdom into a
posture of defence, were arguments to induce a
king to come near, or hearken to his parliament."
The king despatched this answer the sooner, that
the country might be freed from the impression, the
presence and activity of the committee made in them:

u
it

OF THE REBELLION. 403

but when he delivered it to them, and required them BOOK
to make all convenient haste with it to the houses,

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they told him, " they would send it by an express,
" but that themselves were required and appointed
" still to reside a at York." The king told them,
that he liked not b such supervisors near him, and
wished them to be very careful in their carriage ;
that the country was visibly then very well affect
ed ; and if he found any declension, he well knew
" to whom to impute it ; and should be compelled
" to proceed in another manner against them, than,
" with reference to their persons," (for they were all
then reputed moderate men, and had not been thought
disaffected to the government of c church or state,)
" he should be willing to do." They answered with
a sullen confidence, " that they should demean them-
" selves according to their instructions ; and would
" perform the trust reposed m them by the two
" houses of parliament." Yet such was the ticklish-
ness of the king s condition, that, though it was
most evident that their coming, and staying there,
was to pervert and corrupt the loyalty and affections
of those parts, and to infuse into them inclinations
contrary to their allegiance, it was not thought
counsellable at that time, either to commit them to
prison, or to expel them from that city, or to inhibit
them the freedom of his own court and presence ;
and so they continued for the space of above a month,
in York, even in defiance of the king. d

11 still to reside] to reside still long account of the king s tie-

1 liked not] liked not to have manding from the carls of Essex

c of] of the and Holland the badges of their

even in defiance of the respective offices, ofiehichastate-

Hero follows in MS. C. a ment front MS. B. is (riven in

]) d 2

404 THE HISTORY

BOOK The militia was the argument, which they found
made deepest impression in the people, being totally

42< ignorant what it was, or what the consequence of it
might be ; and so believing whatsoever they told
them concerning it. And therefore they resolved to
drive that nail home ; and though, for want of their
imminent danger, and during the time of the king s
treaty, and overture of a bill, they had forborne the
execution of their ordinance ; yet the frequent mus
ters of volunteers without order, almost in all coun
tries, by the bare authority of their votes, gave them
sufficient evidence how open the people were to their
commands ; at least, how unprepared authority was
to resist and oppose them : and therefore, after the
king had displaced their two c favourites, and refus
ed to pass the bill for the militia, and sir John Ho-
tham had refused to let the king come into the town
of Hull, and they had justified him for so doing, they
prepared a declaration concerning the whole state of
the militia, as the resolution of the lords and com
mons upon that matter ; in which they said,
The decia- " That holding it necessary for the peace and
two houses " safety of the kingdom, to settle the militia thereof,

" they had, for that purpose, prepared an ordinance
5, 1642. 6t o f parliament, and with all humility had presented

" the same to his majesty for his royal assent. Who,
notwithstanding the faithful advice of his parlia
ment, and the several reasons offered by them, of
the necessity thereof for the securing of his majes
ty s person, and the peace and safety of his people,

" did refuse to give his consent ; and thereupon they

page 327 333, of this volume, is inserted in the Appendix, M.
The part not copied from MS. C. e two] Not in MS.

a

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66

OF THE REBELLION. 405

" were necessitated, in discharge of the trust reposed BOOK

" in them, as the representative body of the kingdom, !

" to make an ordinance, by the authority of both
" houses, to settle the militia, warranted thereunto
by the fundamental laws of the land : that his ma
jesty, taking notice thereof, did, by several mes
sages, invite them to settle the same by act of par
liament ; affirming in his message sent in answer
to the petition of both houses, presented to his ma
jesty at York, March 26, that he always thought
it necessary the same should be settled, and that
he never denied the thing, only denied the way ;
" and for the matter of it, took exception f only to
the preface, as a thing not standing with his ho
nour to consent to ; and that himself was excluded
in the execution, and for a time unlimited : where
upon the lords and commons, being desirous to
give his majesty all satisfaction that might be, even
" to the least tittle of form and circumstances, when &
" his majesty had pleased to offer them a bill ready
" drawn, had, for no other cause, than to manifest
" their hearty affection to comply with his majesty s
" desires, and obtain his consent, entertained the
" same, in h the mean time no way declining their
" ordinance ; and, to express their earnest zeal to
correspond with his majesty s desires, 1 (in all things
that might consist with the peace and safety of the
kingdom, and the trust reposed in them,) did pass
" that bill, and therein omitted the preamble insert-
" ed before the ordinance ; limited the time to less
than two years ; and confined the authority of the

f exception] exceptions h in] and in

s when] and when desires,] desire,

D d 3

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406 THE HISTORY

BOOK " lieutenants to these three particulars ; namely, re-
- ! " bellion, insurrection, and foreign invasion ; and re-
42> " turned the same to his majesty for his royal assent :
" but all these expressions of affection and loyalty,
" all those desires and earnest endeavours to comply
" with his majesty, had, to their great grief and sor
row, produced no better effects than an absolute
denial, even of that which his majesty, by his for-
" mer messages, as they conceived, had promised :
" the advice of evil and wicked councils receiving
" still more credit with him, than that of his great
" council of parliament, in a matter of so high im-
u portance, that the safety of his kingdom, and peace
" of his people, depended upon it.

" But now, what must be the exceptions to that
" bill ? Not any sure that were k to the ordinance ;
" for a care had been taken to give satisfaction in all
" those particulars. Then the exception was, be-
" cause that the disposing and execution thereof was
" referred to both houses of parliament, and his ma-
" jesty excluded ; and now that, by the bill, the pow-
" er and execution was ascertained, and reduced to
" particulars, and the law of the realm made the
" rule thereof, his majesty would not trust the per-
" sons. The power was too great, too unlimited, to
trust them with. But what v/as that power ? Was
it any other, but, in express terms, to suppress re-
bellion, insurrection, and foreign invasion ? And
who were those persons? Were not they such as
were nominated by the great council of the king-
" dom, and assented to by his majesty? And was it
" too great a power, to trust those persons with the

k were] was

"
"
"
"

"

OF THE REBELLION. 407

" suppression of rebellion, insurrection, and foreign BOOK

" invasion ? Surely, they said, the most wicked of-- !

" them who advised his majesty to that answer,
" could not suggest, but that it was necessary for
" the safety of his majesty s royal person, and the
" peace of the kingdom, such a power should be put
" in some hands ; and there was no pretence for
" exception to the persons. They said, his majesty
" had, for the space of above fifteen years together,
" not thought a power, far exceeding that, to be too
" great to intrust particular persons with, to whose
" will the lives and liberties of his people, by martial
" laws, were made subject ; for such was the power
" given l lord lieutenants, and deputy lieutenants, in
" every county of this kingdom, and that without
" the consent of the people, or authority of law. But
" now in case of extreme necessity, upon the advice
" of both houses of parliament, for no longer space
" than two years, a lesser power, and that for the
" safety of king and people, was thought too great
" to trust particular persons with, though named by
" both houses of parliament, and approved by his
majesty himself: and surely, if there were a neces
sity to settle the militia, (which his majesty was
" pleased to confess,) the persons could not be in-
" trusted with less power than that, to have it at
" all m effectual. And the precedents of former ages,
" when there happened a necessity to raise such a
" power, never straitened that power to a narrower
u compass ; witness the commissions of array in se-
" veral kings reigns, and often issued out by the
" consent and authority of parliament.

1 given] given to m at all] Not in MS.

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408 THE HISTORY

BOOK " The lords and commons therefore, intrusted

v

with the safety of the kingdom, and peace of the

ct

4

"

"

42 - f - people, (which, they called God to witness, was
" their only aim,) finding themselves denied those
their so necessary and just demands, and that
they could never be discharged before God or
" man, if they should suffer the safety of the king-
" dom, and peace of the people, to be exposed to
" the malice of the malignant party at home, or the
u fury of enemies from abroad : and knowing no
" other way to encounter the imminent and ap-
" preaching danger, but by putting the people into
" a fit posture of defence, did resolve to put their
" said ordinance in present execution ; and did re
quire all persons in authority, by virtue of the
said ordinance, forthwith to put the same in exe
cution, and all others to obey it, according to the
" fundamental laws of the kingdom in such cases,
" as they tendered the upholding of the true pro-
" testant religion, the safety of his majesty s person,
and his royal posterity, the peace of the kingdom,
and the being of this commonwealth." This de
claration (being in answer to a message from his
majesty) was printed, and, with the usual care and
dexterity, dispersed throughout the kingdom, with
out so much as sending it to the king ; and, there
upon, warrants and directions issued into all parts,
for the exercising the militia.

This being the first declaration they had in plain
terms published against the king, without ever
communicating it, or presenting it to him, as they
had done all the rest, his majesty was the more
troubled how to take notice of it ; but conceiving it
necessary to apply some antidote to this poison, the

u
a

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OF THE REBELLION. 409

violent operation whereof he had reason to appre- BOOK
hend, he published a declaration by way of answer __!___
to that declaration, in which he said,

" That he very well understood, how much it The king s
" was below the high and royal dignity (wherein uTa^er"
" God had placed him) to take notice of, much tothe f re -

going de-

more to trouble himself with answering, those claration -
many scandalous, seditious pamphlets, and printed
papers, which were scattered, with such great li
cence, throughout the kingdom, (notwithstanding
his majesty s earnest desire, so often in vain
pressed, for a reformation,) though he found it
evident, that the minds of many of his weak sub
jects had been, and still were, poisoned by those
means ; and that so general a terror had possessed
" the minds and hearts of all men, that whilst the
" presses swarmed with n , and every day produced,
" new tracts against the established government of
" the church and state, most men wanted the cou-
" rage, or the conscience, to write, or the opportu-
" nity and encouragement to publish, such composed,
" sober animadversions, as might either preserve
the minds of his good subjects from such infec
tion, or restore and recover them, when they
" were so infected : but, his majesty said, he was
" contented to let himself fall to any office, that
" might undeceive his people, and to take more
" pains that way by his own pen, than ever king
" had done, when he found any thing that seemed
to carry the reputation and authority of either or
both houses of parliament, and would not have
the same refuted, and disputed by vulgar and

n with] Not in MS. and] or

a

66

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410 THE HISTORY

BOOK common pens, till he should be throughly in-
- " formed whether those acts had in truth that coun-

42> " tenance and warrant they pretend : which regard
" of his, his majesty doubted not but, in time, would
" recover that due reverence (the absence whereof
" he had too much reason to complain of?) to his
" person and his messages, which in all ages had
" been paid, and, no doubt, was due to the crown
" of England. > ,> "

" He said, he had therefore taken notice of a
" printed paper, entitled, a Declaration of both
" Houses, in answer to his last message concerning
the militia, published by command ; the which he
was unwilling to believe (both for the matter of
it, the expressions in it, and the manner of pub
lishing it) could result from the consent of both
" houses ; neither did his majesty know by what
lawful command, such uncomely, irreverent men
tion of him could be published to the world : and,
though declarations of that kind had of late, with
too much boldness, broken in upon his majesty
" and the whole kingdom, when one or both houses
" had thought fit to communicate their counsels and
resolutions to the people ; yet, he said, he was un
willing to believe, that such a declaration as that
k could be published in answer to his message, with-
i out vouchsafing at least to send it to his majesty
as their answer : their business, for which they
were met by his writ and authority, being to
counsel him for the good of his people, not to
write against him to his people ; nor had any
consent of his majesty for their long continuing

i of] Not in MS.

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OF THE REBELLION. 411

(k together enabled them to do any thing, but what BOOK

" they were first summoned by his writ to do. At !

" least he would believe, though misunderstanding
and jealousy (the justice of God, he said, would
overtake the fomenters of that jealousy, and the
promoters and contrivers of that misunderstand
ing) might produce, to say no worse, those very
untoward expressions, that if those houses had

" contrived that declaration as an answer to his
message, they would have vouchsafed some an
swer to the questions proposed in his, which, he
professed, did, and must evidently prevail over
his understanding ; and, in their wisdom and gra
vity, they would have been sure to have stated

" the matters of fact, as (at least to ordinary under
standings) might be unquestionable ; neither of
which was done by that declaration.

His majesty desired ^ to know, why he was by

" that act absolutely excluded from any power or
authority in the execution of the militia : and, he
said, he must appeal to all the world, whether
such an attempt were not a greater and juster
ground for fear and jealousy in him, than any one

" that was avowed for those destructive fears and
jealousies which were so publicly owned, almost,

" to the ruin of the kingdom. But his majesty had

" been told, that he must not be jealous of his great
council of both houses of parliament. He said, he
was not, no more than they were of his majesty,
their king; and hitherto they had not avowed
any jealousy of, or disaffection to, his person ; but

" imputed all to his evil counsellors, to a malignant

11 desired] had desired

a

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412 THE HISTORY

BOOK " party, that was not of their minds ; so his majesty

! " did (and, he said, he did it from his soul) profess

42> " no jealousy of his parliament, but of some turbu-

" lent, seditious, and ambitious natures ; which, be
ing not so clearly discerned, might have an influ
ence even upon the actions of both houses : and
if that declaration had passed by that consent,
(which he was not willing to believe,) he said, it
was not impossible, but that the apprehension of

" such tumults, which had driven his majesty from

" his city of London, for the safety of his person,
might make such an impression upon other men,
not able to remove from the danger, to make
them consent, or not to own a dissent, in matters
not agreeable to their conscience or understand
ing, (ifa
" He said, he had mentioned, in that his answer,

" his dislike of putting their names out of the bill,
whom before they recommended to his majesty, in
their pretended ordinance, and the leaving out, by
special provision, the present lord mayor of Lon-
don : to all which the declaration afforded no an-
swer ; and therefore he could not suppose it was

" intended for an answer to that his message, which

" whosoever looked upon, would find to be in no
degree answered by that declaration ; but it in
formed all his majesty s subjects, after the men
tion with what humility the ordinance was pre
pared, and presented to his majesty, (a matter
very evident in the petitions, and messages con
cerning it,) and his refusal to give his consent,
notwithstanding the several reasons offered, of the
necessity thereof for the securing of his person,

" and the peace and safety of his people, (whether

66
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OF THE REBELLION. 413

" any such reasons were given, the weight of them, BOOK
and whether they were not clearly and candidly

" answered by his majesty, the world would easily
"judge,) that they were at last necessitated to
" make an ordinance by authority of both houses, to
" settle the militia, warranted thereunto by the fun-
" damental laws of the land. But, his majesty
" said, if that declaration had indeed intended to
" have answered him, it would have told his good
" subjects what those fundamental laws of the land
" were, and where to be found ; and would, at least,
" have mentioned one ordinance, from the first be-
" ginning of parliaments to this present parliament,
" which endeavoured to impose any thing upon the
" subject without the king s consent ; for of such,
" he said, all the inquiry he could make could never
" produce him one instance. And if there were
" such a secret of the law, which had lain hid from
the beginning of the world to that time, and now
was discovered to take away the just, legal power
of the king, he wished there were not some other
" secret (to be discovered when they pleased) for
" the ruin and destruction of the liberty of the sub-
" ject. For, he said, there was no doubt if the
" votes of both houses had any such authority to
" make a new law, it had the same authority to re-
" peal the old ; and then, what would become of
" the long established rights and liberties r of the
" king and subject, and particularly of Magna
" Charta, would be easily discerned by the most or-
" dinary understanding.

" He said, it was true, that he had (out of ten-

r and liberties] Not in MS.

a
a

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414 THE HISTORY

BOOK derness of the constitution of the kingdom, and
." care of the law, which he was bound to defend,

(6
..

" and being most assured of the unjustifiableness
" of the pretended ordinance) invited, and desired
" both houses of parliament to settle whatsoever
" should be fit of that nature by act of parliament.
" But was he therefore obliged to pass whatsoever
" should be brought to him of that kind ? He did
" say in his answer to the petition of both houses,
" presented to him at York the 26th of March last,
(and he had said the same in other messages be
fore,) that he always thought it necessary that
" the business of the militia should be settled, and
" that he never denied the thing, only denied the
" way ; and he said the same still ; and that since
" the many disputes and votes, upon lords lieute-
" nants and their commissions, (which had not been
" begun by his majesty, nor his father,) had so dis
countenanced that authority, which for many
years together was happily 8 looked upon with
reverence and obedience by the people, his ma
jesty did think it very necessary, that some whole
some law should be provided for that business ;
" but he had declared in his answer to the pre-
" tended ordinance, that he expected, that that ne
cessary power should be first invested in his ma
jesty, before he consented to transfer it to other
men ; neither could it ever be imagined that he
would consent that a greater power should be in
the hands of a subject, than he was thought wor
thy to be trusted with himself. And if it should
not be thought fit to make a new act or declara-

s happily] Not in MS.

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OF THE REBELLION. 415

tion in the point of the militia, he doubted not BOOK
but he should be able to grant such commissions

ti
66

" as should very legally enable those he trusted, to
" do all offices for the peace and quiet of the king-
" dom, if any disturbance should happen.

" But it was said, he had been pleased to offer
" them a bill ready drawn, and that they, to ex-
" press their earnest zeal to correspond with his de-
" sire, did pass that bill; and yet all that expres-
" sion of affection and loyalty, all that earnest de-
" sire of theirs to comply with his majesty, pro-
" duced no better effect than an absolute denial,
" even of what by his former messages his majesty
had promised; and so that declaration, he said,
proceeded, under the pretence of mentioning evil
" and wicked councils, to censure and reproach his
" majesty in a dialect, that, he was confident, his
" good subjects would read, on his behalf, with
" much indignation. But, his majesty said, sure if
" that declaration had passed the examination of
" both houses of parliament, they would never have
affirmed, that the bill he had refused to pass was
66 the same he had sent to them, or have thought
that his message, wherein the difference and con
trariety between the two bills was so particularly
set down, would be answered with the bare aver
ring them to be one and the same bill : nor would
" they have declared, when his exceptions to the
" ordinance, and the bill, were so notoriously known
to all, that care being taken to give satisfaction
in all the particulars he had excepted against in
" the ordinance, he had found new exceptions to
" the bill ; and yet that very declaration confessed,
" that his exception to the ordinance was, that, in

..

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416 THE HISTORY

BOOK " the disposing and execution thereof, his majesty

! " was excluded : and was not that an express rea-

42> " son, in his answer, for his refusal of the bill ;
" which that declaration would needs confute ?

" But the power was no other than to suppress
" rebellion, insurrection, and foreign invasion ; and
the persons trusted, no other than such as were
nominated by the great council of the kingdom,
" and assented to by his majesty : and they asked,
" if that were too great a power to trust those per
sons with? Indeed, his majesty said, whilst so
great liberty was used in voting, and declaring
men to be enemies to the commonwealth, (a
phrase his majesty scarce understood,) and in cen
suring men for their service, and attendance upon
" his majesty s person, and in his lawful commands,
" great heed must be taken into what hands he
" committed such a power to suppress insurrection
" and rebellion ; and if insurrection and rebellion
" had found other definitions than what the law
had given, his majesty must be sure, that no law
ful power should justify those definitions : and if
" there were learning found out to make sir John
" Hotham s taking arms against him, and keeping
" his majesty s town and fort from him, to be no
" treason or rebellion, he knew not whether a new
" discovery might not find it rebellion in his ma-
" jesty to defend himself from such arms, and to
" endeavour to recover what was so taken from
" him ; and therefore, he said, it concerned him, till
" the known laws of the land were allowed to be
" judge between them, to take heed into what
" hands he committed such power.

" Besides, he asked, whether it could be thought,

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OF THE REBELLION. 417

" that because he was willing to trust certain per- BOOK
" sons, that he was obliged to trust them in whatso-
" ever they were willing to be trusted ? He said, no
" private hands were fit for such a trust ; neither
" had he departed from any thing, in the least de-
" gree, he had offered or promised before ; though
" he might with as much reason have withdrawn
his trust from some persons, whom before he had
accepted, as they had done from others, whom
they had recommended. For the power which he
was charged to have committed to particular per
sons, for the space of fifteen years, by his commis
sions of lieutenancy, it was notoriously known,
that it was not a power created by his majesty,
" but continued very many years, and in the most
" happy times this kingdom had enjoyed, even those
" of his renowned predecessors, queen Elizabeth,
and his father of happy memory ; and whatever
authority had been granted by those commissions,
which had been kept in the old forms, the same
" was determinable at his majesty s pleasure ; and
" he knew not, that they produced any of those ca-
" lamities, which might give his good subjects cause
" to be so weary of them, as to run the hazard of
" so much mischief, as that bill, which he had re-
" fused, might possibly have produced.

" For the precedents of former ages in the com-
" missions of array, his majesty doubted not, but
" when any such had issued out, that the king s
" consent was always obtained, and the commissions
" determinable at his pleasure ; and then what the
" extent of power was, would be nothing applicable
" to that case of the ordinance.

" But whether that declaration had refuted his

VOL. II. E e

(6

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418 THE HISTORY

BOOK " majesty s reasons for his refusal to pass the bill, or
- . " no, it resolved, and required all persons in author-
42> " ity thereby to put the ordinance in present execu-
" tion ; and all others to obey it according to the
" fundamental laws of the land. But, his majesty
" said, he, whom God had trusted to maintain and
" defend those fundamental laws, which, he hoped,
" God would bless to secure him, did declare, that
" there was no legal power in either, or both houses,
" upon any pretence whatsoever, without his ma-
" jesty s consent, to command any part of the militia
" of the kingdom ; nor had the like ever been com-
" manded by either, or both houses, since the first
" foundation of the laws of the land ; and that the
" execution of, or the obedience to, that pretended
" ordinance, was against the fundamental laws of
" the land, against the liberty of the subject, and
" the right of parliaments, and a high crime in any
" that should execute the same : and his majesty
" did therefore charge and command all his loving
" subjects, of what degree or quality soever, upon
" their allegiance, and as they tendered the peace
" of the kingdom, from thenceforth not to muster,
" levy, or array, or summon, or warn any of the
" trained bands to rise, muster, or march, by virtue,
" or under colour, of that pretended ordinance : and
" to that declaration and command of his majesty s,
" he said, he expected and required a full submis-
" sion and obedience from all his loving subjects,
" upon their allegiance, as they would answer the
" contrary at their perils, and as they tendered the
" upholding of the true protestant religion, the safe-
" ty of his person, and his royal posterity, the peace,
" and being of the kingdom.

"

OF THE REBELLION. 419

Notwithstanding these sharp declarations, (infal- BOOK
lible symptoms of sharper actions,) which were with
equal diligence dispersed by either side among 1 the 1G42
people, save that the agents for the parliament took
as much care to suppress the king s, as to publish
their own, whereas the king s desire was that they
might be both impartially read and examined, and
to that purpose always caused those from the par
liament to be printed with his own, they had the
power and skill to persuade men, who, but by that
persuasion, could not have been seduced, and with
out seducing of whom they could have made but u a
very sorry progress in mischief, " that all would be
<c well ; that they were well assured that the king
" would, in the end, yield to what they desired ; at
" least, that they should prevail for a good part, if
" not for all, and that there should be no war :"
though themselves well knew, that the fire was too
much kindled to be extinguished without a flame,
and made preparations accordingly. For the rais
ing and procuring of money (besides the vast sums
collected and contributed for Ireland, which they
disbursed very leisurely, the supplies for that king
dom, notwithstanding the importunity and com
plaint from thence, being not despatched thither,
both in quantity and quality, with that expedition
as was pretended) they sent out very strict warrants
for the gathering all those sums of money, which
had been granted by any bills of subsidy, or poll-
bill ; in the collection of all which there had been
great negligence, probably that they might have it
the more at their own disposal in their need; by

* among] amongst u but] Not in MS.

E e 2

420 THE HISTORY

BOOK which they now recovered great sums into their
hands. For the raising of men, (though it was not
yet time for them to avow the raising an army,)?be-
sides the disposing the whole kingdom to subject
themselves to their ordinance of the militia, and, by
that, listing in all places companies of volunteers,
who would be ready when they were x called, they
made more haste than they had done nvthe levies
of men, both horse and foot, for the relief of Ire
land, under officers chosen or approved by them
selves ; and proposed the raising of y an army apart,
of six or eight thousand, under the command of the
lord Wharton, (a man very fast to them,) for Mun-
ster, under the style of the adventurers army, and
to have no dependence upon, nor be z subject to,
the lord lieutenant of Ireland, but only to receive
orders from the two houses, and from a committee
to be appointed by them, which should be always
with that army : but the king, easily discerning the
consequence of that design, refused to grant such
a commission as they desired ; so that they were
forced to be content, only with the advantage of
new exclamations against the king, " for hindering
" the supplies for Ireland," upon the occasion of his
denial of that unreasonable commission, and to pro
ceed in their levies the ordinary way ; which they
did with great expedition. To confirm and encou
rage the factious and schismatical party of the king
dom, which thought the pace towards the reforma
tion was not brisk and furious enough, and was
with great difficulty contained in so slow a march,
they had, a little before, published a declaration :

x were] Not in MS. > of] Not in MS. 1 nor be] or to be

OF THE REBELLION. 421

" That they intended a due and necessary re- BOOK
formation of the government and liturgy of the v

66
Ct

church, and to take away nothing in the one or 1642.
the other, but what should be evil, and justly

" fensive, or at least unnecessary, and burdensome : claratlon

J concerning

" and, for the better effecting thereof, speedily to a reforma
tion of the

" have consultation with godly and learned divines : liturgy.
" and, because that would never of itself attain the
" end sought therein, they would therefore use their
" utmost endeavours to establish learned and preach-
" ing ministers, with a good and sufficient mainte-
^ nance throughout the whole kingdom ; wherein
" many dark corners were miserably destitute of the
means of salvation, and many poor ministers want-
" ed necessary provision."

This declaration, printed, and appointed to be
published by the sheriffs in their several counties, in
all the market-towns within the kingdom of Eng
land and dominion of Wales, was not more intended
to the heartening of those who were impatient for a
reformation, (who in truth had so implicit a faith in
their leaders, that they expected another manner of
reformation than was publicly promised,) than to the
lulling those asleep, who begun a to be awake with
the apprehension of that confusion, they apprehend
ed from the practice and licence, they saw practised
against the received government, and doctrine of the
church ; and to be persuaded, that it was time to
oppose that current. And in this project they were
not disappointed : for though this warily worded de
claration was evidence enough to wise men, what
they intended, and logically comprehended, an al-

a begun] began

E e 3

THE HISTORY

BOOK teration as great as has been b since attempted and
made; yet to lazy and quiet men, who could not

1642. discern consequences, and were not willing to ante
date their miseries, by suspecting worse was to come
than they felt, or saw in their view, their fears were
much abated, and the intentions of the parliament
seemed not so bad as they had been told by some
that they were : and as this very declaration of a
due reformation to be made of the government of
the church, and the liturgy, would, a year before,
have given great umbrage and scandal to the peo
ple, when, generally, there was a due submission to
the government, and a singular reverence of the
liturgy of the church of England; so now, when
there was a general fear and apprehension incul
cated into them, of a purpose utterly to subvert the
government, and utterly to abolish the liturgy, they
thought the taking away nothing in the one or the
other, but what should be evil, and justly offensive,
or, at least, unnecessary and burdensome, was an
easy composition ; and so, by degrees, they suffered
themselves to be still prevailed on towards ends they
extremely abhorred ; and what at first seemed pro
fane and impious to them, in a little time appeared
only inconvenient ; and what, in the beginning, they
thought matter of conscience and religion, shortly
after they looked upon as somewhat rather to be
wished than positively insisted on ; and consequent
ly not to be laid in the balance with the public
peace, which they would imagine to be endangered
by opposing the sense that then prevailed ; and so,
by undervaluing many particulars, (which they truly

b as has been] as hath been

OF THE REBELLION. 423

esteemed,) as rather to be consented to, than that BOOK
the general should suffer, they brought, or suffered -
the public to be brought to all the sufferings it since
underwent.

And now they shewed what consultation they The
meant to have with godly and learned divines, and vines.
what reformation they intended, by appointing the
knights and burgesses to bring in the names of such
divines for the several counties, as they thought fit
to constitute an assembly for the framing a new
model for the government of the church, which was
done accordingly ; those who were true sons of the
church, not so much as endeavouring the nomina
tion of sober and learned men, abhorring such a re
formation, as begun with the invasion and suppres
sion of the church s rights in c a synod, as well
known as Magna Charta : and if any well affected
member, not enough considering the scandal and
the consequence of that violation, did name an or
thodox and well reputed divine, to assist in that as
sembly, it was argument enough against him, that
he was nominated by a person in whom they had no
confidence ; and they only had reputation enough to
commend to this consultation, who were known to
desire the utter demolishing of the whole fabric
of the church : so that of about one hundred and
twenty, of which that assembly was to consist,
(though, by the recommendation of two or three
members of the commons, whom they were not
willing to displease, and by the authority of the
lords, who added a small number to those named
by the house of commons, a few very reverend and

in] in calling

E e 4

424 THE HISTORY

BOOK worthy men were inserted; yet of the whole num-
v> ber) they were not above twenty, who were not de-

1642. clared and avowed enemies to the doctrine or dis
cipline of the church of England; some d of them
infamous in their lives and conversations ; and most
of them of very mean parts in learning, if not of
scandalous ignorance ; and of no other reputation,
than of malice to the church of England ; so that
that convention hath not since produced any thing,
that might not then reasonably have been expected
from it.

But that which gave greatest power and strength
to their growing faction, was the severity they used
against all those, of what quality or degree soever,
who opposed their counsels and proceedings. If any
lord, who had any place of honour or trust from the
king, concurred not with them, they made an inqui
sition into the whole passages of his life ; and if they
could find no fault, or no folly (for any levity, or in
discretion, served for a charge) to reproach him with,
it was enough, " that they could not confide in him :"
so they threatened the earl of Portland, who with
extraordinary vivacity crossed their consultations,
" that they would remove him from his charge ,and
" government of the Isle of Wight," (which, at last,
they did de facto, by committing him to prison,
without so much as assigning a cause,) and to that
purpose objected all the acts of good fellowship ; all
the waste of powder, and all the waste of wine, in
the drinking of healths ; and other acts of jollity,
whenever he had been at his government, from the
first hour of his entering upon it : so that the least

d

some] many

-J

OF THE REBELLION. 425

inconvenience a man in their disfavour was to ex- BOOK
pect, was to have his name and reputation used, for

two or three hours, in the house of commons, with
what licence and virulency they pleased. None
were persecuted with more rigour than the clergy ;
whereof whosoever publicly, or privately, censured
their actions, or suspected their intentions, was either
committed to prison, or compelled to a chargeable
and long attendance, as inconvenient as imprison
ment. And this measure of proceeding was equally,
if not with more animosity, applied to those, who,
in former times, had been looked upon by that party
with most reverence. On the contrary, e whoever
concurred, voted, and sided with them, in their ex
travagant conclusions, let the infamy of his former
life, or present practice, be what it would, his in
justice and oppression never so scandalous and noto
rious, he was received, countenanced, and protected,
with marvellous demonstrations of affection : so that,
between those that loved them, and those that fear
ed them, those that did not love the church, and
those that did not love some churchmen ; those whom
the court had oppressed, and those who had helped
the court to oppress others ; those who feared their
power, and those who feared their justice ; their
party was grown over the kingdom, but especially
in the city, justly formidable.

In the mean time, the king omitted no oppor
tunity to provide against the storm he saw was

e On the contrary,] Thus ori- scripture, because the three last

ginally in MS. On the contrary verses of the twelfth chapter of

side, as the church of Rome the second book seem to justify

receives and allows the books or commend the praying for the

of the Maccabees for canonical dead ; so whoever concurred,

426 THE HISTORY

BOOK coming; and, though he might not yet own the ap-
prehension of that danger he really found himself in,

1642. } ie neglected not the provision of what he thought
most necessary for his defence; he caused all his
declarations, messages, and answers, to be industri
ously communicated throughout his dominions; of
which he found good effects ; and, by their recep
tion, discovered that the people universally were not
so irrecoverably poisoned, as he before had cause to
fear : he caused private intimations to be given, and
insinuations to be made to the gentry, " that their
" presence would be acceptable to him ;" and to
those, who came to him, he used much gracious
freedom, and expressed all possible demonstrations,
that he was glad of their attendance : so that, in a
short time, the resort to York was very great ; and,
at least, a good face of a court there.

Beyond the seas, the queen was as intent to do
her part ; and to provide that so good company, as
she heard was daily gathered together about the
king, should not be dissolved for want of weapons
to defend one another : and therefore, with as much
secrecy as could be used in those cases, and in those
places where she had so many spies upon her, she
caused, by the sale or pawning of her own, and some
of the crown jewels, a good quantity of powder and
arms to be in a readiness in Holland, against the
time that it should be found necessary to transport
it to his majesty : so that both sides, whilst they en
tertained each other with discourses of peace, (which
always carried a sharpness with them, that whetted
their appetite to war,) provided for that war, which
they saw would not be prevented.

Hitherto the greatest acts of hostility, saving that

OF THE REBELLION. 427

at Hull, were performed by votes and orders; for BOOK

there was yet no visible, formal execution of the or- "

dinance for the militia, in any one county of Eng- 42<
land : for the appearance of volunteers in some fac
tious corporations was f rather countenanced than
positively directed and enjoined by the houses ; and
most places pretended an authority, granted by the
king in the charters, by which those corporations
were erected, or constituted : but now they thought
it time to satisfy the king, and the people, that they
were in earnest, (who were hardly persuaded, that
they had in truth the courage to execute their own
ordinance,) and resolved, " that, on the tenth of
" May, they would have all the trained bands of
" London mustered in the fields, where that exer-
" cise usually was performed ;" and accordingly, on
that day, their own new officer^ sergeant-major-gene
ral Skippon, appeared in Finsbury fields, with all
the trained bands of London, consisting of above
eight thousand soldiers, disposed into six regiments,
and under such captains and colonels, as they had
cause to confide in. At this first triumphant muster,
the members of both houses appeared in gross, there
being a tent purposely set up for them, and an en
tertainment at the charge of the city to the value of
near a thousand pounds ; all men presuming that
this example of London, with such ceremony and
solemnity, would be easily followed throughout the
kingdom; and many believing they had made no
small progress towards the end they aimed at, by
having engaged the very body of the city in a guilt
equal to their own : for though they had before suffi-

f was] were

428 THE HISTORY

BOOK cient evidence of the inclinations of the mean and
common people to them, and reasonable assurance,

1 642 - that those in authority would hardly be able to con
tain them ; yet, till this day, they had no instance of
the concurrence of the city in an act expressly un
lawful. But now they presumed all difficulties were
over; and so sent their directions to the counties
adjacent, speedily to execute the same ordinance :
and appointed all the magazines of the several coun
ties of England and Wales, to such custody, as their
lord lieutenants, or their deputy lieutenants, should
appoint ; and that not only the counties should in
crease those magazines to what proportion soever
they thought convenient, but that any private per
sons, that were well affected, should supply them
selves with what arms and ammunition they pleased.
By which means, besides the king s magazines, all
which were in their possession, they caused great
quantities of all sorts of arms to be provided, and
disposed to such places and persons, as they thought
fittest to be trusted ; especially in those factious cor
porations, which had listed most volunteers for their
service.

The king now saw the storm coming apace upon
him; that (notwithstanding his proclamation? pub
lished against the ordinance of the militia, in which
he set down the laws and statutes, which were in
fringed thereby, and by which the execution of that
ordinance would be no less than high treason) the
votes and declaration of both houses, " that those
" proclamations were illegal, and that those acts of
" parliament could not control the acts and orders

g proclamation] proclamations

OF THE REBELLION. 429

"of both houses, (which the subjects were, by the BOOK
" fundamental laws of the kingdom, to obey,)" pre-

vailed so far, that obedience was given to them ; that ] 642
he was so far from being like to have Hull restored
to him, that the garrison there daily increased, and
forced the country to submit to such commands as 11
they pleased to lay on them ; and that sir John Ho-
tharn was more likely to be able to take York, than
his majesty to recover Hull ; he thought it, there
fore, high time, by their example, to put himself
into a posture of defence ; the danger being much
more imminent to his majesty, than to those who
had begot that ordinance. Hereupon, at a public
meeting of the country, his majesty declared, " that
" he was resolved, in regard of the public distempers,
" and the neighbourhood of Hull, to have a guard
" for his person ; but of such persons, and with such
" circumstances, as should administer no occasion of
jealousy to the most suspicious ; and wished the
gentlemen of quality, who attended, to consider,
" and advise of the way :" who shortly after (not
withstanding the opposition given by the committee,
which still resided there ; and the factious party of
the county, which was inflamed, and governed by
them) expressed a great alacrity to comply with his
majesty s desire, in whatsoever should be proposed
to them ; and a sense, " that they thought a suffi-
" cient guard was very necessary for the security of
" his majesty s person." Hereupon, the king ap
pointed such gentlemen as were willing to list them
selves into a troop of horse, and made the prince of
Wales their captain ; and made choice of one regi-

h as] Not in MS.

tt

..

430 THE HISTORY

BOOK ment of the trained bands, consisting of about six
.hundred, whom he caused, every Saturday, to be
paid at his own charge ; when he had little more in
his coffers than would defray the weekly expense of
his table : and this troop, with this regiment, was
the guard of his person ; it being first declared by
his majesty, " that no person should be suffered,
" either in the troop, or the regiment, who did not,
" before his admission into the service, take the
" oaths of allegiance and supremacy ;" that so he
might be free from the scandal of entertaining pa
pists for his security.

But this caution would not serve ; the fears and
jealousies were capable of no other remedies, than
such as were prescribed by those physicians, who
were practised in the disease. As soon as the in
telligence was arrived at London, that the king ac
tually had a guard, (though the circumstances were
as well known that were used in the raising it,) both
houses published these three votes, and dispersed
them :

1. " That it appeared, that the king, seduced by
" wicked counsel, intended to make war against the
" parliament ; who, in all their consultations and ac-
" tions, had proposed no other end unto themselves,
" but the care of his kingdoms, and the perform-
" ance of all duty and loyalty to his person.

2. " That whensoever the king maketh war upon
" the parliament, it is a breach of the trust reposed
" in him by his people ; contrary to his oath ; and
" tending to the dissolution of the government.

3. " That whosoever should serve him, or assist
him in such wars, are traitors by the fundamental
laws of the kingdom ; and have been so adjudged

61

66

OF THE REBELLION. 431

" by two acts of parliament, 2 Rich. II. and 1 Hen. BOOK
" IV. and ought to suffer as traitors.

"

"
"

These lusty votes they sent to the king to York,
together with a short petition, in which they told
him,

" That his loyal subjects, the lords and commons The two
" in parliament, did humbly represent unto his ma- titiw thc"
jesty, that notwithstanding his frequent profes- dSve his
sions to his parliament and the kingdom, that his |J^ rd ^
desire and intention was only the preserving the 1^42.
true protestant profession, the laws of the land,
the liberty of his people, and the peace of the
kingdom ; nevertheless, they perceived with great
grief, by his speech of the twelfth of May, and
the paper printed in his majesty s name, in the
form of a proclamation, bearing date the four
teenth of May, and other evidences, that, under
colour of raising a guard to secure his person, of
which guard (considering the fidelity and care of
" his parliament) there could be no use, his majesty
" did command troops, both of horse and foot, to
" assemble at York ; the very beginnings whereof
" were apprehended by the inhabitants of that coun-
" ty to be an affrightment and disturbance of his
6( liege people, as appeared by their petition pre-
" sented to him ; the continuing and increasing of
" which forces was to his parliament, and must
" needs be, a just cause of great jealousy, and dan-
" ger to his whole kingdom.

" Therefore they did humbly beseech his majesty
" to disband all such forces, as, by his command,
" were assembled, and relying for his security (as
" his predecessors had done) upon the laws, and af-
66 fections of his people, he would be pleased to de-

(t

ti
6(

f(

432 THE HISTORY

BOOK sist from any further designs of that nature, con-

1 " tenting himself with his usual and ordinary guards;

2 * " otherwise, they should hold themselves bound in
" duty towards God, and the trust reposed in them
" by the people, and the fundamental laws and con-
" stitutions of the kingdom, to employ their care
" and utmost power to secure the parliament, and
" to preserve the peace and quiet of the kingdom."

To this petition, delivered publicly, and read
with an equal confidence, by their lieger committee,
his majesty answered,
His majes- That he could not but extremely wonder, that

ty s answer. f ...

" the causeless jealousies concerning his majesty,
" raised and fomented by a malignant party in the
" kingdom, which desired nothing more than to
snatch to themselves particular advantages out of
a general combustion, (which means of advantage
" should never be i ministered to them by his fault,
or seeking,) should not be only able k to seduce a
weak party in the kingdom, but seem to find so
much countenance even from both houses, as that
his raising of a guard, without further design
than for the safety of his person, an action so le
gal, in a manner so peaceable, upon causes so evi-
(f dent and necessary, should not only be looked
upon, and petitioned against by them, as a cause
of jealousy ; but declared to be raising of a war
against them, contrary to his former professions of
his care of religion and law : and he no less won-
" dered, that that action of his should be said to
be apprehended by the inhabitants of that county,
as an affrightment and disturbance to his people,

1 should never be] was never }l be only able] only be able

(6
(t

ft

t(
66
ii
66
66

66
66

66

66

66
66

66

a

OF THE REBELLION. 433

" having been as well received there, as it was every BOOK

" where to be justified; and (he spake of the gene-_

" ral, not of a few seduced particulars) assisted and

" sped by that county with that loyal affection and

" alacrity, as was a most excellent example, set to
the rest of the kingdom, of their care of his safety
upon all occasions ; and should never be forgotten
by him, nor, he hoped, by his posterity ; but
should be ever paid to them, in that, which is the
proper expression of a prince s gratitude, a per
petual, vigilant care to govern them justly, and to
preserve the only rule, by which they can be so
governed, the law of the land : and, he said, he
was confident, that if they were themselves eye
witnesses, they would so see the contrary, as to
give little present thanks, and, hereafter, little
credit to their informers ; and, if they had no bet
ter information and intelligence of the inclinations
and affections of the rest of the kingdom, certainly
the minds of his people (which to some ends and

" purposes they did represent) were but ill repre-

" sented unto them.

He asked them, when they had so many months
together not contented themselves to rely for se
curity, as their predecessors had done, upon the

" affection of the people, but by their own single

" authority had raised to themselves a guard, (and
that sometimes of no ordinary numbers, and in no
ordinary way,) and yet all those pikes and pro
testations, that army, on one side, and that navy,
on the other, had not persuaded his majesty to

" command them l to disband their forces, and to

1 to command them] Not in MS.
VOL, II. F f

66
66
66
66
66
66
66
66
66

66

66
66
66

..

66

66

66

434 THE HISTORY

BOOK content themselves with their ordinary, that was,

" no guard ; or work in him an opinion, that they

* " appeared to levy war against him, or had any fur-
" ther design ; how it was possible, that the same
" persons should be so apt to suspect and condemn
" his majesty, who had been so unapt, in the same
" matter, upon much more ground, to tax or sus-
" pect them ? This, he said, was his case, notwith-
" standing the care and fidelity of his parliament :
" his fort was kept by armed men against him ; his
" proper goods first detained from him, and then,
" contrary to his command, by strong hand offered
to be carried away ; in which, at once, all his
property as a private person, all his authority as a
king, was wrested from him : and yet for him to
secure himself in a legal way, that sir John Ho-
" tham might not by the same forces, or by more,
raised by pretence of the same authority, (for he
daily raised some, and it was no new thing for
him to pretend orders, which he could not shew,)
continue the war that he had levied against his
majesty ; and as well imprison his person, as de-
" tain his goods ; and as well shut him up in York,
" as shut him out of Hull ; was now said to be.
esteemed a cause of great jealousy to the parlia
ment, a raising a m war against them, and of dan-
" ger to the whole kingdom : whilst these injus
tices, and indignities offered to him, were counte
nanced by them, who ought to be most forward
in his vindication, and their punishment, in obser
vation of their oaths, and trust reposed in them
by the people, and to avoid the dissolution of the

a
ft
ft

tt

tt
tt
tt
ft

tt

tt
tt

ft
ft
ft
tt
ft

m

a] Not in MS.

OF THE REBELLION. 435

" present government. Upon which case, he said, BOOK
" the whole world was to judge, whether his ma- -
" jesty had not reason, not wholly to rely upon the
" care and fidelity of his parliament, being so
strangely blinded by malignant spirits, as not to
perceive his injuries ; but to take some care of his
own person, and, in order to that, to make use of
" that authority, which the laws declared to be in
" his majesty : and, whether that petition, with
" such a threatening conclusion, accompanied with
" more threatening votes, gave him not cause, ra-
" ther to increase, than to diminish his guards ;
especially, since he had seen, before the petition, a
printed paper, dated the seventeenth of May, un
derwritten by the clerk of the house of commons,
commanding, in the name of both lords and com-
" mons, the sheriffs of all counties to raise the
" power of all those counties, to suppress such of
" his subjects, as, by any of his majesty s commands,
" should be drawn together, and put (as that paper
66 called it) in a posture of war; charging all his
majesty s officers and subjects to assist them in it,
at their perils. For though, he said, he could not
suspect, that that paper, or any bare votes, not
" grounded upon law or reason, or quotations of re
pealed statutes, as those were of the 2 Rich. II.
and 1 Hen. IV. should have any ill influence upon
" his good people, who knew their duties too well
" not to know, that to take up arms against those,
who, upon a legal command of his majesty, came
together to a most legal end, (that was, his ma
jesty s security and preservation,) were" to levy

11 were] was
F f 2

6(

it

66
6t
66

it

66
66
66

..
..

CC

..
66

436 THE HISTORY

BOOK war against his majesty ; yet, if that paper were
" really the act of both houses, he could not but

42> " look upon it as the highest of scorns and indigni-
" ties ; first, to issue out commands of force against
" him ; and, after those had appeared useless, to
" offer, by petition, to persuade him to that, which
" that force should have effected.

" He said, he concluded his answer to their peti-
" tion with his counsel to them, that they would
" join with him in exacting satisfaction for that un-
" paralleled, and yet unpunished, action of sir John
" Hotham ; and that they would command his fort
" and goods to be returned to his own hands : that
" they would lay down all pretences (under pre-
" tence of necessity, or declaring what is law) to
" make laws without his majesty, and, by conse
quence, but a cipher of his majesty : that they
would declare effectually against tumults, and call
in such pamphlets, (punishing the authors and
publishers of them,) as seditiously endeavour to
disable his majesty from protecting his people, by
weakening, by false aspersions, and new false doc
trines, his authority with them, and their confi-
" dence in him : the particulars of which tumults
" and pamphlets, he said, he would long since have
" taken care his learned council should have been
enabled to give in evidence, if, upon his former
offer, his majesty had received any return of en
couragement from them in it : and, he said, if
they did that, they would then, and hardly till
then, persuade the world, that they had discharged
" their duty to God, the trust reposed in them by

out] Not in MS.

a

t(
a
a

6t

66
66

66
66
(t
((
66

(6
ft

OF THE REBELLION. 437

" the people, and the fundamental laws and consti- BOOK

" tutions of the kingdom ; and employed their care,

" and utmost power, to secure the parliament, (for, *

" he said, he was still a part of the parliament, and
" should be, till this well-tempered monarchy was
turned to a democracy,) and to preserve the peace
and quiet of the kingdom ; which, together with
" the defence of the protestant religion, the laws of
" the land, and his own just prerogative, (as a part
" of, and a defence to, those laws,) had been the
" main end, which, in his consultations and actions,
" he had proposed to himself."

It will be wondered at hereafter, that in a judg
ing and discerning state, where men had, or seemed
to have, their faculties of reason and understanding
at the height ; in a kingdom then unapt, and gene
rally uninclined to war, (how wantonly soever it
hath since seemed to throw away its peace,) those
men, who had the skill and cunning, out of froward
and peevish humours and indispositions, to com
pound fears and jealousies, and to animate and in
flame those fears and jealousies into the most pro
digious and the boldest rebellion, that any age or
country ever brought forth ; who very well saw and
felt, that the king had not only, to a degree, wound
himself out of that labyrinth, in which, four months
before, they had involved him, with their privileges,
fears, and jealousies ; but had even so well informed
the people, that they begun P to question both their
logic and their law, and to suspect and censure the
improvement and gradation of their fears, and the

begun] began

r f 3

438 THE HISTORY

BOOK extent and latitude of their privileges; and that

! they were not only denied by the king, what they

1642. re q u i re( i ? but that the king s reasons of his denial
made very many conclude the unreasonableness of
their demands : I say, it may seem strange, that
these men could entertain the hope and confidence
to obtrude such a declaration and vote upon the
people, " that the king did intend to make war
" against the parliament ;" when they were so far
from apprehending, that he would be able to get an
army to disturb them, that they were most assured,
he would not be able to get bread to sustain himself
three months, without submitting all his counsels to
their conduct and control ; and that the offering to
impose it did not awaken the people to an indigna
tion, which might have confounded them : for, be
sides their presumption in endeavouring to search
what the scripture itself told them was unsearch
able, the heart of the king; the very law of the
land, whose defence they pretended, makes no con
clusion of the intention of the meanest subject, in a
matter of the highest and tenderest consideration,
even treason itself against the life of the king, with
out some overt, unlawful act, from whence, and
other circumstances, the ill intention may be rea
sonably made appear ; and therefore, to declare that
the king intended to make war against his parlia
ment, when he had neither ship, harbour, arms,
nori money, and knew not how to get any of
them, r and when he offered to grant any thing to
them, which they could pretend a justifiable reason

^ nor] or r any of them,] either,

OF THE REBELLION. 439

for asking, was an undertaking of that nature, that BOOK

even the almightiness of a parliament might have .

despaired to succeed in.

But, notwithstanding all this, they very well knew
what they did, and understood what infinite advan
tage that vote would (as it did) bring to them ; and
that a natural way would never bring them to their
unnatural end. The power and reputation of par-*
liament, they believed, would implicitly prevail over
many ; and amaze and terrify others from disputing
or censuring what they did, and upon what grounds
they did it. The difficulty was, to procure the judg
ment of parliament ; and to incline those different
constitutions, and different affections, to such a con
currence, as the judgment might not be discredited,
by the number of the dissenters ; nor wounded, or
prejudged, by the reasons and arguments given
against it : and then, their judgments of the cure
being to be grounded upon the nature and informa
tion of the disease, it was necessary to confine and
contract their fancies and opinions within some
bounds and limits : the mystery of rebellion chal
lenging the same encouragement with other sci
ences, to grow by ; that there may be certain postu-
lata, some principles and foundations, upon which
the main building may subsist. So, in the case of
the militia, an imminent danger must be first sup
posed, by which the kingdom is in apparent hazard, 8
and then the king s refusal to apply any remedy
against that danger, before the two houses would
pretend to the power of disposing that militia; it
being too ridiculous to have pretended the natural

* in apparent hazard,] in an apparent danger,

Ff 4

440 THE HISTORY

BOOK and ordinary jurisdiction over it: but, in case of

danger, and danger so imminent, that the usual re-

course would not serve the turn, and for the saving
of a kingdom, which must otherwise be lost, many
good men thought it was reasonable to apply a very
extraordinary prevention, without imagining such a
supposition might possibly engage them in any ac
tion, contrary to their own inclinations ; and, with
out doubt, very many, who frankly voted that im
minent necessity, were induced to it, as an argu
ment, that the king should be therefore importuned
to consent to the settlement ; which would not have
appeared so necessary a request, if the occasion had
not been important ; never suspecting, that it would
have been improved into l an argument to them, to
adventure the doing it without the king s consent.
And it is not here unseasonable, (how merry soever
it may seem to be,) as an instance of the incogi-
tancy and inadvertency of those kind of votes and
transactions, to remember, that the first resolution
of the power of the militia being grounded upon a
supposition of an imminent necessity, the ordinance
first sent up from the commons to the lords, for the
execution of the militia, expressed an eminent ne
cessity ; whereupon, some lords, who understood
the difference of the words, and that an eminent
necessity might be supplied by the ordinary provi
sion, which, possibly, an imminent necessity might
not safely attend, desired a conference with the
commons for the amendment ; which, I remember,
was at last, with great difficulty, consented to :
many (who, I presume, are not yet grown up to

1 have been improved into] have proved

OF THE REBELLION. 441

conceive the difference) supposing it an unnecessary BOOK

contention for a word, and so yielding to them, for !

saving of time, rather than dispute 11 a thing which to 1642
them seemed of no great moment. u

They, who contrived this scene, never doubted
but, x after a resolution what was to be done upon a
supposed y necessity, they should easily, when they
found it convenient, make that necessity real. It
was no hard matter to make the fearful, apprehen
sive of dangers; and the jealous, of designs; and
they wanted not evidence of all kinds; of z letters
from abroad, and discoveries at home, to make those
apprehensions formidable enough ; and then, though,
before the resolution, there was a great latitude in
law and reason, what was lawfully to be done, they
had now forejudged themselves, and resolved of the
proper remedy, except they would argue against
the evidence ; which usually would have been to
discountenance or undervalue some person of nota
ble reputation, or his correspondence ; and always
to have opposed that that was of such an allay, as,
in truth, did operate upon the major part. So, in
the case upon which we now discourse, if they had,
in the most advantageous article of their fury, pro
fessed the raising an army against the king, there
was yet that reverence to majesty, and that spirit
of subjection and allegiance in most men, that they
would have looked upon it with opposition and hor
ror : but defensive arms were more plausible divi
nity, and if the king should commit such an outrage,
as to levy war against his parliament, to destroy the

" dispute moment.] for the y supposed] supposititious
moment of the thing. z of] Not in MS.

x but,] that,

442 THE HISTORY

BOOK religion, laws, and liberty of the kingdom, good
men were persuaded, that such a resistance might

f^ j

42 - be made, as might preserve the whole ; and he that
would have argued against this thesis, besides the
impertinency of arguing against a supposition, that
was not like to be real, and in which the corrupt
consideration of safety seemed to bribe most men,
could never escape the censure of promoting ty
ranny and lawless dominion. Then to incline men
to concur in the declaration " of the king s inten-
" tion to make war against the parliament," they
were persuaded it might have a good, and a could
have no ill effect : the remedies, that were to be ap
plied upon an actual levying of war, were not justi
fiable upon the intention ; and the declaring this in
tention, and the dangers it carried with it to the
king himself, and to all those who should assist
him, would be a probable means of reforming such
intention, and preventing the execution : inconveni
ence it could produce none, (for the disquieting or
displeasing the king was not thought inconvenient,)
if there were no progress in the supposed intention ;
if there were, it were fit the whole kingdom should
stand upon its guard, and not be surprised to its
confusion.

By these false and fallacious mediums, the clear
ness of men s understandings were dazzled; and,
upon the matter, all their opinions, and judgments
for the future, captivated and preengaged by their
own votes and determinations. For, how easy a
matter is it b to make it appear to that man, who
consented that the king intended to make war

a and] Not in MS. b is it] was it

OF THE REBELLION. 443

against the parliament, that when he should do it, BOOK

he had broken his oath, and dissolved his govern

ment ; and, that whosoever should assist him were
traitors; I say, how easy was it to persuade that
man, that he was obliged to defend the parliament ;
to endeavour to uphold that government ; and to
resist those traitors ? and, whosoever considers that
the nature of men, especially of men in authority,
is inclined rather to commit two errors, than to re
tract one, will not marvel, that from this root of un-
advisedness, so many and tall branches of mischief
have proceeded. And therefore it were to be wished,
that those, who have the honour to be trusted in
public consultations, were endued with so much na
tural logic, to discern the consequences of every pub
lic act and conclusion ; and with so much conscience
and courage, to watch the first impressions upon
their understanding and compliance : and that d ,
neither out of the impertinency of the thing, which
men are all apt e to conclude out of impatiency of
despatch ; or out of stratagem to make men odious,
(as in this parliament many forbore to oppose un
reasonable resolutions, out of an opinion, that they
would make the contrivers odious,) or upon any
other (though seeming never so politic) considera
tions, they f consent not& to any propositions, by
which truth or justice are invaded. I am h confi
dent, with very good warrant, that many men have,
from their souls, abhorred every article of this re
bellion ; and heartily deprecated the miseries and
desolation we have suffered by it, who have them-

c their] his f they] he

d that] Not in MS. K not] Not in MS.

e all apt] too apt h I am] And I am

444 THE HISTORY

BOOK selves, with great alacrity and 1 industry, contributed

to, if not contrived, those very votes and conclu-

42< sions, from whence the evils they abhor have most
naturally and regularly flowed, and been deduced ;
and which they could not reasonably, upon their own
concessions, contradict and oppose.

But to conclude, a man shaU not unprofitably
spend his contemplation, that, upon this occasion,
considers the method of God s justice, (a method
terribly remarkable in many passages, and upon
many persons, which we shall be compelled to re
member in this discourse,) that the same principles,
and the same application of those principles, should
be used to the wresting all sovereign power from
the crown, which the crown had a little before made
use of for the extending its authority and power be
yond its bounds, to the prejudice of the just rights
of the subject. A supposed necessity was then
thought ground enough to create a power, and a
bare averment of that necessity, to beget a practice to
impose what tax they thought convenient upon the
subject, by writs of ship-money never before known ;
and a supposed necessity now, and a bare averment
of that necessity, is as confidently, and more fatally,
concluded a good ground to exclude the crown from
the use of any power, by an ordinance never before
heard of; and the same maxim of salus populi su-
prema lex, which had been used to the infringing
the liberty k of the one, made use of for the destroy
ing the rights of the other : only that of the psalmist
is yet inverted; for many of those, who were the
principal makers of the first pit, are so far from

and] and some k liberty] liberties

OF THE REBELLION. 445

falling into it, that they have been the chiefest dig- BOOK
gers of the second ditch, in which so many have
been confounded.

Though they had yet no real apprehension, that
the king would be able, in the least degree, to raise
a force against them, yet they were heartily enraged
to find that he lived more like a king, than they
wished he should ; that there was so great resort to
him from all parts ; and that whereas, little more
than two months before, his own servants durst
hardly avow the waiting on him, now the chief
gentlemen of all counties travelled to him, to tender
their service ; which implied a disapprobation, at
least, if not a contempt of the two houses carriage 1
towards him. Therefore, to prevent this mischief,
they easily found exception to, and information
against, some persons, who had resorted to York;
whom they sent the sergeant of the house of com
mons to apprehend, and bring them before the house
as delinquents, to answer such matters as should be
objected against them. In this number there was
one Beck with, a gentleman of Yorkshire, who, as
sir John Hotham had sent them word, had endea
voured to corrupt some officers of the garrison to
deliver Hull up to the king ; this they declared to
be a very heinous crime, and little less than high
treason ; and therefore concluded him a delinquent,
and to be sent for to attend them : it was thought
strangely ridiculous by standers by, that sir John
Hotham should be justified for keeping the town
against the king, and another gentleman be voted a

1 the two houses carriage] their carriage

446 THE HISTORY

BOOK delinquent for designing to recover it to its alle-

! giance ; and that they, who, but few days before,

when the king had sent a warrant to require ser
geant-major Skippon to attend his majesty at York,
resolved, and published their resolution 111 in print,
(as they did all things, which they conceived might
diminish the reputation of the king, or his autho
rity,) " that such command from his majesty was
" against the law of the land, and the liberty of the
" subject, and likewise (the person being employed
" by them to attend their service) against the privi
lege of parliament ; and therefore, that their ser
geant-major-general of the forces of London (that
was his style) should continue to attend the ser
vice of both houses according to their former com-
" mands ;" should expect that their warrant should
be submitted to by those, who were waiting on the
king, whose known legal authority, severed from any
thing that might be understood to relate to the par
liament, or its privileges, they had so flatly contra
dicted and contemned, that the same day on which
they redeemed their officer Skippon from his allegi
ance, and duty of going to the king, being informed,
that the king had sent a writ to adjourn the term
(Midsummer term) to York from Westminster,
which, without all question, was in his power le
gally to do, n they declared, " that the king s re
moving of the term to York from Westminster,
sitting the parliament, was illegal ;" and ordered,
that the lord keeper should not issue out any

a

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66

66
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66

m resolution] resolutions which was as much in his power

n which, without all question, legally to do as to make a
was in his power legally to do,] knight,

OF THE REBELLION. 447

" writs, or seal any proclamation, to that purpose;" BOOK
which was by him observed accordingly, notwith

standing the king s command for the adjournment.

When their officer came to York for the appre
hension of the delinquents, he found the same neg
lect there of the parliament, as was found above of
the king ; and was so iU intreated by those, whom
he looked upon as his prisoners, that, if the king s
extraordinary provision had not been interposed, the
messenger would scarce have returned to have re
ported how uncurrent such warrants were like to be
in York, and how perilous such voyages might prove
to the adventurers : but how amazed or surprised
soever they seemed to be with this new contradic
tion, it was no more than they looked for ; for their
dilemma was, if their messenger returned with his
prize, all the resort to, and all the glory of York was
determined ; for no man would repair thither, from
whence the bare voting him a delinquent would re
move him with those other inconvenient circum
stances of censure and imprisonment : if he return
ed neglected and affronted, as they presumed he
would, they had a new reproach for the king, " of
" protecting delinquents against the justice of par-
" liament ;" which would be a new breach of their
privileges, as heinous and unpopular, as had yet been
made, and for the vindication whereof their protes
tation would no less oblige them, than it had done
on the behalf of the five members. And such votes
they passed upon the return of their officer; and
had in readiness prepared two voluminous declara
tions to the people, which they published about the

as was] as he

448 THE HISTORY

BOOK same time;? the one^ filled with all the reiterated
v.

complaints, and envenomed repetitions, of what had

been done, or been thought to have been done amiss
in the whole reign of the king, to render his person
odious, or unacceptable ; the other 1 undervaluing his
royal power, and declaring against it, to make his
authority despised, at least not feared.

The first was of the nineteenth of May, in which
they declared,
Thedecia- That the infinite mercy and providence of the

ration or

remon- Almighty God had been abundantly manifested,
since the beginning of this parliament, in great

"
"

variety of protections and blessings ; whereby he
19,1642. tt h^ no j. on |y delivered them from many wicked

" plots and designs, which, if they had taken effect,
" would have brought ruin and destruction upon the
" kingdom ; but, out of those attempts, had pro-
" duced divers evident and remarkable advantages,
" to the furtherance of those services, which they
" had been desirous to perform to their sovereign
" lord the king, and to the church and state, in pro
viding for the public peace, and prosperity of his
majesty, and all his realms ; which, in the pre
sence of the same all-seeing Deity, they protested
to have been, and still to be, the only end of all
" their counsels and endeavours ; wherein they had
resolved to continue freed and enlarged from all
private aims, personal respects, or passions what
soever.

" In which resolution, they said, they were no
thing discouraged, although the heads of the ma-
" lignant party disappointed of their prey, the reli-

p the same time ;] a time ; r the other] in the other by

i the one] in the one

tt
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tt

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OF THE REBELLION. 449

gion and liberty of the kingdom, which they were BOOK
ready to seize upon and devour before the begin- __
ning of this parliament, had still persisted, by new
" practices, both of force and subtilty, to recover
" the same again ; for which purpose they had made
several attempts for bringing up the army ; they
afterwards projected the false accusation of the
" lord Kimbolton, and the five members of the house
of commons, which being in itself of an odious na
ture, they had yet so far prevailed with his ma
jesty, as to procure him to take it upon himself;
but when the unchangeable duty and faithfulness
" of the parliament could not be wrought upon, by
(( such a fact as that, to withdraw any part of their
" reverence and obedience from his majesty, they
" had, with much art and industry, advised his ma
jesty to suffer divers unjust scandals and imputa
tions upon the parliament, to be published in his
name, whereby they might make it odious to the
people, and, by their help, destroy 8 that, which
hitherto had been the only means of their own
preservation.
" For this purpose, they had drawn his majesty
" into the northern parts far from the parliament >
" that so false rumours might have time to get cre-
" dit, and the just defences of the parliament find a
more tedious, difficult, and disadvantageous ac
cess, after those false imputations and slanders had
been first rooted in the apprehension of his ma
jesty and his subjects ; which the more speedily to
effect, they had caused a press to be transported
to York, from whence several papers and writings

8 destroy] to destroy
VOL. IT. G g

.
a
a

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66
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66
66
66

450 THE HISTORY

BOOK "of that kind were conveyed to all parts of the
. " kingdom, without the authority of the great seal,
" in an unusual and illegal manner, and without
" the advice of his majesty s privy-council ; from the
" greater and better part whereof having withdrawn
" himself, as well as from his great council of par-
" liament, he was thereby exposed to the wicked
" and unfaithful counsels of such, as had made the
" wisdom and justice of the parliament dangerous
to themselves ; and that danger they laboured to
prevent by hiding their own guilt under the name
" and shadow of the king ; infusing into him their
own fears, and, as much as in them lay, aspersing
his royal person and honour with their own in
famy; from both which it had always been as
" much the care, as it was the duty of the parlia-
" ment to preserve his majesty, and to fix the guilt
" of all evil actions and counsels upon those who had
" been the authors of them.

" Among 1 divers writings of that kind, they said,
" they, the lords and commons in parliament, had
" taken into their consideration two printed papers ;
" the first containing a declaration, which they had
" received from his majesty, in answer to that which
" had been presented to his majesty from both houses
" at Newmarket, the ninth of March, 1641 ; the
" other, his majesty s answer to the petition of both
" houses, presented to his majesty the twenty-sixth
" of March, 1642. Both which were filled with
" harsh censures, and causeless charges upon the
" parliament ; concerning which they held it neces-
" sary to give satisfaction to the kingdom ; seeing

1 Among] Amongst

OF THE REBELLION. 451

they found it very difficult to satisfy his majesty, BOOK
whom, to their great grief, they had found to be__L__

(6

if

66
(6
((

66

so engaged to, and possessed by those misappre
hensions, which evil counsellors have wrought in

" him, that their most humble and faithful remon
strances had rather irritated and embittered, than
any thing allayed, or mitigated, the sharp expres
sions, which his majesty had been pleased to make
in answer to them ; for the manifestation whereof,

" and of their own innocency, they desired that all

" his majesty s loving subjects might take notice of

" these particulars :

They knew no occasion given by them, which
might move his majesty to tell them, that in their

" declaration, presented at Newmarket, there were
some expressions different from the usual language
to princes : neither did they tell his majesty, either
in words or in effect, that if he did not join with
them in an act, which he conceived might prove
prejudicial and dangerous to himself and the whole

" kingdom, they would make a law without him,

" and impose it upon the people. That which they
desired, they said, was, that, in regard of the im
minent danger of the kingdom, the militia, for the
security of his majesty and his people, might be
put under the command of such noble and faith
ful persons, as they had all cause to confide in :

" and such was the necessity of this preservation,
that they declared, that, if his majesty should re
fuse to join with them therein, the two houses of
parliament, being the supreme court, and highest

" council of the kingdom, were enabled, by their
own authority, to provide for the repulsing of
such imminent and evident danger, not by any

Gg2

66

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66
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66
66

66
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66

66
66

"
"

452 THE HISTORY

BOOK " new law of their own making, as had been un-

! " truly suggested to his majesty, but by the most

42 - " ancient law of the kingdom, even that which is

" fundamental and essential to the constitution and

" subsistence of it.

Although they never desired, they said, to en-
courage his majesty to such replies as might pro-
" duce any contestation between him and his parlia-
" ment, of which they never found better effect, than
" loss of time, and hinderance of the public affairs ;
" yet they had been far from telling him of how
" little value his words would be with them, much
" less when they were accompanied with actions of
" love and justice. They said, he had more reason
" to find fault with those wicked counsellors, who
" had so often bereaved him of the honour, and his
" people of the fruit of many gracious speeches,
" which he had made to them, such as those in the
" end of the last parliament ; that, on u the word of
" a king, and as he was a gentleman, he would re-
" dress the grievances of his people, as well out of
" parliament as in it. They asked, if the searching
" the studies and chambers, yea, the pockets of some,
" both of the nobility and commons, the very next
" day ; the commitment of Mr. Bellasis, sir John
" Hotham, and Mr. Crew; the continued oppres-
" sions by ship-money, coat and conduct money ;
" with the manifold imprisonments, and other vex-
" ations thereupon, and other ensuing violations of
" the laws and liberties of the kingdom, (all which
" were the effects of evil counsel, and abundantly
" declared in their remonstrance of the state of the

on] in

OF THE REBELLION. 453

kingdom,) were x actions of love and justice, suit- BOOK
able to such words as those ?

" As gracious was his majesty s speech in the be-
" ginning of this parliament ; that he was resolved
" to put himself freely and clearly upon the love
" and affection of his English subjects. They asked
" whether his causeless complaints and jealousies,
" the unjust imputations so often cast upon his par-
" liament, his denial of their necessary defence by
" the ordinance of the militia, his dangerous absent-
" ing himself from his great council, like to produce
" such a mischievous division in the kingdom, had
" not been more suitable to other men s evil coun-
" sels, than to his own words ? Neither, they said,
" had his latter speeches been better used, and pre-
" served by those evil and wicked counsellors. Could
" any words be fuller of love and justice, than those
" in his answer to the message sent to the house of
" commons, the thirty-first of December, 1641 : We
" do engage unto you solemnly the word of a king,
44 that the security of all and every one of you from
" violence is, and ever shall be, as much our care,
as the preservation of us, and our children ? And
could any actions be fuller of injustice and vio
lence, than that of the attorney general, in falsely
" accusing the six members of parliament, and the
" other proceedings thereupon, within three or four
" days after that message ? For the full view where-
" of, they desired the declaration made of those pro-
" ceedings might be perused; and by those in
stances (they could add many more) the world
might judge who deserved to be taxed with dis-

x were] Not in MS.

r, g3

.*

..

,.
,.

tt
ft
tf
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454 THE HISTORY

BOOK " valuing his majesty s words, they who had, as

" much as in them lay, stained and sullied them

" with such foul counsels ; or the parliament, who
" had ever manifested, with joy and delight, their
" humble thankfulness for those gracious words,
" and actions of love and justice, which had been
" conformable thereunto.

" The king, they said, had been pleased to dis-
" avow the having any such evil counsel or coun-
" sellers, as were mentioned in their declaration, to
his knowledge ; and they held it their duty hum
bly to avow there were such ; or else they must
say, that all the ill things done of late in his ma
jesty s name had been done by himself; wherein
" they should neither follow the direction of the
" law, nor the affection of their own hearts, which
" was, as much as might be, to clear his majesty
" from all imputation of misgovernment, and to lay
" the fault upon his ministers. The false accusing
" of six members of parliament ; the justifying Mr.
Attorney, in that false accusation ; the violent
coming to the house of commons; the denial of
the militia; the sharp messages to both houses,
contrary to the customs of former kings ; the long
" and remote absence of his majesty from parlia-
" ment ; the heavy and wrongful taxes upon both
" houses ; the cherishing and countenancing a dis
contented party in the kingdom against them,
were certainly the fruits of very evil counsels, apt
to put the kingdom into a combustion, to hinder
" the supplies of Ireland, and to countenance the
proceedings and pretensions of the rebels there :
and the authors of these evil counsels, they con
ceived, must needs be known to his majesty ; and

it

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OF THE REBELLION. 455

" they hoped their labouring with his majesty, to* BOOK
have those discovered, and brought to a just cen-

tt
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" sure, would not so much wound his honour in the
" opinion of his good subjects, as his labouring to
" preserve and conceal them.

" And whereas his majesty had said, he could
" wish that his own immediate actions, which he
" avowed, and his own honour, might not be so
" roughly censured under the y common style of evil
" counsellors ; they said, that they could also heart-
" ily wish that they had not cause to make that
" style so common ; but how often and undutifully
" soever those wicked counsellors should fix their
" dishonour upon the king, by making his majesty
" the author of those evil actions, which were the
effects of their own evil counsels, they, his ma
jesty s loyal and dutiful subjects, could use no
other style, according to that maxim of the law,
" the king can do no wrong; but if any ill were
" committed in matter of state, the council ; if in
matter of justice, the judges must answer for it.

They said, they had laid no charge upon his
" majesty, which should put him upon that apology,
" concerning his faithful and jealous affection of the
" protestant profession : neither did his majesty en-
" deavour to clear those in greatest authority about
" him, by whom they had said that design had been
" potently earned on for divers years ; and they ra-
" ther wished that the mercies of heaven, than the
" judgments, might be manifested upon them ; but
" that there had been such, there were z such plen-
" tiful and frequent evidences, that they believed

> r the] that z were] had been

ff

ff

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16
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66

ce

456 THE HISTORY

BOOK there was none, either protestant or papist, who

" had had any reasonable view of the passages of

~" " latter times, but, either in fear or hope, did ex-
" pect a sudden issue of that design.

They said, they had no way transgressed against
the Act of Oblivion, by remembering the intended
war against Scotland, as a branch of that design
to alter religion by those wicked counsels, from
" which God did then deliver them, which they
" ought never to forget.

" That the rebellion in Ireland was framed and
" cherished by the popish and malignant party in
England, was not only affirmed by the rebels, but,
they said, might be cleared by many other proofs :
" the same rebellious principles of pretended reli-
" gion, the same politic ends were apparent in both,
" and their malicious designs and practices were
6( masked and disguised with the same false colour
of their earnest zeal to vindicate his majesty s
prerogative, from the supposed oppression of the
parliament. How much those treacherous pre
tences had been countenanced, by some evil coun
cil about his majesty, might appear in this, that
the proclamation, whereby they were declared
traitors, was so long withheld, as to the second of
" January, though the rebellion broke a forth in Oc
tober before, and then no more than forty copies
appointed to be printed ; with a special command
" from his majesty not to exceed that number ; and
" that none of them should be published, till his
" majesty s pleasure was further signified, as by the
" warrant appears, a true copy whereof was annexed

a broke] brake

61

66

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66

4k
.k

OF THE REBELLION. 457

" to this declaration; so that a few only could take BOOK
" notice of it ; which was made more observable, by

" the late contrary proceedings against the Scots,
" who were in a very quick and sharp manner pro-
" claimed ; and those proclamations forthwith dis-
" persed, with as much diligence as might be,
" throughout all the kingdom, and ordered to be
" read in all churches, accompanied with public
" prayers and execrations. Another evidence of fa-
" vour and countenance to the rebels in some of
" power about his majesty, was this, that they had
" put forth, in his majesty s name, a causeless com-
" plaint against the parliament, which speaks the
" same language of the parliament which the rebels
" do, thereby to raise a belief in men s minds, that
" his majesty s affections were alienated, as well as
" his person was removed, from that his great coun-
" cil. All which, they said, did exceedingly retard
" the supplies of Ireland, and more advance the
" proceedings of the rebels, than any jealousy or
" misapprehension begotten in his subjects, by the
" declaration of the rebels, injunction of Rosetti, or
" information of Tristram Whetcomb ; so that, con-
" sidering the present state and temper of both
" kingdoms, his royal presence was far more neces-
" sary here, than it could be in Ireland, for redemp-
" tion or protection of his subjects there.

" And whether there were cause of b his ma-
" jesty s great indignation, for being reproached to
" have intended force or threatening to the parlia
ment, they desired them to consider who should

11 of] for

a

458 THE HISTORY

BOOK " read their declaration, in which there was no
word tending to any such reproach ; and certain-

u
tt

"
"

"

42. a iy^ they said, they had been more tender of his
" majesty s honour in that point, than he, whoso-
" ever he was, that did write that declaration ;
where, in his majesty s name, he did call God to
witness, he never had any such thought, or knew
66 of any such resolution of bringing up the army ;
which truly, they said, would seem strange to
those, who should read the deposition of Mr. Go
ring, the c information of Mr. Percy, and divers
" other examinations of Mr. Wilmot, Mr. Pollard,
" and others ; the other examination of captain Leg,
" sir Jacob Ashley, and sir John Conyers ; and con-
" sider the condition and nature of the petition,
" which was sent unto sir Jacob Ashley, under the
" approbation of C. R. which his majesty had now
" acknowledged to be his own hand; and, being
full of scandal to the parliament, might have
proved dangerous to the whole kingdom, if the
" army should have interposed betwixt the king
<e and them, as was desired.

" They did not affirm that his majesty s warrant
" was granted for the passage of Mr. Jermyn, after
" the desire of both houses for restraint of his ser-
" vants ; but only that he did pass over, after that
" restraint, by virtue of such a warrant. They
" knew the warrant bore date the day before their
" desire ; yet, they said, it seemed strange to those,
" who knew how great respect and power IVJr. Jer-
" myn had in court, that he should begin his jour-

r the] Not in MS.

tt

u

OF THE REBELLION. 459

" ney in such haste, and in apparel so unfit for tra- BOOK

" vel, as a black satin suit, and white boots, if his

" going away was designed the day before.

" The accusation of the lord Kimbolton, and the
" five members of the house of commons, was called
" a breach of privilege ; and truly so it was, and a
" very high one, far above any satisfaction that had
" been yet given : for, they asked, how it could be
" said to be largely satisfied, so long as his majesty
" laboured to preserve Mr. Attorney from punish-
" ment, who was the visible actor in it ? So long as
" his majesty had not only justified him, but by his
" letter declared, that it was his duty to accuse
" them, and that he would have punished him, if
" he had not done it ? So long as those members
" had not the means of clearing their innocency,
" and the authors of that malicious charge were d
" undiscovered, though both houses of parliament
" had several times petitioned his majesty to dis-
" cover them, and that, not only upon the e grounds
" of common justice, but by act of parliament, his
" majesty was bound to do it ? So long as the king
" refused to pass a bill for their discharge, alleging
" that the narrative in that bill was against his ho-
" nour ; whereby he seemed still to avow the mat-
" ter of that false and scandalous accusation, though
" he deserted the prosecution, offering to pass a bill
" for their acquittal ; yet with intimation that they
" must desert the avowing their own innocency,
" which would more wound them in honour, than
" secure them in law ? And in vindication of that
" great privilege of parliament, they did not know

d were] Not in MS. e the] Not in MS.

460 THE HISTORY

BOOK " that they had invaded any privilege belonging to
" his majesty, as had been alleged in that declara-

1642 - "tion.

" But, they said, they looked not upon that only
" in the notion of a breach of privilege, which
" might be, though the accusation were true or
" false ; but under the notion of a heinous crime in
" the attorney, and all other subjects, who had a
" hand in it ; a crime against the law of nature,
" against the rules of justice ; that innocent men
" should be charged with so great an offence as
" treason, in the face of the highest judicatory of
" the kingdom, whereby their lives and estates,
" their blood and honour, were endangered, without
" witness, without evidence, without all possibility
" of reparation in a legal course ; yet a crime of
" such a nature, that his majesty s command can no
" more warrant, than it can any other act of injus-
" tice. These things, which were evil in their own
nature, such as a false testimony, or false accusa
tion, could not be the subject of any command, or
" induce any obligation of obedience upon any man,
by any authority whatsoever : therefore the at
torney, in that case, was bound to have refused to
execute such a command, unless he had some
" such f evidence or testimony, as might have war-
" ranted him against the parties, and be liable to
make satisfaction, if it should prove false ; and it
was sufficiently known to every man, and ad
judged in parliament, that the king could be nei-
" ther the relater, informer, or witness. If it should
" rest as it was, without further satisfaction, no fu-

f such] Not in MS.

u
a

a
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a

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OF THE REBELLION. 461

" ture parliament could be safe, but that the mem- BOOK
" bers might be taken, and destroyed at pleasure ;

" yea the very principles of government and justice
" would be in danger to be dissolved.

" They said, they did not conceive, that numbers
" did make an assembly unlawful, but when either
" the end, or manner of their carriage should be un-
" lawful. Divers just occasions might draw the
" citizens to Westminster ; where many public and
" private petitions, and other causes, were depend-
" ing in parliament ; and why that should be found
" more faulty in the citizens, than the resort every
" day in the term of great numbers to the ordinary
" courts of justice, they knew not : that those citi-
t( zens were notoriously provoked, and assaulted at
" Westminster by colonel Lunsford, captain Hyde,
" and others, and by some of the servants of the
" archbishop of York, was sufficiently proved ; and
" that afterwards they were more violently wounded,
" and most barbarously mangled with swords, by
" the officers and soldiers near Whitehall, many of
" them being without weapons, and giving no cause
" of distaste, was likewise proved by several testi-
" monies ; but of any scandalous or seditious misde-
" meanours of theirs, that might give his majesty
" good cause to suppose his own person, or those of
" his royal consort or children, to be in apparent
" danger, they had no proof ever offered to either
" house ; and if there had been any complaint of
" that kind, it was no doubt the houses would have
" been as forward to join in an order, for the sup-
" pressing of such tumults, as they were, not long
u before, upon another occasion, when they made
" an order to that purpose ; whereas those officers

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462 THE HISTORY

BOOK " and soldiers, which committed that violence upon

! " so many of the citizens at Whitehall, were che-

42 * " rished and fostered in his majesty s house ; and
" when, not long after, the common council of Lon
don presented a petition to his majesty for repara-
" tion of those injuries, his majesty s answer was,
without hearing the proof of the complaints, that
if any citizen were wounded, or ill entreated, his
majesty was confidently assured, that it happened
by their own evil and corrupt demeanours.

They said, they hoped, it could not be thought
contrary to the duty and wisdom of a parliament,
" if many concurring, arid frequently reiterated and
" renewed advertisements from Rome, Venice, Paris,
" and other parts, if the solicitations h of the pope s
" nuncio, and their own discontented fugitives, did
" make them jealous and watchful for the safety of
" the state : and they had been very careful to
" make their expressions thereof so easy, and so
" plain to the capacity and understanding of the
" people, that nothing might justly stick with them,
" with reflection upon the person of his majesty :
" wherein they appealed to the judgment of any in-
" different person, who should read and peruse their
" own words.

" They said, they must maintain the ground of
" their fears to be of that moment, that they could
" not discharge the trust and duty that lay upon
" them, unless they did apply themselves to the use
" of those means, to which the law had enabled
" them in cases of that nature, for the necessary de-
" fence of the kingdom ; and as his majesty did

g complaints,] complainants, h solicitations] solicitation

a

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OF THE REBELLION. 463

" graciously declare, that the law should be the BOOK

" measure of his power ; so did they most heartily - .

" profess, that they should always make it the rule
of their obedience. Then they observed, that there
were certain prudent omissions in his majesty s
answer ; and said, that the next point of their de-
" claration was, with much caution, artificially passed
over by him who drew his majesty s answer ; it
being indeed the foundation of all their misery,
" and his majesty s trouble, that he was pleased to
" hear general taxes upon his parliament, without
" any particular charge, to which they might give
" satisfaction ; and that he had often conceived dis
pleasure against particular persons, upon misin
formation ; and although those informations had
been clearly proved to be false, yet he would
" never bring the accusers to question ; which did
lay an impossibility upon honest men of clearing
themselves, and gave an encouragement to false
and unworthy persons to trouble him with untrue
and groundless informations. Three particulars
they had mentioned in their declaration, which
" the penner of his majesty s answer l had good
" cause to omit : the words supposed to have been
" spoken k at Kensington ; the pretended articles
" against the queen ; and the groundless accusation
" of the six members of 1 parliament ; there being
" nothing to be said in defence, or denial of any of
" them.

Concerning his majesty s desire to join with his
parliament, and with his faithful subjects, in de-

(6
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tf
f(

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1 answer] declaration spoken

k to have been spoken] to be of] of the

464 THE HISTORY

BOOK " fence of religion, and the m public good of the
" kingdom, they said, they doubted not he would

1642. 66 (j o ft f u iiy ? when evil counsellors should be re-
" moved from about him ; and until that should be,
" as they had shewed before of words, so must they
" also say of laws, that they could not secure them :
witness the Petition of Right, which had been fol
lowed with such an inundation of illegal taxes,
that they had just cause to think, that the pay
ment of eight hundred and twenty thousand
pounds, was an easy burden to the commonwealth
in exchange of them ; and they could not but
justly think, that if there were a continuance of
such ill counsellors, and favour to them, they
would, by some wicked device or other, make the
" bill for the triennial parliament, and those other
excellent laws mentioned in his majesty s declar
ation, of less value than words. That excellent
bill for the continuance of this parliament, they
said, was so necessary, that without it they could
not have raised so great sums of money for the
66 service of his majesty and the commonwealth, as
they had done, and without which the ruin and
destruction of the kingdom must needs have fol-
" lowed : and, they were resolved, the gracious fa
vour of his majesty, expressed in that bill, and the
advantage and security which thereby they had
from being dissolved, should not encourage them
to do any thing, which otherwise had not been fit
to have been done. And they were ready to make
it good before all the world, that though 11 his ma
jesty had passed many bills very advantageous for

m the] Not in MS. " though] although

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OF THE REBELLION. 465

" the subject, yet in none of them had they bereaved BOOK
" his majesty of any just, necessary, or profitable

prerogative of the crown. 1642

They said, they so earnestly desired his ma
jesty s return to London, for that upon it, they
conceived, depended the very safety and being of
both his kingdoms : and therefore they must pro
test, that, as for the time past, neither the govern -
" ment of London, nor any laws of the land, had
lost their life and force for his security, so for the
future they should be ready to do or say any thing,
that might stand with the duty or honour of a par
liament, which might raise a mutual confidence
between his majesty and them, as they did wish,
and as the affairs of the kingdom did require.

Thus far, they said, the answer to that, which
" was called his majesty s declaration, had led them.
Now they came to that, which was entitled his
(( majesty s answer to the petition of both houses,
presented to him at York, the twenty-sixth of
" March, 1642. In the beginning whereof, his ma
jesty wished, that their privileges on all parts were
" so stated, that that way of correspondency might
" be preserved with that freedom, which had been
" used of old. They said, they knew nothing intro-
" duced by them, that gave any impediment there-
" unto ; neither had they affirmed their privileges
" to be broken, when his majesty denied them any
" thing, or gave a reason why he could not grant it ;
" or that those, who advised such denial, were ene-
" mies to the peace of the kingdom, and favourers
" of P the Irish rebellion; in which aspersion, that

for] Not in MS. v of] to

VOL, II. H h

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"
"

"

466 THE HISTORY

BOOK " was turned to a general assertion,^ which, in their

v.
- " votes, was applied 1 " to a particular case ; wherefore

42 * " they must maintain their votes, that to contradict 8
" that, which both houses, in the question concern-
" ing the militia, had declared to be law, and com-
" mand it should not be obeyed, is a high breach of
privilege, and that those, who advised his majesty
to absent himself from his parliament, were ene-
mies to the peace of the kingdom, and justly to
" be suspected to be favourers of the rebellion in
" Ireland. The reasons of both were evident, be-
" cause in the first there was as great a derogation
" from the trust and authority of parliament ; and,
" in the second, as much advantage to the proceed-
* c ings and hopes of the rebels, as might be ; and
" they held it a very causeless imputation upon the
" parliament, that they had therein any way im-
" peached, much less taken away the freedom of his
" majesty s vote ; which did not import a liberty in
" his majesty, to deny any thing how necessary so-
" ever for the preservation of the kingdom, much
" less a licence to evil counsellors, to advise any
" thing, though never so destructive to his majesty
" and his people.

" By the message of the twentieth of January,
" his majesty had propounded to both houses of par-
" liament, that they would, with all speed, fall into
a serious consideration of all those particulars
which they thought necessary, as well for the
upholding and maintaining of his majesty s just
and regal authority, and for the settling his re-

"
"

"
"

<i assertion,] aspersion, who advised his majesty to con-

r was applied] was turned tradict
s that to contradict] that those

OF THE REBELLION. 467

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" venue, as for the present and future establishing BOOK

" their privileges; the free and quiet enjoying their !

" estates ; the liberties of their persons ; the secu
rity of the true religion, professed in the church
of England; and the settling of ceremonies, in
" such a manner, as might take away all just of-
" fence, and digest t it into one entire body.

" To that point of upholding and maintaining his
royal authority, they said, nothing had been done
to the prejudice of it, that should require any new
provision : to the other of settling the revenue, the
parliament had no way abridged or disordered his
just revenue ; but it was true, that much waste and
" confusion of his majesty s estate had been made by
" those evil and unfaithful ministers, whom he had
employed in the managing of it ; whereby his own
ordinary expenses would have been disappointed,
" and the safety of the kingdom more endangered,
" if the parliament had not, in some measure, pro-
" vided for his household, and for some of the forts,
more than they were bound to do ; and they were
still willing to settle such a revenue upon his ma
jesty, as might make him live royally, plentifully,
and safely; but they could not, in wisdom and fide
lity to the commonwealth, do that, till he should
" choose such counsellors and officers, as might order
" and dispose it to the public good, and not apply it
" to the ruin and destruction of his people, as here-
" tofore it had been. But that, and the other mat
ters concerning themselves, being works of great
importance, and full of intricacy, would require
so long a time of deliberation, that the kingdom

1 digest] to digest
H h 2

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468 THE HISTORY

BOOK " might be ruined before they could effect them :
" therefore they thought it necessary, first to be

66
66

2 * " suitors to his majesty, so to order the militia, that,
" the kingdom being secured, they might, with more
" ease and safety, apply themselves to debate of that
message, wherein they had been interrupted, by his
majesty s denial of the ordinance concerning the
" same ; because it would have been in vain for them
" to labour in other things, and in the mean time to
" leave themselves naked to the malice of so many
enemies, both at home and abroad ; yet they had
not been altogether negligent of those things,
which his majesty had been pleased to propound
in that message : they had agreed upon a book of
rates in a larger proportion, than had been grant
ed to any of his majesty s predecessors, which
was a considerable support of his majesty s public
charge ; and had likewise prepared divers propo-
" sitions, and bills, for preservation of their religion
and liberties, which they intended shortly to pre
sent to his majesty ; and to do whatsoever was fit
" for them, to make up that unpleasant breach be
tween his majesty and the parliament.
" Whereas divers exceptions had been taken con
cerning the militia ; first, that his majesty never
denied the thing, but accepted the persons, (except
for corporations,) only that he denied the way ; to
which they answered, that that exception took
" off London, and ah 1 other great towns and cities,
" which make u a great part of the kingdom ; and for
" the way of ordinance, it is ancient, more speedy,
" more easily alterable, arid, in all these and other

u make] makes

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OF THE REBELLION. 469

respects, more proper, and more applicable to the BOOK
present occasion, than a bill ; which his majesty -.
called the good old way of imposing upon the sub
jects. It should seem, that neither his majesty s
royal predecessors, nor their ancestors, had hereto
fore been of that opinion ; 37 Edw. III. they said,
they found this record : The chancellor made de
claration of the challenge of the parliament ; the
king desires to know the griefs of his subjects,
" and to redress enormities. The last day of the
" parliament, the king demanded of the whole es
tates, whether they would have such things as
they agreed on, by way of ordinance, or statute ?
who answered, by way of ordinance, for that they
might amend the same at their pleasures ; and so
" it was.

" But his majesty objected further, that there was
" somewhat in the preface, to which he could not
" consent with justice to his honour and innocence ;
" and that thereby he was excluded from any power
" in the disposing of it. These objections, they said,
" might seem somewhat, but indeed would appear
" nothing, when it should be considered, that no-
" thing in the preamble laid any charge upon his
" majesty, or in the body of the ordinance, that ex
cludes his royal authority in the disposing or exe
cution of it : but only it was provided, that it
should be signified by both houses of parliament,
" as that channel, through which it would be best
" derived, and most certainly to those ends for which
" it was intended; and let all the world judge whe
ther they had not reason to insist upon it, that the
strength of the kingdom should rather be ordered

H h 3

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470 THE HISTORY

BOOK " according to the advice or direction of the great
" council of the land, intrusted by the king, and by

"

"

"

"

J 042. the kingdom, than that the safety of the king, par-
liament, and kingdom, should be left at the devo-
tion of a few unknown counsellors, many of them
not intrusted at all by the king in any public way,
" nor at all confided in by the kingdom.

" They wished the danger were not imminent, or
" not still continuing, but could not conceive, that
the long time spent in that debate was evidence
sufficient, that there was no such necessity or dan-
ger, but a bill might easily have been prepared ;
" for, when many causes do concur to the danger of
" a state, the interruption of any one might hinder
" the execution of the rest, and yet the design be
" still kept on foot, for better opportunities. Who
" knew, whether the ill success of the rebels in Ire-
" land had not hindered the insurrection of the pa-
" pists here ? Whether the preservation of the six
" members of the parliament, falsely v accused, had
" not prevented that plot of the breaking the neck
" of this parliament, of which they were informed
" from France, not long before they were accused ;
" yet since his majesty had been pleased to express
" his pleasure rather for a bill, than an ordinance,
" and that he sent in one for that purpose, they
" readily entertained it ; and, with some small and
" necessary alterations, speedily passed the same.
" But contrary to the custom of parliament, and
" their expectation, grounded upon his majesty s

" own invitation x of them to that way, and other y

v falsely] false * invitation] expectation v other] the other

OF THE REBELLION. 471

" reasons manifested in their declaration concerning BOOK

" the militia, of the fifth of May,, instead of the royal L_

" assent, they met with an absolute refusal.

" For their votes of the fifteenth and sixteenth of
" March, they said, if the matter of those votes were
" according to law, they hoped his majesty would
" allow the subjects to be bound by them, because
" he had said, he would make the law the rule of
" his power ; and if the question were, whether that
" were law, which the lords and commons had once
" declared to be so, who should be the judge ? Not
his majesty ; for the king judgeth not of matters
of law, but by his courts ; and his courts, though
sitting by his authority, expected not his assent in
matters of law : nor z any other courts ; for they
could not judge in that case, because they were in
ferior, no appeal lying to them from parliament,
" the judgment whereof is, in the eye of the law,
" the king s judgment in his highest court, though
" the king in his person be neither present, nor as-
" senting thereunto.

" The votes at which his majesty took exception

were these :

1. " That the king s absence so far remote from
" his parliament, was not only an obstruction, but
" might prove a destruction to the affairs of Ire-
" land.

2. " That when the lords and commons shall de-
" clare what the law of the land is, to have this

not only questioned and controverted, but contra
dicted, and a command that it should not be obey-

z nor] not

H h 4

<k
i.

a

tt

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473 THE HISTORY

BOOK " ed, was a high breach of the privilege of parlia-
." merit.

3. " That those persons, who advised his majesty
" to absent himself from the parliament, are enemies
" to the peace of the kingdom, and justly may be
" suspected to be favourers of the rebellion in Ire-
"land. wotfc "

" That a the kingdom had been of late, and still
was, in so imminent 13 danger, both from enemies
abroad, and from a popish and discontented party
at home, that there was an urgent and inevitable
necessity of putting his majesty s subjects into a
posture of defence, for the safeguard both of his
majesty and his people.

" That d the lords and commons, fully apprehend
ing this danger, and being sensible of their own
duty, to provide a suitable prevention, had, in se
veral petitions, addressed themselves to his ma
jesty, for the ordering and disposing the militia of
the kingdom in such a way, as was agreed upon 6 ,
by the wisdom of both houses, to be most effec
tual, and proper for the present exigence of the
kingdom, yet could not obtain it ; but his majesty
" did, several times, refuse to give his royal assent
" thereunto.

" That/ in this case of extreme danger, and his
" majesty s refusal, the ordinance of parliament,
" agreed upon by both houses, for the militia, doth
oblige the people, and ought to be obeyed, by the
fundamental laws of this kingdom.

* That] 4, That d That] 5. That

b imminent] eminent e upon] Not in MS.

c from] Not in MS. f That,] 6. That,

66

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OF THE REBELLION. 473

" By all which, they said, it did appear, that there BOOK
had been no colour of that tax, that they went

" about to introduce a new law, much less to exer-
" cise an arbitrary power, but indeed to prevent it :
" for this law was as old as the kingdom ; that the
" kingdom must not be without a means to preserve
" itself; which that it might be done without confu-
" sion, this nation had intrusted certain hands with a
" power to provide, in an orderly and regular way,
" for the good and safety of the whole ; which pow-
" er, by the constitution of the kingdom, was in his
" majesty, and in his parliament together : yet since
" the prince, being but one person, is more subject
" to accidents of nature and chance, whereby the
" commonwealth may be deprived of the fruit of
" that trust, which was, in part, reposed in him ; in
" cases of such necessity, that the kingdom may not
" be enforced presently to return to its first prin
ciples, and every man left to do what is right in
his own eyes, without either guide or rule ; the
" wisdom of this state hath intrusted the houses of
" parliament with a power to supply what should be
" wanting on the part of the prince, as is evident by
" the constant custom and practice thereof, in cases
" of nonage, natural disability, and captivity ; and
" the like reason doth and must hold for the exercise
" of the same power in such cases, where the royal
" trust cannot be, or is not discharged, and that the
" kingdom runs & an evident and eminent h danger
" thereby ; which danger having been declared by
" the lords and commons in parliament, there needs

B runs] runs not h eminent] imminent

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474 THE HISTORY

BOOK " not the authority of any person or court to affirm,
nor is it in the power of any person or court to re-

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42. 66 vo k e that judgment.

They said, they knew the king had ways enough,
in his ordinary courts of justice, to punish such se
ditious pamphlets and sermons, as were any ways
prejudicial to his rights, honour, and authority;
" and if any of them had been so insolently violated
" and vilified, his majesty s own council and officers
66 had been to blame, and not the parliament : they
" never had restrained any proceedings of that kind
" in other courts, nor refused any fit complaint to
" them. The Protestation Protested had been referred
" by the commons house to a committee, and, the
" author being not produced, the printer committed
to prison, and the book voted by that committee to
be burned ; but sir Edward Deering, who was to
make that report of the votes of that committee,
neglected to make it. The Apprentices Protesta
tion was never complained of: but the other sedi-
" tious pamphlet, To your tents, O Israel, was once
" questioned, and the full prosecution of it was not
" interrupted by any fault of either house, whose
" forwardness to do his majesty all right therein
might plainly appear, in that a committee of lords
and commons was purposely appointed, to take
" such informations as the king s council should pre
sent concerning seditious words, practices, or tu
mults, pamphlets or sermons, tending to the dero-
" gation of his majesty s rights or prerogative, and
his council had been enjoined by that committee,
to inquire and present them ; who several times
met thereupon, and received this answer and de-

tt

6(
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66
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OF THE REBELLION. 475

" claration from 1 the king s council, that they knew BOOK
" of no such thing as yet.

66

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..
tt

" They said, if his majesty had used the service
" of such a one in penning that answer, who under-
" stood the laws and government of this kingdom,
" he would not have thought it legally in his power
" to deny his parliament a guard, when they stood
" in need of it ; since every ordinary court hath it :
" neither would his majesty, if he had been well in-
" formed of the laws, have refused such a guard as
they desired, k it being in the power of inferior
courts to command their own guard; neither
would he have imposed upon them such a guard,
" under a commander which they could not have
" confided in ; which is clearly against the privileges
" of parliament, and of which they found very dan
gerous effects ; and therefore desired to have it dis
charged; but such a guard, and so commanded,
as the houses of parliament desired, they could
never obtain of his majesty ; and the placing a
guard about them, contrary to their desire, was
not to grant a guard to them, but in effect to set
one upon them : all which considered, they belie v-
" ed, in the judgment of any indifferent persons, it
" would not be thought strange, if there were a
more than ordinary resort of people to ] Westmin
ster, of such as came willingly, of their own accord,
" to be witnesses and helpers of the safety of them,
whom all his majesty s good subjects are bound to
defend from violence and danger ; or that such a
concourse as that (they carrying themselves quietly

from] of sired,] a guard as they desired it,

k such a guard as they de- l to] at

a
tt
tt

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66

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66

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66
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476 THE HISTORY

BOOK " and peaceably, as they did) ought in his majesty s

! " apprehension, or could, in the interpretation of

" the law, be held tumultuary and seditious.

They said, when his majesty, in that question of
violation of the laws, had expressed the observa
tion of them indefinitely, without any limitation
" of time, although they never said, or thought any
thing, that might look like a reproach to his ma-
" jesty, yet they had reason to remember that it had
" been otherwise, lest they should seem to desert
" their former complaints, and proceedings there-
" upon, as his majesty did seem but little to like or
" approve them : ra for though he did acknowledge
" here that great mischief, that grew by that arbi
trary power then complained of; yet such were
continually preferred and countenanced, as were
" friends or favourers, or related to 11 the chief au-
" thors and actors of that arbitrary power, and of
" those false colours, and suggestions of imminent
danger and necessity, whereby they did make it
plausible unto his majesty: and, on the other side,
66 such as did appear against them were daily dis
countenanced and disgraced : which whilst it should
be so, they had no reason to believe the disease to
be yet killed, and dead at root, and therefore no
reason to bury it in oblivion ; and, whilst they be
held the spawns of those mischievous principles
" cherished and fostered in that new generation of
" counsellors, friends, and abettors of the former, or
" at least concurring with them in their malignancy
" against the proceeding P of this parliament, they

m them :] of them : be so,] so be,

11 related to] related unto P proceeding] proceedings

66

61

..
ti

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OF THE REBELLION. 477

" could not think themselves secure from the like, or BOOK
" a worse danger.

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" They observed, the penner of his majesty s an-
" swer bestowed here** an admonition upon the par-
" liament, bidding them take heed they fell not upon
" the same error, upon the same suggestions ; but,
they said, he might well have spared that, till he
could have shewed wherein they had exercised any
power, otherwise than by the rule of the law ; or
could have found a more authentic, or a higher
judge in matters of law, than the high court of
" parliament.

" It was declared, in his majesty s name, that he
" resolved to keep the rule himself, and, to his power,
to require the same of all others. They said, they
must needs acknowledge, that such a resolution
was like to bring much happiness and blessing to
his majesty, and ah 1 his kingdoms ; yet, with hu
mility, they must confess, they had not the fruit
" of it in that case of the lord Kimbolton, and the
" other five members, accused contrary to law, both
" common 1 " and the statute law ; and yet remained
" unsatisfied : which case had been remembered, in
" their declaration, as a strange and unheard of vio-
" lation of their laws : but the penner of that an-
" swer thought fit to pass it over, hoping that many
" would read his majesty s answer, which had been
" so carefully dispersed, who would not read their
" declaration.

" Whereas, after their ample thanks and acknow
ledgment of his majesty s favour in passing many
good bills, they had said, that truth and necessity

Q here] Not in MS. r common] common law

66

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i
it

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478 THE HISTORY

BOOK " enforced them to add this, that in or about the
v.

; time of passing those bills, some design or other

(C
ft

6f
f(

*^f *,**

42 - " had been on foot, which, if it had taken effect,
" would not only have deprived them of the fruit
" of those bills, but would have reduced them to a
" worse condition of confusion, than that wherein
" the parliament found them : it was now told them,
that the king must be most sensible of what they
had 8 cast upon him, for the 1 requital of those good
" bills ; whereas, out of their usual tenderness of his
" majesty s honour, they did not mention him at all ;
" but so injurious, they said, were u those wicked
" counsellors to the name and honour of their mas-
" ter and sovereign, that, as much as they could,
" they laid their own infamy and guilt upon his
" shoulders.

Here, they observed, God also was called to wit
ness his majesty s upright intentions at the pass-
" ing of those laws ; which, they said, they would not
" question, neither did they give any occasion for x
" such a solemn asseveration as that was ; the Devil
" was likewise defied to prove there was any de-
" sign, with his majesty s knowledge or privity.
" That? might well have been spared; for they
" spake nothing of his majesty : but since they were
" so far taxed, as to have it affirmed, that they had
laid a false and notorious imputation upon his ma
jesty, they thought it necessary, for the just de-
" fence of their own innocency, to cause the oaths
" and examinations, which had been taken, concern-
" ing the design, to be published in a full narration,

s had] Not in MS, x for] of

4 the] Not in MS. y That] They

u were] Not- in MS.

t(

ft

66

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66
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OF THE REBELLION. 479

" for satisfaction of all his majesty s subjects; out of BOOK
" which they would now offer some few particulars, _L_
" by which 2 the world might judge, whether they
" could proceed with more tenderness towards his
majesty, than they had done. Mr. Goring con
fessed, that the king first asked him, whether he
were engaged in any cabal concerning the army ?
" and commanded him to join with Mr. Percy, and
" Mr. Jermyn, and some others whom they should
" find at Mr. Percy s chamber ; where they took the
" oath of secrecy, and then debated of a design pro
posed by Mr. Jermyn, to secure the Tower, and to
consider of bringing up the army to London : and
captain Leg confessed, he had received the draught
of a petition, in the king s presence ; and his ma-
" jesty acknowledgeth, it was from his own hand :
" and whosoever reads the sum of that petition, as
it was proved by the testimony of sir Jacob Ash
ley, sir John Conyers, and captain Leg, will easily
perceive some points in it, apt to beget in them
" some discontents against the parliament. And
" could any man believe there was no design in the
" accusation of the lord Kimbolton, and the rest, in
" which his majesty doth avow himself to be both a
" commander and an actor ? These things being so,
" it would easily appear to be as much against the
" rules of prudence, that the penner of that answer
" should entangle his majesty in that unnecessary
" apology, as it was against the rules of justice, that
" any reparation from them should be either yielded
" or demanded.

" It was professed, in his majesty s name, that

z by which] out of which

66
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480 THE HISTORY

BOOK " he is truly sensible of the burdens of his people ;
" which made them hope that he would take that

66
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42 - "course, which would be most effectual to ease them
" of those burdens ; that was, to join with his par-
" liament in preserving the peace of the kingdom,
which, by his absence from them, had been much
endangered ; and which, by hindering the volun
tary adventures for the recovery of Ireland, and
disabling the subjects to discharge the great tax
imposed on them, was like to make the war much
more heavy to the kingdom. And for his majes
ty s wants, the parliament had been no cause of
them ; they had not diminished his just revenue,
" but had much eased his public charge, and some-
" what his private ; and they should be ready, in a
parliamentary way, to settle his revenue in such
an honourable proportion, as might be answerable
" to both, when he should put himself into such a
posture of government, that his subjects might be
secure to enjoy his just protection for their reli
gion, laws, and liberties.

They said, they never refused his majesty s gra
cious offer, of a free and general pardon ; only they
" said, it could be no security to their present fears
and jealousies : and they gave a reason for it ; that
those fears did not arise out of any guilt of their
own actions, but out of the evil designs and at
tempts of others ; and they left the world to judge,
" whether they therein had deserved so heavy a tax
" and exclamation ? (That it was a strange world,
when princes proffered favours were counted re
proaches : such were the words of his majesty s
answer,) who did esteem that offer as an act of
" princely grace and bounty, which, since the par-

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66

OF THE REBELLION. 481

" liament begun, a they had humbly desired they BOOK

" might obtain, and did still hold it very necessary

and advantageous for the generality of the sub
ject, upon whom the taxes and subsidies lie hea
viest : but, they said, they saw, upon every occa
sion, how unhappy they were in his majesty s mis
apprehensions of their words and actions.

They said, they were fully of the king s mind,
" as it was there declared, that he might rest so
secure of the affections of his subjects, that he
" should not stand in need of foreign force to pre-
" serve him from oppression ; and were confident,
" that he should never want an abundant evidence
of the good wishes and assistance of his whole
kingdom ; especially if he would be pleased to
hold to that gracious resolution of building upon
that sure foundation, the law of the land : but
why his majesty should take it ill, that they, hav
ing received informations so deeply concerning the
safety of the kingdom, should b think them fit to
be considered of, they could not conceive ; for al
though the name of the person was unknown, yet
" that which was more substantial to the probability
" of the report was known, that is, that he was ser
vant to the lord Digby ; who, in his presumptuous
letter to the queen s majesty, ^and other letters to
sir Lewis Dives, had intimated some wicked pro
position, suitable to that information ; but that this
" should require reparation, they held it as far from
justice, as it was from truth, that they had mixed
any malice with those rumours, thereby to feed the
fears and jealousies of the people.

a begun,] began, b should] and so should

VOL, II. I i

a
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a

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((

et

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66

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482 THE HISTORY

BOOK "It was affirmed, that his majesty was driven
" from them, but not by them ; yet perchance, they

ft
66
<(

66

42< " said, hereafter, if there should be opportunity of
" gaining more credit, there would not be wanting
" who would suggest unto his majesty, that it was
" done by them : and if his majesty were driven
" from them, they hoped it was riot by his own
" fears, but by the fears of the lord Digby, and his
" retinue of cavaliers ; and those c no fears of any
" tumultuary violence, but of their just punishment
" for their manifold insolence, and intended violence
" against the parliament : and this was expressed by
the lord Digby himself, when he told those cava
liers, that the principal cause of his majesty s go
ing out of town, was to save them from being
trampled in the dirt : but of his majesty s person
" there was no cause of fear ; in the greatest heat of
" the people s indignation, after the accusation, and
" his majesty s violent coming to the house, there
" was no shew of any evil intention against his regal
" person ; of which there could be no better evidence
" than this, that he came the next day without a
guard into the city, where he heard nothing but
prayers and petitions, no threatenings, or irreve-
" rent speeches, that might give him any just occa-
" sions of fear, that they had heard of, or that his
" majesty expressed ; for he staid near a week after
" at Whitehall, in a secure and peaceable condition :
" whereby they were induced to believe, that there
" was no difficulty, or doubt at all, but his majesty s
" residence near London might be as safe, as in any
" part of the kingdom. They said, they were most

c those] that

66
66

it

66
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66

66
66
66

OF THE REBELLION. 483

" assured of the faithfulness of the city and suburbs ; BOOK

" and for themselves, they should quicken the vigour !

" of the laws, the industry of the magistrate, the 1642
" authority of parliament, for the suppressing of all
" tumultuary insolency d whatsoever, and for the vin-
" dicating of his honour from all insupportable and
" insolent scandals, if any such shall be found to be
raised upon him, as were mentioned in that an
swer : and therefore they thought it altogether un
necessary, and exceeding inconvenient, to adjourn
the parliament to any other place.

Where the desire of a good understanding be
twixt the king and 6 parliament was on both sides
so earnest, as was there professed by his majesty
" to be in him, and they had sufficiently testified to
" be in themselves, it seemed strange they should
" be, they said, so long asunder ; it could be nothing
" else but evil and malicious counsel in f misrepre
senting their carriage to his majesty, and in dis
posing his favour to them. And as it should be
far from them to take any advantage of his ma
jesty s supposed straits, as to desire, much less to
compel him to that, which his honour or interest
" might render unpleasant, or grievous to him ; so,
they hoped, his majesty would not make his own
understanding or reason the rule of his govern-
" ment ; but would suffer himself to be assisted
with a wise and prudent council, that might deal
faithfully betwixt him and his people : and that he
" would remember, that his resolutions did concern
" kingdoms ; and therefore ought not to be moulded
" by his own, much less by anys private person,

d insolency] insolence f in] Not in MS.

e and] and the % any] any other

II O
L AM

66

66

66

66

66
66

66
66

484 THE HISTORY

BOOK " which was not alike proportionable to so great a
" trust : and therefore they still desired and hoped,

1642. 66 that his ma j es ty would not be guided by his own
understanding, or think h those courses, straits and
necessities, to which he should be advised by the
wisdom of both houses of parliament, which are
the eyes in the 1 politic body, whereby his majesty
was, by the constitution of the kingdom, to discern
the differences of those things, which concern the
public peace and safety thereof.

They said, they had given his majesty no cause
to say, that they did meanly value the discharge of
his public duty ; whatsoever acts of grace or jus
tice had been done, they proceeded from his ma
jesty by the advice and counsel of his parliament,
yet they had and should always answer them with
constant gratitude, and k obedience, and affection ;
and although many things had been done, since
this parliament, of another nature, yet they should
not cease to desire the continued protection of Al
mighty God upon his majesty, and most humbly
petition him to cast from him all those evil and con
trary counsels, which had, in many particulars for-

(( merly mentioned, much detracted from the honour

" of his government, the happiness of his own estate,
and prosperity of his people.

And having passed so many dangers from a-

" broad, so many conspiracies at home, and brought
on the public work so far, through the greatest
difficulties that ever stood in opposition to a par
liament, to such a degree of success, that nothing

" seemed to be left in the way able to hinder the

11 or think] or to think ! the] this k and] Not in MS.

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66

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66

66

I

66

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66

OF THE REBELLION. 485

i( full accomplishment of their desires, and endea- BOOK

" vours for the public good, unless God in his justice !

" did send a 1 grievous curse upon them, as to turn
the strength of the kingdom against itself, and to
effect that by their own folly and credulity, which
the power and subtilty of their enemies could not
attain, that was, to divide the people from the
parliament, and to make them serviceable to the
ends and aims of those who would destroy them :
therefore they desired the kingdom to take notice
" of that last most desperate and mischievous plot
" of the malignant party, that was acted and pro-
" secuted in many parts of the kingdom, under
plausible notions of stirring them up to a care of
preserving the king s prerogative ; maintaining the
discipline of the church ; upholding and conti
nuing the reverence and solemnity of God s ser
vice; and m encouraging of learning: and, upon
those grounds, divers mutinous petitions had been
"framed in London, Kent, and other counties; and
" sundry of his majesty s subjects had been solicited
" to declare themselves for the king against the par-
" liament ; and many false and foul aspersions had
" been cast upon their proceedings, as if they had
" been not only negligent, but averse in those points ;
" whereas they desired nothing more, than to main-
" tain the purity and power of religion, and to ho-
" nour the king in all his just prerogatives ; and for
encouragement and advancement of piety and
learning, they had very earnestly endeavoured, and
" still did, to the utmost 11 of their power, that all
parishes might have learned, pious, and sufficient

1 a] such a m and] Not in MS. n utmost] uttermost

66
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486 THE HISTORY

BOOK " preachers, and all such preachers, competent liv-

! " ings.

" Many other bills and propositions , they said,
" were in preparation, for the king s profit and ho
nour, the people s safety and prosperity; in the
proceedings whereof, they were much hindered by
" his majesty s absence from the parliament ; which
" was altogether contrary to the use of his prede
cessors, and the privilege of parliament, whereby
their time was consumed by a multitude of un
necessary messages, and their innocency wounded
by causeless and sharp invectives ; yet they doubt-
" ed not but they should overcome all this at last,
" if the people suffer not themselves to be deluded
" with false and specious shows, and so drawn to
" betray them to their own undoing, who had ever
" been willing to hazard the undoing of themselves,
" that they might not be betrayed, by their neglect
" of the trust reposed in them : but if it were not?
" possible they should prevail herein, yet they would
" not fail, through God s grace, still to persist in
" their duties, and to look beyond their own lives,
" estates, and advantages, as those who think nothing
" worth the enjoying without the liberty, peace, and
" safety of the kingdom ; nor any thing too good
" to be hazarded in discharge of their 1 consciences,
" for the obtaining of it : and should always repose
" themselves upon the protection of Almighty God,
which, they were confident, should never be want
ing to them, (while they sought his glory,) as they
" had found it, hitherto, wonderfully going along
" with them, in all their proceedings."

and propositions] Not in P not] Not in MS.
MS. q their] our

66
66

OF THE REBELLION. 487

With this declaration they published the examin- BOOK
ations of Mr. Goring, Mr. Percy s letter to the earl

f^j

of Northumberland ; which were the great evidence } 642
they had of the plot of bringing up the army, to
awe the parliament; and several other letters and
depositions, or rather such parts of depositions, as
contributed most to their purpose. For the truth
is, as they never published, so much as to the houses
which were to judge, many depositions of witnesses,
whose testimonies, in a manner, vindicated the king
from those aspersions, which they had a mind should
stick upon him, (for many such there were,) so of
those which they did publish, they left out many
parts, which, being added, would either have ob
scured, or contradicted, or discredited much of that,
out of which they made the people believe much to
the king s disservice. And yet with all those ill
arts and omissions, I presume many, who without
passion do now read those depositions, (for they are
in all hands to be read,) do much marvel how such
conclusions could result to his majesty s disadvan
tage, out of the worst part of all that evidence ;
which could not naturally carry that sense to which
it was wrested.

About this time (which I shall mention before
the other declaration, because it intervened) there
happened an accident that gave them much trouble,
and the more, because unlocked for, by the lord
keeper s quitting them, and resorting to York, by
which the king got the possession of his own great
seal ; which by all parties was, at that time, thought
a most considerable advantage r . The king was very

r considerable advantage.] In ceding part of the History is
the MS. C. from which the pre- taken, the account of the lord

I i 4

488

THE HISTORY

BOOK much unsatisfied with the lord keeper Littleton;
who did not appear so useful for his service as he

1642.

keeper s going to the king is
thus continued: Of which I
must in justice say somewhat,
for the memory and honour of
the noble person who performed
that service ; whose modesty
made him suffer under a ground
less traducernent of being com
pelled by the confidence of a
bold and peremptory under
taker, to what in truth he
would not else have yielded
unto, and so lost much of that
reputation which was unques
tionably due to his own merit
and integrity. From his reco
very of a great sickness, (which
seized on him shortly after he
was preferred to that great
place, and which indeed robbed
him for ever of much of that
natural vigour and vivacity of
mind which he had formerly
enjoyed,) his compliance was so
great and so visible, not only
in not opposing that prevalent
sense of the house which was
prejudicial to the king, but in
concurring with it in his own
vote, very much against what
his friends thought was agree
able to his understanding, in
somuch as the potent and po
pular lords looked upon him as
their own : and the king was so
far unsatisfied with his carriage,
that once, after his majesty s
being at York, lie resolved to
take the great seal from him,
but was contented to be dis
suaded from that resolution,
partly from the difficulty, it be
ing probable that the attempt
would not have succeeded, by

vagant authority of the two
houses, partly that it was not
easy to make choice of another
fit for that trust, who was like
to be more faithful in it, the
terror of parliament having
humbled all men to a strange
compliance and submission ; but
especially that his majesty was
assured by some whom he
trusted, that the affection of
the lord Littleton was very en
tire to his service ; and his
compliance only artificial, to
preserve himself in a capacity
of serving him ; which was true.
Whilst this cloud hung over
him, one evening I visited him,
and speaking freely with him,
(as he always gave me great
encouragement to do, being
well assured I bore a just re
spect and kindness to him, and
well knowing I was not with
out some trust with his ma
jesty, and of most intimate
friendship with some that had
more,) I told him the censure
and hazard he ran by the nota
ble compliance and correspond
ence he had with that party,
which the king understood to
be factious against his just re
gal power ; of some votes in
which his lordship had parti
cularly concurred, which were
generally understood to be con
trary to law, in which his
knowledge was unquestionable;
mentioning to him a late vote
upon the militia, and some de
claration or message full of
disrespective language, which
had been not long before sent

the interposition of the extra- to the king ; in both which his

OF THE REBELLION.

489

expected, and, from the time of the accusing the BOOK
members, had lost all his vigour, and, instead of.

1642.

concurrence was notorious, and condition that the king shall
much spoken of. To the par- never be able to get it, when

t.

i i.

ticulars he answered by telling
me the story and circumstances
of the debate, and the manner
of his concurrence, which,
though it made the matter
more specious on his behalf
than was generally reported, he
well discerned gave me no sa
tisfaction in the main ; where
upon he said, " I will deal free-
" ly with you, and tell you my
heart; and if upon considera
tion you think the course I
take be not most advantage-
" ous to the king, I will do as
" I shall be advised." He then
told me the straits he was in ;
that the governing lords had
a terrible apprehension of the
king s sending for the great
seal, and that nothing but his
fair deportment towards them,
and seeming to be of their
mind, prevented their taking
the seal in their own custody ;
allowing it only to be with him
whilst he sat in the house and
in the court ; that they had
made some order to that pur
pose, if by his interest with
them he had not prevented it,
well knowing that it would
prove most fatal to the king ;
who, he foresaw, must be short
ly compelled to wish the great
seal with him for many rea
sons. Now, said he, let it be
considered, whether my voting
with them in such particulars,
which my not voting with them
cannot prevent, be of equal

it is most necessary for him,
which undoubtedly will be the
case, when, by my carriage and
opposition against them, the
confidence towards me shall be
lessened. To which he added,
that when he failed to serve
the king in an article of mo
ment, or to come to him when
he sent for him, he would be
worthily censured. The sub
stance of this discourse was not
long concealed from the king,
who shortly after (his occasions
requiring it) sent a gentleman
with a warrant to receive the
seal, and a very kind letter all
under the king s own hand to
the lord keeper, to require him
to make all possible haste to
him ; which message his lord
ship was so well prepared to
receive, and resolved to obey,
that he went purposely out of
the town to his house in the
country, fifteen miles out of
London, upon pretence to take
the air for his health, on Satur
day night, when the gentleman
employed in that errand came
to him, and received the seal
from him ; his lordship very
early on Sunday morning tak
ing another way on horseback ;
and arrix*ed safe at York with
his majesty the next day after
the gentleman had delivered
the seal to his majesty with
some expressions of his own
dexterity and courage in the
service, which had no other

prejudice to the king, with the ground than the confidence of
seal s being put into such a the relator, who, I presume,

490

THE HISTORY

B op K making any oppositions to any of their extravagant
debates, he had silently suffered all things to be

1642.

without malice to the person of
the lord keeper, thought only
of doing himself good, and
drawing such a reward, as
might be proportionable to the
merit of the work, according to
the account he gave of it ;
which report got the more cre
dit, by some indisposition and
visible dejectedness of the keeper
upon his coming to York, and
that the seal was not for a long
time redelivered to him, though
never used but in his presence,
but always kept in the king s
bed-chamber ; whereas the first
proceeded (besides that he was
never a good courtier) from the
habit of awe and terror which
he had contracted at Westmin
ster, and which he could not
speedily shake off, and so was
not without some hesitation in
the fixing the seal to some
proclamations, which were in a
higher dialect than had used to
pass his hand ; of which wari
ness his adversaries made use
to his prejudice ; and the other
was only, that the seal being in
so secure a place as the king s
own bed-chamber, no attempt
might be made by the treachery
of a friend, or the infidelity of
a servant, to carry it back to
London ; which no vigilance of
the keeper himself, in those
narrow accommodations all men
were supplied with there, could
probably have prevented. And
from this security, in no wise
intended as a reproach to the
keeper, his lordship had so

was talked of abroad as pro
ceeding from his majesty s dis
trust of the keeper) sent for
him, and would have delivered
it to him, assuring him that his
confidence was as great in him
as ever, the lord keeper be
sought his majesty, that he
would not expose him to so
much anxiety, as must accom
pany that charge, in the danger
and hazard of a march, when it
was not possible for any care
of his to prevent the possibility
of its being stolen, or forced
from him ; but that it might
be continued in the same safety
under his majesty s own care,
till he were fixed in such a
place, as he might be reason
ably responsible for it ; and so
when his majesty was settled
in Oxford, where the lord keeper
had convenient accommodation
of lodgings, the seal was rede-
livered to him, and remained
in his hands till his death. As
soon as it was known to the
two houses that the lord keeper
was gone to the king, that is,
on Monday morning, the 23d
of May, the lords in great fury
made this following order ; " It
" is this day ordered by the
" lords in parliament, that the
" gentleman usher attending
" this house, or his deputy,
" shall forthwith take into cus-
" tody the right honourable
" Edward lord Littleton, and
" bring him and the great seal
" of England (if it be in his
" custody) before the lords in

great ease and quiet, that when " parliament." Which order was
the king (understanding that it directed to the gentleman usher

OF THE REBELLION. 491

carried; and had not only declined the performing BOOK
the office the king had enjoined him, with reference

t^j v

to the earls of Essex and Holland, (before men
tioned,) but very much complied with and courted
that party of both houses, which frequently resorted
to him ; and of late in a question, which had been
put in the house of peers, in the point of the militia,
he had given his vote both against the king and
the law, to the infinite offence and scandal of all
those who adhered to the king.

He was a man of great reputation in the profes
sion of the law ; for learning, and all other advan
tages, which attend the most eminent men ; he was
of a very good extraction in Shropshire, and inhe
rited a fair fortune, and inheritance from his father ;
he was a handsome and a proper man, of a very
graceful presence, and notorious for courage, which,
in his youth, he had manifested with his sword ; he
had taken great pains in the hardest and most
knotty part s of the law, as well as that which was
more customary ; and was not only very ready and
expert in the books, but exceedingly versed in re
cords, in studying and examining whereof, he had
kept Mr. Selden company, with whom he had great
friendship, and who had much assisted him ; so that
he was looked upon the best t antiquary of the pro
fession, who gave himself up to practice ; and, upon

attending the house, or his de- was, for the apprehension of a
puty, and to all mayors, jus- lord keeper of the great seal of
tices of the peace, sheriffs, and England, who, according to the
others his majesty s officers, to trust reposed in him, was gone
be aiding and assisting to the to wait upon the king his mas-
said gentleman usher and his ter. All which circumstances,
deputy ; which was a strange &c. as in page 503, line 27.
warrant to be sent about the s part] parts
country, as this very carefully * the best] as the best

492 THE HISTORY

BOOK the mere strength of his own abilities, he had raised
himself into the first rank of the practisers in the

J642. common law courts, and was chosen recorder of
London before he was called to the bench, and grew
presently into the highest practice in all the other
courts, as well as those of the law. When the king
looked more narrowly into his business, and found
that he should have much to do in Westminster-
hall, he removed an old, useless, illiterate person,
who had been put into that office by the favour of
the duke of Buckingham, and made Littleton his
solicitor general, much to his honour, but not to his
profit ; the obligation of attendance upon that office
depriving him of much benefit he used to acquire
by his practice, before he had that relation. Upon
the death of my u lord Coventry, Finch w being made
keeper, he was made chief justice of the common
pleas, then the best office of the law, and that which
he was wont to say, in his highest ambition, in his
own private wishes, he had most desired; and it
was indeed the sphere in which he moved most
gracefully, and with most advantage, being a master
of all that learning and knowledge, which that place
required, and an excellent judge, of great gravity,
and above all suspicion of corruption.

Whilst he held this place, he was by the favour
of the archbishop of Canterbury, and the earl of
Strafford, who had a great esteem of him, recom
mended to the king to be called to the council table,
where he kept up his good name ; and, upon the
lord Finch s leaving the kingdom, in the beginning
of the parliament, he was thought, in many respects,

11 my] the w Finch] and Finch.

OF THE REBELLION. 493

to be the fittest to be intrusted in that office; and, BOOK
upon the desire of the earl of Straff ord, after he was v ~

in the Tower, was created a baron, out of expecta- 1642.
tion that, by his authority and knowledge of the
law, he would have been of great use in restraining
those extraordinary and unwarrantable proceedings :
but, from the time he had the great seal, he seemed
to be out of his element, and in some perplexity
and irresolution in the chancery itself, though he
had great experience in the practice and proceed
ings of that court; and made not that despatch,
that was expected, at the council table ; and in the
parliament he did not preserve any dignity; and
appeared so totally dispirited, that few men shewed
any respect to him, but they who most opposed the
king, who indeed did exceedingly apply themselves
to him, and were with equal kindness received by
him. This wonderful alteration in him, his friends
believed to have proceeded from a great sickness,
which had seized upon him quickly x after he was
created a baron, insomuch as every man believed he
would die ; and by this means, he did not attend
the house in some months ; and so performed none
of those offices toward the earl of StrafFord, the ex
pectation whereof had been the sole motive to that
promotion : from that time he never did appear the
same man ; but sure there were other causes for it,
and he was possessed with some melancholy appre
hensions, which he could not master, and had no
friend to whom he durst entirely communicate
them y.

Mr. Hyde, one of those 2 who was most trusted

x quickly] very soon z Mr. Hyde, one of those]

y them] Not in MS. Thus originally in MS. : Mr.

494 THE HISTORY

BOOK by the king in the house of commons, and had al-
v

ways had a great respect for the keeper, was as

1 642. much troubled at his behaviour, as any man ; and
using frequently to go to him, went upon that occa
sion ; and with great freedom and plainness told
him, " how much he had lost the esteem of all good
" men, and that the king could not but be exceed-
" ingly dissatisfied with him ;" and discoursed over
the matter of that vote. Though he did not know,
that the king did at that time put so great a secret
trust in Mr. Hyde, yet he knew very a well, that
the king had a very good opinion of him, and had
heard his majesty often, from the beginning of the
parliament, when the discourse happened to be of
the lawyers of the house, take an b occasion from
thence to mention Mr. Hyde, as a man of whom he
heard very well ; which the keeper had many times
taken notice of to him : and then he knew the
friendship that was between the lord Falkland and
Mr. Hyde, c and had heard the many jealousies
which were contracted, upon the great commtimca-

Hyde had always borne a great from other men, or that could

respect to him, and had endea- appear so little acquainted with

voured to introduce a familiar- the common affairs of the

ity and conversation between world, or the nature of man-

him and the lord Falkland, and kind : and his concurrence in

sir Jo. Culpepper, from the time that vote of the militia (which

of their coming to the board, was touched before) took away

and carried them to dinner to all reverence towards him from

him ; which he embraced with those two noble persons, inso-

great inclination : but it can much as they thought it not

hardly be imagined that a gen- safe to trust him with any free

tleman who had always con- discourse : Mr. Hyde was as

versed with the best men, and much troubled, as above, line 2.

had had so great experience in a very] Not in MS.

business, could be so unskilful b an] Not in MS.

and ungracious in drawing a c Mr. Hyde,] him,
value and estimation of himself

OF THE REBELLION. 495

tion he had with the two new counsellors; and so BOOK

no doubt believed, that he knew much of the king s v

mind. So that d as soon as he had entered upon

this discourse, which he heard with all attention,

(they being by themselves in his study at Exeter

house,) he rose from his chair, and went to the

door ; and finding some persons in the next room,

he bade them to withdraw ; and e locking both the

door of that room, and of his study, he sat down

himself, and making Mr. Hyde sit down too, f he

begun s " with giving him many thanks for his

" friendship to him, which, he said, he had ever

" esteemed, and he could not more manifest the

" esteem he had of it and him, than by using that

" freedom again with him, which he meant to do.

" Then he lamented his own condition ; and that

" he had been preferred from the common pleas,

" where he knew both the business and the persons

" he had to deal with, to the other high office he

" now held, which obliged him to converse and

" transact with another sort of men, who were not

" known to him, and in affairs which he understood

" not, and had not one friend among h them, with

" whom he could confer upon any doubt which oc-

" curred to him."

He spoke i then of the unhappy state and condi
tion of the king s business ; how much he had been,
and was still, betrayed by persons who were about
him ; and with all possible indignation against the
proceedings of the parliament ; and said, " they

d So that] And so s begun] began

L> and] and so h among] amongst

f sit down too,] sit down in spoke] spake
another chair,

(6
(S

496 . THE HISTORY

BOOK " would never do this, if they were not resolved to
I " do more: that he knew the king too well, and
" observed the carriage of particular men too much,
" and the whole current of public transactions these
" last five or six months, not to foresee that it could
" not be long before there would be a war between
" the king and the two houses ; and of the import
ance, in that season, that the great seal should be
with the king." Then he fell into many expres
sions of his duty and affection to the king s person,
as well as to his high degree : and " that no man
" should be more ready to perish with and for his
" majesty, than he would be ; that the prospect he
" had of this necessity had made him carry himself
" towards that party with so much compliance, that
" he might be gracious with them, at least, that
" they might have no distrust of him ; which, he
" knew, many had endeavoured to infuse into them ;
" and that there had been a consultation within few
" days, whether, in regard he might be sent for by
" the king, or that the seal might be taken from
" him, it would not be best to appoint the seal to
be kept in some such secure place, as that there
might be no danger of losing it ; and that the
keeper should always receive it, for the execution
of his office ; they having no purpose to disoblige
him. And the knowledge he had of this consult
ation, and fear he had of the execution of it, had
66 been the reason, why, in the late debate upon the
" militia, he had given his vote in such a manner,
" as, he knew, would make very ill impressions with
" the king, and many others who did not know him
" very well ; but that, if he had not, in that point,
" submitted to their opinion, the seal had been

6t
(6

a
ce
ec

(C

OF THE REBELLION. 497

" taken from him that night ; whereas by this com- BOOK
" pliance in that vote, which could only prejudice

6(

tt

a
a

" himself, and not the king, he had gotten so much
into their confidence,, that he should be able to
preserve the seal in his own hands, till the king
required it ; and then he would be as ready to at-
" tend k his majesty with it."

Mr. Hyde was very well pleased with this dis
course ; and asked him, " whether he would give
" him leave, when there should be a fit occasion, ]
to assure the king, that he would perform this
service, when the king should require it?" He
desired, " that he would do so, and pass his word
" for the performance of it, as soon as his majesty
" pleased :" and so they parted.

It was within very few days after, that the king,
exceedingly displeased and provoked with the keep
er s behaviour, sent an order to the lord Falkland,
" to require the seal from him ;" in which the king
was very positive, though he was not resolved to
what hand to commit it. His majesty wished them
(for he always included the other two in such refer
ences) to consider, " whether he should give it to
" the lord chief justice Banks," (against whom he
made some objection himself,) " or into the hands of
" Mr. Selden ; and to send their opinions m to him."
The order was positive for 11 requiring it from the
present officer, but they knew not who to advise
for a successor. The lord chief justice P Banks ap
peared to be as much afraid, as the other ; and not

k attend] attend upon n for] for the

1 occasion,] occasion that re- who] how

quired it, P chief justice] Not in MS.
m opinions] opinion

VOL, II. K k

498 THE HISTORY

BOOK thought equal to that charge, in a time of so much

disorder ; though, otherwise, he was a man of great

42> abilities, and unblemished integrity : they did not
doubt of Mr. Selden s affection to the king, but
withal they knew him so well, that they concluded
he would absolutely refuse the place, if it were of
fered to him. He was in years, and of a tender
constitution; he had for many years enjoyed his
ease, which he loved; was rich; and would not
have made a journey to York, or have lain out of
his own bed, for any preferment; which he had
never affected.

Being all three <* of one mind, that it would not
be fit to offer it to the one or the other ; hereupon
Mr. Hyde told them the conference he had r with
the keeper, and the professions he had made ; and
was very confident, that he would very punctually
perform it ; and therefore proposed, that " they
" might, with their opinions of the other persons,
" likewise advise his majesty to suspend his resolu-
" tion concerning the lord keeper, and rather to
" write kindly to him, to bring the seal to his ma-
" jesty, instead of sending for the seal itself, and
"cast 8 him off;" and offered to venture his own
credit with the king, that the keeper would com
ply* with his majesty s commands. 11 Neither of
them were of his opinion ; and had both no esteem
of the keeper, nor believed that he would go to his
majesty, if he were sent for, but that he would find
some trick to excuse himself; and therefore were

<> three] the three ply] upon the keeper s comply-

r he had] he had had ing

s and cast] and to cast u commands.] command.

1 that the keeper would com-

ee
a
a

OF THE REBELLION. 499

not willing, that Mr. Hyde should venture his repu- BOOK

tation upon it. He desired them then " to consider !

" how absolutely necessary it was, that the king
" should first resolve into what hand to put the
" seal, before he removed it ; for that it could not
" be unemployed one hour, but that the whole jus-
" tice of the kingdom would be out of order, and
" draw a greater and a juster clamour than had
" been yet : that there was as much care to be
" taken, that it should not be in the power of any
" man to refuse it, which would be yet more preju-
" dicial to his majesty. He desired them above all,
" to weigh well, that the business consisted only in
" having the great seal in the place, where his ma
jesty resolved to be; and if the keeper would
keep his promise, and desired to serve x the king,
it would be unquestionably the best way, that he
" and the seal were both there : if, on the other
" side, he were not an honest man, and cared not
" for offending the king, he would then refuse to
" deliver it ; and inform the lords of it ; who would
" justify him for his disobedience, and reward and
" cherish him ; and he must then hereafter serve
" their turn ; the mischief whereof would be greater
" than could be easily imagined : and his majesty s
" own y great seal should be every day used against
" him, nor would it be possible in many months to
" procure a new one to be made."

These objections appeared of weight to them ;
and they resolved to give an account of the whole
to the king, and to expect his order : and both the
lord Falkland and Mr. Hyde writ to his majesty,

x to serve] to serve and please y his majesty s own] his own

K k 2t

500 THE HISTORY

BOOK and sent their letters away that very night. The
king was satisfied with the reasons, and was very

1 642. gj ac [ faofc M r fjyde was so confident of the keeper ;
though, he said, he remained still in doubt ; and re
solved, " that he would, such a day of the week
" following, send for the keeper, and the seal ;" and
that it should be, as had been advised, upon a Sa
turday afternoon, as soon as the house of lords
should rise ; because then no notice could be taken
of it till Monday. Mr. Hyde, who had continued
to see the keeper frequently, and was confirmed in
his confidence of his integrity, went now to him ;
and finding him firm to his resolution, and of opi
nion, z in regard of the high proceedings of the
houses, that it should not be long deferred ; he told
him, " that he might expect a messenger the next
" week, and that he should once more see him,
" when he would tell him the day ; and that he
" would then go himself away before him to York ;"
with which he was much pleased, and it was agreed
between the three, that it was now time, that he
should be gone (the king having sent for him some
time before) after a day or two ; in which time the
declaration of the nineteenth of May would be
passed.

On the Saturday following, between two and
three of the clock in the afternoon, Mr. Elliot, a
groom of the bedchamber to the prince, came to the
keeper, and found him alone in the room where he
used to sit, and delivered him a letter from the king
in his own hand; wherein he required him, with
many expressions of kindness and esteem, " to make

2 of opinion,] of the opinion,

OF THE REBELLION. 501

" haste to him ; and if his indisposition" (for he was BOOK

often troubled with gravel and sharpness of urine) !

" would not suffer him to make such haste upon
" the journey, as the occasion required, that he
" should deliver the seal to the person who gave
" him the letter ; who, being a strong young man,
" would make such haste as was necessary ; and
" that he might make his own journey, by those
" degrees which his health required." The keeper
was surprised with the messenger, whom he did not
like ; and more when he found that he knew the
contents of the letter, which, he hoped, would not
have been communicated to any man who should
be sent : he answered him with much reservation ;
and when the other with bluntness, as he was no
polite man, demanded the seal of him, which he
had not thought of putting out of his own hands ;
he answered him, " that he would not deliver it
" into any hands, but the king s :" but presently re
collecting himself, and looking over his letter again,
he quickly considered, that it would be hazardous
to carry the seal himself such a journey ; and that
if by any pursuit of him, which he could not but
suspect, he should be seized upon, the king would
be very unhappily disappointed of the seal, which
he had reason so much to depend upon ; and that
his misfortune would be wholly imputed to his own
fault and infidelity, (which, without doubt, he ab
horred with his heart ;) and the only way to pre
vent that mischief, or to appear innocent under it,
was to deliver the seal to the person trusted by the
king himself to receive it ; and so, without telling
him any thing of his own purpose, he delivered the

K k 3

502 THE HISTORY

BOOK seal into his hands ; who a forthwith put himself on

his horse, and with wonderful expedition presented

42 * the great seal into his majesty s own hands, who was
infinitely pleased with it, and with the messenger.

The keeper, that evening, pretended to be indis
posed, and that he would take his rest early, and
therefore that nobody should be admitted to speak
with him : and then he called sergeant Lee to him,
who was the sergeant who waited upon the seal, and
in whom he had great confidence, as he well might ;
and told him freely, " that he was resolved, the next
" morning, to go to the king, who had sent for him ;
" that he knew well how much malice he should
" contract by it from the parliament, which would
" use all the means they could to apprehend him ;
and he himself knew not how he should perform
the journey, therefore he put himself entirely into
t( his hands ; that he should cause his horses to be
" ready against the next morning, and only his own
" groom to attend them, and he to guide the best
way, and that he would not impart it to any other
person." The honest sergeant was very glad of
the resolution, and cheerfully undertook all things
for the journey ; and so sending the horses out of
the town, the keeper put himself in his coach very
early the next morning, and as soon as they were
out of the town, he and the sergeant, and one groom,
took their horses, and made so great a journey that
day, it being about the beginning of June, that be
fore the end of the third day he kissed the king s
hand b at York.

He had purposely procured the house of peers to

a who] and he b hand] hands

66
66

(6
66

OF THE REBELLION. 503

be adjourned to a later hour in the morning for BOOK

Monday, than it used to be. Sunday passed with .

out any man s taking notice of the keeper s being
absent ; and many, who knew that he was not at his
house, thought he had been gone to Cranford, to c
his country house, whither he frequently went on
Saturday nights, and was early enough at the par
liament on d Monday mornings ; and so the lords the
more willingly consented to the later adjournments
for those days. But on Monday morning, when it
was known when, and in what manner, he had left
his house, the confusion in both houses was very
great; and they who had thought that their in
terest was so great in him, that they knew all his
thoughts, and had valued themselves, and were va
lued by others, upon that account, hung down their
heads, and were even distracted with shame : how
ever they could not but conclude, that he was out of
their reach before the lords met ; yet to shew their
indignation against him, and it may be in hope that
his infirmities would detain him long in the journey,
(as nobody indeed thought that he could have per
formed it with that expedition,) they issued out such
a warrant for the apprehending him, as had been in
the case of the foulest felon or murderer ; and print
ed it, and caused it to be dispersed, by expresses,
over all the kingdom, with great haste. All which
circumstances, both before and after the keeper s
journey to York, are the more particularly and at
large set down, out of justice to the memory of that
noble person ; whose honour suffered then much in
the opinion of many, by the confident report of the

c to] Not in MS. d on] on the

Kk 4

504 THE HISTORY

BOOK person, who was sent for and received the seal, and
who was a loud and bold 6 talker, and desired to have

42 it believed, that his manhood had ravished the great
seal from the keeper, even in spite of his teeth ;
which, how impossible soever in itself, found too
much credit ; and is therefore cleared by this very
true and punctual relation, which in truth is but due
to him.

But the trouble and distraction, which at this
time possessed them, was visibly very great ; and
their dejection such, that the same day the earl f of
Northumberland (who had been of another temper)
moved, " that a committee might be appointed, to
" consider how there might be an accommodation
" between the king and his people, for the good,
" happiness, and safety of both king and kingdom ;"
which committee was appointed accordingly.

This temper of accommodation troubled them not
long, new warmth and vigour being quickly infused
into them by the unbroken ands undaunted spirits
of the house of commons ; which, to shew how little
they valued the power or authority of the king,
though supported by having now his great seal by
him, on the twenty-sixth of May agreed on a new
remonstrance to the people ; in which, the lords con
curring, they informed them,
The two " That although the great affairs of the kingdom,

y ^"^ ^"^

remon- " an d the miserable bleeding condition of the king-
strance, Qm Q f j re j an( j afforded them little leisure to spend

May 26,

1642. " their time in declarations, and in answers, and re
plies, yet the malignant party about his majesty
taking all occasions to multiply calumnies upon

e bold] a bold f the earl] the lord s and] or

t6
it

OF THE REBELLION. 505

" the houses of parliament, and to publish sharp in- BOOK
" vectives, under his majesty s name, against them,

(6
(t
tt
(t
66
66
66

" and their proceedings, (a new engine they had in-
" vented to heighten the distractions of this king
dom, and to beget and increase distrust and dis
affection between the king, and his parliament,
and the people,) they could not be so much want
ing to their own innocency, or to the duty of their
trust, as not to clear themselves from those false
aspersions, and (which was their chiefest care) to
disabuse the people s minds, and open their eyes,
" that, under the false shows, and pretexts of the
" law of the land, and of their own rights and li-
" berties, they may not be carried into the road
" way, that leadeth to the utter ruin and subver-
" sion thereof. A late occasion that those wicked
spirits of division had taken to defame, and in
deed to arraign the proceedings of both houses
of parliament, had been from their votes of the
twenty-eighth of April, and their declaration con
cerning the business of Hull, which because they
put forth, before they could send their answer con
cerning that matter unto his majesty, those mis-
" chievous instruments of dissension, between the
" king, and the parliament, and the people, whose
chief labour and study was to misrepresent their
actions to his majesty, and to the kingdom, would
" needs interpret this as an appeal to the people, and
" a declining of all intercourse between his majesty
" and them ; as if they thought it to no purpose, to
" endeavour any more to give his majesty satisfac
tion ; and, without expecting any longer their an
swer, under the name of a message from his ma
jesty to both houses, they themselves had indeed

..

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506 THE HISTORY

BOOK " made an appeal to the people, as the message itself
" did in a manner grant it to be, offering to join

1642. 66

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thereof did clearly shew itself to be no other ;
therefore they would likewise address their an
swer to the kingdom, not by way of appeal, (as
" they were charged,) but to prevent them from be-
" ing their own executioners, and from being per-
" suaded under false colours of defending the law,
" and their own liberties, to destroy both with their
own hands, by taking their lives, liberties, and
estates out of their hands, whom they had chosen,
" and intrusted therewith, and resigning them up
unto some evil counsellors, about his majesty, who
could lay no other foundation of their own great
ness, but upon the ruin of this, and, in it, of all
parliaments ; and, in them, of the true religion,
and the freedom of this nation. And these, they
" said, were the men that would persuade the peo-
" pie, that both houses of parliament, containing all
" the peers, and representing all the commons of
England, would destroy the laws of the land, and
liberties of the people ; wherein, besides the trust
of the whole, they themselves, in their own parti
culars, had so great an interest of honour and es
tate, that they hoped it would gain little credit
with any, that had the least use of reason, that
such, as must have so great a share in the misery,
should take so much pains in the procuring there-
" of; and spend so much time, and run so many
" hazards to make themselves slaves, and to destroy
" the property of their estates. But that they might
" give particular satisfaction to the several imputa-
" tions cast upon them, they would take them in

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OF THE REBELLION. 507

" order, as they were laid upon them in that mes- BOOK

V

" sage.

" First, they were charged for the avowing that
" act of sir John Hotham ; which was termed un-
" paralleled, and an high and unheard of affront
" unto his majesty, and as if they needed not to
" have done it ; he being able, as was alleged, to
produce no such command of the houses of par
liament. They said, although sir John Hotham
" had not an order, that did express every circum
stance of that case, yet he might have produced
an order of both houses, which did comprehend
this case, not only in the clear intention, but in
the very words thereof; which they knowing in
" their consciences to be so, and to be most neces-
" sary for the safety of the kingdom, they could not
but in honour and justice avow that act of his ;
which, they were confident, would appear to all
the world to be so far from being an affront to
the king, that it would be found to have been an
act of great loyalty to his majesty, and to his king
dom.

" The next charge upon them was, that, instead
of giving his majesty satisfaction, they published
a declaration concerning that business, as an ap-
" peal to the people, and as if their intercourse with
" his majesty, and for his satisfaction, were now to
" no more purpose ; which course was alleged to
be very unagreeable to the modesty and duty of
former times, and not warrantable by any pre
cedents, but what themselves had made. They
said, if the penner of that message had expected
awhile, or had not expected that two houses of
parliament (especially burdened, as they were at

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..

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"
"
"
"

"

"
"
"
"
"

508 THE HISTORY

BOOK " that time, with so many pressing and urgent af-
- - " fairs) should have moved as fast as himself, he
" would not have said, that declaration was instead
" of an answer to his majesty ; which they did des-
" patch with all the speed and diligence they could,
and had sent it to his majesty by a committee of
" both houses ; whereby it appeared, that they did
it not upon that ground, that they thought it was
no more to any purpose, to endeavour to give his
majesty satisfaction.

And as for the duty and modesty of former
times, from which they were said to have varied,
and to want the warrant of any precedents there-
in, but what themselves had made : if they had
made any precedents this parliament, they had
" made them for posterity, upon the same, or better
" grounds of reason and law, than those were upon,
which their predecessors first made for them : and
as some precedents ought not to be rules for them
" to follow, so none could be limits to bound their
" proceedings ; which might and must vary, accord-
ing to the different condition of times. And for
that particular, of setting forth declarations for
" the satisfaction of the people, who had chosen, and
" intrusted them with all that was dearest to them :
" if there were no example for it, it was because
" there were never any monsters 11 before, that ever
" attempted to disaffect the people from a paiiia-
" ment, or could ever harbour a thought that it
might be effected. Were there ever such prac
tices to poison the people with an ill apprehension
of the parliament ? Were there ever such imputa-

h any monsters] any such monsters

"
"

"
"

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OF THE REBELLION. 509

" tions and scandals laid upon the proceedings of BOOK
"both houses? Were there ever so many and so v>

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" great breaches of 1 privilege of parliament ? Were
" there ever so many and so desperate designs of
" force and violence against the parliament, and the
" members thereof? If they had done more than
" ever their ancestors had done, they said, they had
" suffered more than ever they had suffered ; and
" yet, in point of modesty and duty, they would not
" yield to the best of former times ; and they would
put that in issue, whether the highest and most
unwarrantable precedents of any of his majesty s
predecessors did not fall short, and much below,
" what had been done to them this parliament ?
" And, on the other side, whether, if they should
make the highest precedents of other parliaments
their patterns, there would be cause to complain
of want of modesty and duty in them ; when they
" had not so much as suffered such things to enter
into their thoughts, which all the world knew they
put k in act ?

Another charge which was laid very high upon
" them, and which were indeed a very great crime if
" they were found guilty thereof, was, that, by avow
ing that act of sir John Hotham, they did, in con
sequence, confound and destroy the title and in-
" terest of all his majesty s good subjects to their
" lands and goods ; and that upon this ground ; that
" his majesty had the same title to his town of Hull,
" which any of his subjects had to their houses or
" lands, and the same to his magazine and munition
" there, that any man had to his money, plate, or

1 of] of the k they put] they had put

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510 THE HISTORY

BOOK jewels : and, therefore, that they ought not to have

" been disposed of, without or against his consent,

" no more than the house, land, money, plate, or
jewels, of any subject ought to be, without or
against his will.

Here, they said, that was laid down for a prin
ciple, which would indeed pull up the very founda
tion of the liberty, property, and interest of every
" subject in particular, and of all the subjects in ge
neral, if they should admit it for a truth, that his
majesty had the same right and title to his towns,
" and to his magazines, (bought with the public
monies, as they conceived that at Hull to have
" been,) that every particular man hath to his house,
" lands, and goods. For his majesty s towns were
no more his own, than his kingdom was his own ;
and his kingdom was no more his own, than his
people are his own ; and if the king had a pro
perty in all his towns, what would become of the
subjects propriety 1 in their houses therein? and
" if he had a propriety 111 in his kingdom, what would
" become of the subjects property in their lands
" throughout the kingdom ? or of their liberties, if
" his majesty had the same right in their persons,
that every subject hath in his lands and goods ?
and what would become of all the subjects in
terests in the towns and forts of the kingdom, and
in the kingdom itself, if his majesty might sell, or
give them away, or dispose of them at his plea
sure, as a particular man might do with his lands
" and with his goods ? This erroneous maxim being
" infused into princes, that their kingdoms are their

1 propriety] property m propriety] property

(6
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OF THE REBELLION. 511

" own, and that they may do with them what they BOOK
" will, as if their kingdoms were for them, and not

(t
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CS
((

cc

a

they for their kingdoms, was, they said, the root
" of all the subjects misery, and of the invading
" of their just rights and liberties ; whereas, indeed,
" they are only intrusted with their kingdoms, and
" with their towns, and with their people, and with
the public treasure of the commonwealth, and
whatsoever is bought therewith ; and, by the
" known law of this kingdom, the very jewels of the
" crown are not the king s proper goods, but are
" only intrusted to him for the use and ornament
61 thereof: as the towns, forts, treasure, magazines,
offices, and the people of the kingdom, and the
whole kingdom itself is intrusted unto him, for the
" good, and safety, and best advantage thereof : and
as this trust is for the use of the kingdom, so ought
it to be managed by the advice n of the houses of
" parliament, whom the kingdom hath trusted for
" that purpose ; it being their duty to see it dis-
" charged according to the condition and true intent
" thereof; and as much as in them lies, by all possi-
" ble means, to prevent the contrary ; which, if it had
" been their chief care, and only aim, in the dispos-
" ing of the town and magazine of Hull in such man
ner as they had done, they hoped it would appear
clearly to all the world, that they had discharged
" their own trust, and not invaded that of his ma-
" jesty, much less his property ; which, in that case,
" they could not do.

" But admitting his majesty had indeed P a pro-
" perty in the town and magazine of Hull ; who

n advice] advices P had indeed] had indeed had

majesty,] majesty s,

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512 THE HISTORY

BOOK " doubted but that a parliament may dispose of any

! " thing, wherein his majesty, or any subject, hath a

42. 66 r ight ? in such a way, as that the kingdom may not
" be exposed to hazard or danger thereby? which
was their case, in the disposing of the town and
magazine of Hull. And whereas his majesty did
" allow this, and a greater power to a parliament,
< but in that sense only, as he himself was a part
thereof; they appealed to every man s conscience,
that had observed their proceedings, whether they
disjoined his majesty from his parliament, who had
in all humble ways sought his concurrence with
them, as in that particular about Hull, and for the
" removal of the magazine there, so also in all other
" things ; or whether those evil councils about him
" had not separated him from his parliament ; not
" only in distance of place, but also in the discharge
" of the joint trust with them, for the peace and
" safety of the kingdom in that, and some other par-
" ticulars.

" They had given no occasion to his majesty, they
" said, to declare with so much earnestness his reso-
" lution, that he would not suffer either, or both
houses by their votes, without or against his con
sent, to enjoin any thing that was forbidden by the
law, or to forbid any thing that was enjoined by
the law ; for their votes had done no such thing :
" and as they should be very tender of the law, (which
they did acknowledge to be the safeguard and cus
tody of all public and private interests,) so they
" would never allow a few private persons about the
" king, nor his majesty himself in his own person,
and out of his courts, to be judge of the law, and
that contrary to the judgment of the highest court

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OF THE REBELLION. 515

" of judicature. In like manner, that his majesty BOOK
had not refused to consent to any thing, that might
be for the peace and happiness of the kingdom,
they could not admit it in any other sense, but as
his majesty taketh the measure of what will be for
the peace and happiness of his kingdom, from some
" few ill affected persons about him, contrary to the
" advice and judgment of his great council of parlia-
" ment. And because the advice of both houses of
" parliament had, through the suggestion <i of evil
" counsellors, been so much undervalued of late, and
" so absolutely rejected and refused, they said, they
" held it fit to declare unto the kingdom, whose ho-
" nour and interest was so much concerned in it,
" what was the privilege of the great council of par-
" liament herein ; and what was the obligation that
lay upon the kings of this realm, to pass such bills,
as are offered to them by both houses of parliament,
in the name, and for the good, of the whole king-
" dom, whereunto they stand engaged, both in con
science and justice, 1 " to give their royal assent : in
conscience, in regard of the oath, that is or ought
to be taken by the kings of this realm at their co
ronation, as well to confirm by their royal assent
" such good laws, as the people shall choose, and to
remedy by law such inconveniences, as the king
dom may suffer ; as to keep and protect the laws
already in being ; as may appear both by the form
" of the oath upon record, and in books of good au-
" thority, and by the statute of the 25 of Edward III.
" entitled, the Statute of Provisors of Benefices ; the

i suggestion] suggestions r justice,] in justice,

VOL. II. L 1

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514 THE HISTORY

BOOK " form of which oath, and the clause of the statute

v.

" that concerneth it, are as followeth :

1642.

Rot. Parliament. H. IV. N. 17.

Forma juramenti soliti, et consueti prcestari
per reges Anglice in eorum coronatione.

Servabis ecclesiae Dei, cleroque, et populo,pacem ex
integro, et concordiam in Deo, secundum vires tuas ?

Respondebit, Servabo.

Facies fieri in omnibus judiciis tuis aequam, et rec-
tam justitiam, et discretionem in misericordia et ve-
ritate, secundum vires tuas ?

Respondent, Faciam.

Concedis justas leges, et consuetudines esse te-
nendas ; et promittis per te eas esse protegendas, et
ad honorem Dei corroborandas, quas vulgus elegerit,
secundum vires tuas ?

Respondebit, Concede et promitto.

Adjicianturque praedictis interrogationibus quae
justa fuerint, praenunciatisque omnibus, confirmet
rex se omnia servaturum, sacramento super altare
praestito, coram cunctis.

A clause in the preamble of a statute made the
25 Edw. III. entitled, the Statute of Promisors of
Benefices.

Whereupon the said commons have prayed our
said lord the king, that sith the right of the crown
of England, and the law of the said realm is such,

OF THE REBELLION. 515

that upon the mischiefs and damages, which happen BOOK

to this realm, he ought, and is bound by his oath,

with the accord of his people in his parliament, there
of to make remedy and law, and in removing the
mischiefs and damages which thereof ensue, that it
may please him thereupon to ordain remedy.

Our lord the king seeing the mischiefs and da
mages before mentioned, and having regard to the
statute made in the time of his said grandfather, and
to the causes contained in the same, which statute
holdeth always his force, and was never defeated, re
pealed, or s annulled in any point, and by so much he
is bound t by his oath to cause the same to be kept as
the law of his realm, though that, by sufferance and
negligence, it hath been sithence attempted to the
contrary : also having regard to the grievous com
plaints made to him by his people, in divers his par
liaments holden heretofore, willing to ordain remedy
for the great damages and mischiefs, which have hap
pened, and daily do happen, to the church of Eng
land by the said cause :

" Here, they sa^ d, the lords and commons claim it
" directly as the right of the crown of England, and
" of the law of the land, and that the king is bound
" by his oath, with the accord of his people in par-
" liament, to make remedy, and law, upon the mis-
" chiefs and damages, which happen to this realm ;
" and the king doth not deny it, although he take
" occasion from a statute formerly made by his grand-
" father, which was laid as part of the grounds of
" this petition, to fix his answer upon another branch
" of his oath, and pretermits that which is claimed

8 or] nor * bound] bounden

L 1 2

516 THE HISTORY

BOOK "by the lords and commons; which he would not
" have done, if it might have been excepted against.

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1642 T It

In justice, they said, they are obliged thereunto,
" in respect of the trust reposed in them ; which is
" as well to preserve the kingdom by the making new
" laws, where there shall be need, as by observing of
" laws already made ; a kingdom being, many times,
" as much exposed to ruin for the want of a new law,
as by the violation of those that are in being : and
this is so clear a right, that, no doubt, his majesty
would acknowledge it to be as due to his people, as
his protection. But how far forth he was obliged
" to follow the judgment of his parliament therein,
" that is the question. And certainly, besides the
words in the king s oath, referring unto such laws
as the people shall choose, as in such things which
concern the public weal and good of the kingdom,
they are the most proper judges, who are sent from
the whole kingdom for that very purpose ; so they
" did not find, that since laws have passed by way of
" bills, (which are read thrice in both houses, and
" committed; and every part and circumstance of
" them fully weighed, and debated upon the commit-
" ment, and afterwards passed in both houses,) that
" ever the kings of this realm did deny them, other-
" wise than is expressed in that usual answer, Le roy
ivisera;* which signifies rather a suspension, than
a refusal of the royal assent. And in those other
" laws, which are framed by way of petitions of right,
" the houses of parliament have taken themselves to
" be so far judges of the right claimed by them, that
" when the king s answer hath not, in every point,

u Le roy s avisera ;] Le roy favisera ;

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"

a

OF THE REBELLION. 517

" been fully according to their desires, x they have BOOK

still insisted upon their claim, and never rested L_

satisfied, till such time as they had an answer ac
cording to their demand ; as had been done in the
" late Petition of Right, and in former times upon
" the like occasion. And if the parliament be judge
" between the king and his people in the question
" of right, (as by the manner in the claim in peti-
" tions of right, and by judgments in parliament, in
" cases of illegal impositions and taxes, and the
" like, it appears to be,) why should they not be so
" also, in the question of the common good, and ne-
" cessity of the kingdom ; wherein the kingdom
" hath as clear a right also to have the benefit and
" remedy of law, as in any thing whatsoever ? And
" yet they did not deny, but that in private bills,
" and also in public acts of grace, as pardons, and
" the like grants of favour, his majesty might have
" a greater latitude of granting, or denying, as he
" should think fit.

" All this considered, they said, they could not
" but wonder, that the contriver of that message
" should conceive the people of this land to be so
" void of common sense, as to enter into so deep a
" mistrust of those, whom they have, and his ma-
" jesty ought to repose so great a trust in, as to de
spair of any security in their private estates, by
descents, purchases, assurances, or conveyances ;
" unless his majesty should, by his vote, prevent the
prejudice they might receive therein by the votes
of both houses of parliament ; as if they, who are

x desires,] desire,
L 1 3

(

C(

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518 THE HISTORY

BOOK " especially chosen, and intrusted for that purpose,
" and who themselves must needs have so great a
1642. f< share in all grievances of the subject, had wholly
cast off all care of the subject s good, and his ma
jesty had solely taken it up ; and as if it could be
imagined, that they should, by their votes, over
throw the rights of descents, purchases, or of any
conveyance or assurance, in whose judgment the
whole kingdom hath placed all their particular in-
" terests, if any of them should be called in ques
tion, in any of those cases ; and that (as not know
ing where to place them with greater security)
without any appeal from them to any other person
" or court whatsoever.

" But indeed they were very much to seek, how
" the case of Hull could concern descents and pur-
" chases, or conveyances and assurances ; unless it
" were in procuring more security to men in their
" private interests, by the preservation of the whole
" from confusion and destruction ; and much less
did they understand how the sovereign power was
resisted and despised therein. Certainly no com
mand from his majesty, and his high court of par
liament, (where the sovereign power resides,) was
disobeyed by sir John Hotham ; nor yet was his
majesty s authority derived out of any other court,
nor by any legal commission, or by any other way,
" wherein the law had appointed his majesty s com
mands to be derived to his subjects ; and of what
validity his verbal commands are, without any
such stamp of his authority upon them, and
against the order of both houses of parliament,
" and whether the not submitting thereunto be a

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OF THE REBELLION. 519

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" resisting and despising of the sovereign authority, BOOK

" they would leave to all men to judge, that do at -

" all understand the government of this kingdom. 1642 *

" They acknowledged that his majesty had made
" many expressions of his zeal and intentions y
" against the desperate designs of the papists ; but
" yet it was also as true, that the counsels, which
" had prevailed of late with him, had been little
" suitable to those expressions and intentions. For
" what did more advance the open and bloody de
sign of the papists in Ireland, (whereon the secret
plots of the papists here did, in all likelihood, de
pend,) than his majesty s absenting himself, in
that manner that he did, from his parliament;
and setting forth such sharp invectives against
them, notwithstanding all the humble petitions,
" and other means, which his parliament had ad-
" dressed unto him, for his return, and for his satis
faction concerning their proceedings ? And what
was more likely to give a rise to the designs of
the papists, (whereof there were so many in the
" north, near to the town of Hull,) and of other
" malignant and ill affected persons, (which were
ready to join with them,) or to the attempts of
foreigners from abroad, than the continuing of
that great magazine at Hull, at this time, and
contrary to the desire and advice of both houses
" of parliament ? So that they had too much cause
" to believe, that the papists had still some way and
means, whereby they had influence upon his ma
jesty s counsels for their own advantage.

For the malignant party, they said, his majesty

y intentions] intention
L 14

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520 THE HISTORY

BOOK " needed not a definition of the law, nor yet a more

y

" full character of them from both houses of parlia-

42 " ment, for to find them out, if he would please
" only to apply the 7 - character, that himself had
" made of them, to those, unto whom it doth pro-
" perly and truly belong. Who are so much disaf-
" fected to the peace of the kingdom, as they that
" endeavour to disaffect his majesty from the houses
" of parliament, and persuade him to be at such a
" distance from them, both in place and affection ?
" Who are more disaffected to the government of
" the kingdom, than such as lead his majesty away
" from hearkening to his parliament ; which, by the
" constitution of the kingdom, is his greatest and
" best council ; and persuade him to follow the ma-
" licious counsels of some private men, in opposing
" and contradicting the wholesome advices and just
" proceedings of that his most faithful council and
" highest court ? Who are they, that not only neg
lect and despise, but labour to undermine the law,
under colour of maintaining it, but they that en
deavour to destroy the fountain and conservatory
of the law, which is the parliament? And who
are they that set up other a rules for themselves
to walk by, than such as were b according to law,
" but they that will make other judges of the law
" than the law hath appointed ; and so dispense
" with their obedience to that, which the law call-
" eth authority, and to their determinations and re-
" solutions, to whom the judgment doth appertain
by law? For, when private persons shall make
the law to be their rule according to their own

ti
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the] that * other] Not in MS. b were] are

OF THE REBELLION. 521

" understanding, c contrary to the judgment of those BOOK

"that are the competent judges thereof, they set

" up unto themselves other rules than the law

" doth acknowledge. Who those persons were, none

" knew better than his majesty himself: and if he

" would please to take all possible caution of them,

" as destructive to the commonwealth and himself,

" and would remove them from about him, it would

" be the most effectual means to compose all the

" distractions, and to cure the distempers of the

" kingdom.

" For the lord Digby s letter, they said, they did
" not make mention of it as a ground to hinder his
" majesty from visiting d his own fort ; but they ap-
" pealed to the judgment of any indifferent man,
" that should read that letter, and compare it with
" the posture that his majesty then did, and still
" doth, stand in towards the parliament, and with
" the circumstances of that late action of his ma-
"jesty s going 6 to Hull, whether the advisers of
" that journey intended only a visit of that fort and
" magazine ?

" As to the ways and overtures of accommoda-
" tion, and the message of the twentieth of January
last, so often pressed, but still in vain, as was al
leged : their answer was, that although so often
as that message of the twentieth of January had
" been pressed, so often had their privileges been
" clearly infringed, that a way and method of pro-
" ceedings f should be prescribed to them, as well
" for the settling of his majesty s revenue, as for the

c understanding,] understand- e going] ingoing
ings, f proceedings] proceeding

d from visiting] to visit

it

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THE HISTORY

BOOK " presenting of their own desires, (a thing, which,

! " in former parliaments, had always been excepted

42 * " against, as a breach of privilege,) yet, in respect
" to the matter contained in that message, and out
" of their earnest desire to beget a good under-
" standing between his majesty and them, they
" swallowed down all matters of circumstance ; and
" had ere that time presented the chief of their de-
" sires to his majesty, had they not been interrupted
" with continual denials, even of those things that
" were necessary for their present security and sub-
" sistence ; and had not those denials been followed
" with perpetual invectives against them and their
" proceedings ; and had not those invectives been
" heaped upon them so thick one after another,
" (who were in a manner already taken up wholly
" with the pressing affairs of this kingdom, and of
" the kingdom of Ireland,) that as they had little
" encouragement from thence, to hope for any good
" answers to their desires, so they had not so much
" time left them to perfect them in such a manner,
" as to offer them to his majesty.

" They confessed it to be a resolution most wor-
" thy of a prince, and of his majesty, to shut his
" ears against any that would incline him to a civil
te war ; and to abhor the very apprehension of it.
" But they could not believe that mind to have
" been in them, that came with his majesty to the
" house of commons ; or in them, that accompanied
" his majesty to Hampton-court, and appeared in a
warlike manner at Kingston upon Thames ; or in
divers of them, who followed his majesty lately to

s to be] Not in MS.

if
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OF THE REBELLION. 523

" Hull; or in them, who after drew their swords in BOOK

y

" York, demanding, Who would be for the king ?

*__^ V "^ *

" nor in them, that advised his majesty to declare
sir John Hotham a traitor, before the message
was sent concerning that business to the parlia
ment, or to make propositions to the gentlemen of
the county of York to assist his majesty to pro
ceed against him in a way of force, before he had,
or possibly could receive an answer from the par
liament, to whom he had sent to demand justice
of them against sir John Hotham for that fact :
and if those malignant spirits should h ever force

" them to defend their religion, the kingdom, the
privileges of parliament, and the rights and liber
ties of the subjects, with their swords ; the blood,
and destruction that should ensue thereupon, must
be wholly cast upon their account ; God and their
own consciences told them, that they were clear ;
and they doubted not, but God and the whole

" world would clear them therein.

" For captain Leg, they had not said that he was

" accused, or that there was any charge against

" him, for the bringing up of the army ; but that
he was employed in that business. And for that
concerning the earl of Newcastle, mentioned by
his majesty, which was said to have been asked
long since, and that it was not easy to be an
swered : they conceived it was a question of more
difficulty, and harder to be answered, why, when
his majesty held it necessary, upon the same
grounds that first moved from the houses of par-

" liament, that a governor should be placed in that

h should] did

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524 THE HISTORY

BOOK "town, sir John Hotham, a gentleman of known
" fortune and integrity, and a person of whom both
1642. houses of parliament had expressed their confi-
" dence, should be refused by his majesty ; and the
" earl of Newcastle (who, by the way, was so far
" named in the business of bringing up the army,
" that although there was not ground enough for a
judicial proceeding, yet there was ground of suspi
cion ; at least his reputation was not left so un
blemished thereby, as that he should be thought
" the fittest man in England for that employment
" of Hull) should be sent down, in a private way,
" from his majesty to take upon him that govern-
" ment ? And why he should disguise himself under
" another name> when he came thither, as he did ?
" But whosoever should consider, together with
" those circumstances, that of the time when sir
" John Hotham was appointed, by both houses of
" parliament, to take upon him that employment,
" which was presently after his majesty s coming to
" the house of commons, and upon the retiring him
self to Hampton -court, and the lord Digby s as
sembling of cavaliers at Kingston upon Thames,
" would find reason enough, why that town of Hull
" should be committed rather to sir John Hotham,
" by the authority of both houses of parliament,
" than to the earl of Newcastle, sent from his ma
jesty in that manner that he was. And for the
power that sir John Hotham had from the two
" houses of parliament, the better it was known
" and understood, they were confident the more it
" would be approved and justified : and as they did
" not conceive, that his majesty s refusal to have
" that magazine removed could give any advantage

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OF THE REBELLION. 525

" against him to have it taken from him ; and as no BOOK
" such thing was done, so they could not conceive, .

6t

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" for what other reason any should counsel his ma-
" jesty, not to suffer it to be removed, upon the de-
" sire of both houses of parliament ; except it were,
" that they had an intention to make use of it
against them.

They said, they did not except against those
that presented a petition to his majesty at York,
for the continuance of the magazine at Hull, in
respect of their condition, or in respect of their
number ; because they were mean persons, or be
cause they were few ; but because they being but
<c a few, and there being so many more in the
" county of as good quality as themselves, (who
" had, by their petition to his majesty, disavowed
" that act of theirs,) that they should take upon
" them the style of all the gentry, and inhabitants
" of that county ; and, under that title, should pre
sume to interpose their advice contrary to the
votes of both houses of parliament: and, if it
" could be made to appear, that any of those pe
titions, that are said to have been presented to
the houses of parliament, and to have been of
a strange nature, were of such a nature as that,
they were confident, that they were never re-
" ceived with their consent and approbation.

" Whether there was an intention to deprive sir
" John Hotham of his life, if his majesty had been
" admitted into Hull ; and whether the information
" were such, as that he had ground to believe it,
they would not bring into question ; for that was
not, nor ought to have been, the ground for doing

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"
"

526 THE HISTORY

BOOK " what he did: neither was the number of his ma-

! " jesty s attendants, for being more or fewer, much

" considerable in this case; for although it were
true, that if his majesty had entered with twenty
horse only, he might happily have found means
* for to have forced the entrance of the rest of his
" train ; who, being once in the town, would not
" have been long without arms ; yet that was not
" the ground, upon which sir John Hotham was to
proceed; but upon the admittance of the king
into the town at all, so as to deliver up the town
and magazine unto him, and to whomsoever he
should give the command thereof, without the
knowledge and consent of both houses of parlia
ment, by whom he was intrusted to the contrary :
" and his majesty having declared that to be his in
tention concerning the town, in a message that he
sent to the parliament, not long before he went to
Hull; saying, that he did not doubt, but that
town should be delivered up to him, whensoever
he pleased, as supposing it to be kept against
" him ; and in like manner concerning his maga
zine, in his message of the twenty -fourth of April,
wherein it is expressed, that his majesty went
" thither, with a purpose to take into his hands the
" magazine, and to dispose of it in such manner, as
" he should think fit : upon those terms, sir John
C( Hotham could not have admitted his majesty, and
have made good his trust to the parliament,
though his majesty would have entered alone,
without any attendants at all of his own, or of
the prince or duke, his sons ; which they did not
" wish to be less than they were in their number,

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OF THE REBELLION. 527

i

" but could heartily wish that they were generally BOOK
" better in their condition. i

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" In the close of that message, his majesty stated
(l the case of Hull ; and thereupon inferred, that
" the act of sir John Hotham was levying war

against the king; and, consequently, that it was

no less than high treason, by the letter of the sta-
" tute of the 25 Edw. III. ch. 2, unless the sense of
" that statute were very far differing from the letter
" thereof.

" In the stating of that case, they said, divers
" particulars might be observed, wherein it was not
" rightly stated : as,

1. " That his majesty s going to Hull was only an
" endeavour to visit a town and fort of his : whereas

it was indeed to possess himself of the town and
magazine there, and to dispose of them, as he him-
" self should think good, without, and contrary to
" the advice and orders of both houses of parlia-
" ment ; as did clearly appear by his majesty s own
" declaration of his intentions therein, by his mes-
" sages to both houses, immediately before and after
" that journey. Nor could they believe, that any
" man, who should consider the circumstances of
" that journey to HuD, could think, that his majesty
" would have gone thither at that time, and in that
" posture that he was pleased to put himself in to-
" wards the parliament, if he had intended only a
" visit of the town and magazine.

2. " It was said to be his majesty s own town,
" and his own magazine, which being understood in
" that sense, as was before expressed, as if his ma-

condition.] conditions.

528 THE HISTORY

BOOK "jesty had a private interest of propriety therein,

" they could not admit it to be so.

66

66

3. " Which was the main point of all, sir John
" Hotham was said to have shut the gates against
" his majesty, and to have made resistance with
" armed men, in defiance of his majesty ; whereas it
" was indeed in obedience to his majesty, and his
authority, and for his service, and the service of
the kingdom ; for which use only, all that interest
" is, that the king hath in the town ; and it is no
" further his to dispose of, than he useth it for that
end: and sir John Hotham being commanded to
keep the town and magazine, for his majesty and
the kingdom, and not to deliver them up, but by
his majesty s authority, signified by both houses of
parliament, all that was to be understood by those
expressions, of his denying and opposing his ma
jesty s entrance, and telling him in plain terms,
" that he should not come in, was only this, that he
humbly desired his majesty to forbear his entrance,
till he might acquaint the parliament; and that
his authority might come signified to him by both
houses of parliament, according to the trust re-
" posed in him. And certainly, if the letter of the
" statute of the 25 Edw. III. ch. 2, be thought to
import this ; that no war can be levied against the
king, but what is directed and intended against his
person, or that every levying of forces, for the de
fence of the king s authority, and of his kingdom,
66 against the personal commands of the king op
posed thereunto, though accompanied with his pre
sence, is levying war against the king, it is very
" far from the sense of that statute ; and so much
" the statute itself speaks, (besides the authority of

6(
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OF THE REBELLION. 529

" book cases; precedents of divers traitors condemn- BOOK

v.

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66

ed upon that interpretation thereof.) For if the -
clause of levying of war had been meant only
" against the king s person, what need had there
" been thereof after the other branch of treason, in
" the same statute, of compassing the king s death,
" which would necessarily have implied this ? And
" because the former clause doth imply this, it seems
not at all to be intended in this latter branch ; but
" only the levying of war against the king, that is,
against his laws and authority : and the levying of
war against his laws and authority, though not
" against his person, is levying war against the king ;
but the levying of force against his personal com
mands, though accompanied with his presence, and
not against his laws and authority, but in the main-
" tenance thereof, is no levying of war against the
king, but for him.

Here was then, they said, their case : In a time
of so many successive plots, and designs of force
against the parliament and the kingdom ; in a time
of probable invasion from abroad, and that to be
gin at Hull, and to take the opportunity of seiz
ing upon so great a magazine there ; in a time of
so great distance and alienation of his majesty s
" affection from his parliament, (and in them from
his kingdom, which they represent,) by the wicked
suggestions of a few malignant persons, by whose
" mischievous counsels he was wholly led away from
" his parliament, and their faithful advices and coun
sels : in such a time, the lords and commons in
parliament command sir John Hotham to draw in
some of the trained bands of the parts adjacent to
" the town of Hull, for the securing that town and
VOL. ii. M m

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CC
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530 THE HISTORY

BOOK " magazine for the service of his majesty, and of the

" kingdom : of the safety whereof there is a higher

42. (( ^ust reposed in them, than any where else ; and
" they are the proper judges of the danger thereof.

" This town and magazine being intrusted to sir
" John Hotham, with express order not to deliver
" them up, but by the king s authority, signified by
" both houses of parliament ; his majesty, contrary
" to the advice and directions k of both houses of
" parliament, without the authority of any court, or
u any legal way, wherein the law appoints the king
" to speak and command, accompanied with the
same evil council about him that he had before, by
a verbal command requires sir John Hotham to
" admit him into the town, that he might dispose of
" it, and of the magazine there, according to his
(C own, or rather according to the pleasure of those
" evil counsellors, who are still in so much credit
ef about him ; in like manner as the lord Digby had
<f continual recourse unto, and countenance from,
" the queen s majesty in Holland ; by which means
" he had opportunity still to communicate his trai
torous conceptions and suggestions to both their
majesties ; such as those were concerning his ma
jesty s retiring to a place of strength, and declar
ing himself, and his own advancing his majesty s
service in such a way beyond the seas, and after
that resorting to his majesty in such a place of
strength ; and divers other things of that nature,
contained in his letter to the queen s majesty, and
to sir Lewis Dives ; a person that had not the
" least part in this late business of Hull, and was

k directions] direction

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OF THE REBELLION. 531

" presently despatched away into Holland, soon after BOOK

" his majesty s return from Hull ; for what purpose, !

" they left the world to judge.

" Upon the refusal of sir John Hotham to admit
" his majesty into Hull, presently, without any due
process of law, before his majesty had sent up the
narration of his fact to the parliament, he was pro-
" claimed traitor ; and yet it was said, that therein
" was no violation of the subject s rights, 1 nor any
" breach of the law, nor of the privilege of parlia-
" ment, though sir John Hotham be a member of
" the house of commons ; and that his majesty must
" have better reason, than bare votes, to believe the
" contrary ; although the votes of the lords and com-
" mons in parliament, being the great council of the
" kingdom, are the reason of the king, and of the
" kingdom : yet these votes, they said, did not want
" clear and apparent reason for them ; for if the so-
" lemn proclaiming him a traitor signify any thing,
" it puts a man, and all those that any way aid, as-
" sist, or adhere unto him, in the same condition of
" traitors ; and draws upon him ah 1 the consequences
" of treason : and if that might be done by law,
" without due process of law, the subject hath a
" very poor defence of the law, and a very small, if
" any, proportion of liberty thereby. And it is as
" little satisfaction to a man, that shall be exposed
" to such penalties, by that declaration of him to be
" traitor, 111 to say, he shall have a legal trial after-
" wards, as it is to condemn a man first, and try him
" afterwards. And if there could be a necessity for
" any such proclaiming a man a traitor, without due

1 rights,] right, m traitor,] a traitor,

M m 2

532 THE HISTORY

BOOK " process of law, yet there was none in this case ; for
" his majesty might as well have expected the judg-

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1 642. ment of parliament, (which was the right way,) as
" he had leisure to send to them to demand justice
" against sir John Hotham. And the breach of pri-
" vilege of parliament was as clear in this case, as
the subversion of the subject s common right : for,
though the privileges of parliament do not extend
to those cases, mentioned in the declaration, of
treason, felony, and breach of peace, so as to ex-
" empt the members of parliament from punishment,
" nor from all manner of process and trial, as it doth
in other cases ; yet it doth privilege them in the
way and method of their trial and punishment;
" and that the parliament should have the cause first
" brought before them, that they may judge of the
" fact, and of the grounds of the accusation, and
" how far forth the manner of their trial may con-
i( cern, or not concern, the privilege of parliament.
" Otherwise it would be in the power, not only of
" his majesty, but of every private man, under pre-
" tensions of treasons, or those other crimes, to take
" any man from his service in parliament ; and so as
" many one after another as he pleaseth ; and, con-
" sequently, to make a parliament what he will,
" when he will ; which would be a breach of so es-
" sential a privilege of parliament, as that the very
" being thereof depends upon it. And therefore
" they no ways doubted but every one, that had
" taken the protestation, would, according to his
solemn vow and oath, defend it with his life and
fortune. Neither did the sitting of a parliament
suspend aU, or any law, in maintaining that law,
which upholds the privilege of parliament ; which

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OF THE REBELLION. 533

" upholds the parliament; which upholds the king- BOOK
" dom. And they were so far from believing, that

66

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9r ^

" his majesty was the only person against whom
" treason could not be committed, that, in some
" sense, they acknowledged he was the only person
" against whom it could be committed ; that is, as
" he is king : and that treason, which is against the
kingdom, is more against the king, than that which
is against his person ; because he is king : for that
" very treason is not treason, as it is against him as
" a man, but as a man that is a king ; and as he
" hath relation to the kingdom, and stands as a per-
" son intrusted with the kingdom, and discharging
" that trust.

" Now, they said, the case was truly stated, and
" all the world might judge where the fault was ;
" although they must avow, that there could be no
competent judge of this, or any the like case, but
a parliament. And they were as confident, that
" his majesty should never have cause to resort to
any other court, or course, for the vindication of
his just privileges, and for the recovery and main-
" tenance of his known and undoubted rights, if
" there should be any invasion or violation thereof,
" than to his high court of parliament : and, in case
" those wicked counsellors about him should drive
" him into any other course from and against his
" parliament, whatever his majesty s expressions and
" intentions were, they should appeal to all men s
" consciences ; and desire, that they would lay their
" hands upon their hearts, and think with them-
" selves, whether such persons, as had of late, and
" still did resort unto his majesty, and had his ear
" and favour most, either had been or were more

M m

.-
..

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534 THE HISTORY

BOOK " zealous assertors of the true protestant profession,

" (although they believed they were more earnest in

1642.

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6

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.-

..

the protestant profession than in the protestant re
ligion,) or the law of the land, the liberty of the
subject, and the privileges of the parliament, than
the members of both houses of parliament ; who
" were insinuated to be the deserters, if not the
" destroyers of them : and whether, if they could
" master this parliament by force, they would not
hold up the same power to deprive us of all par
liaments ; which are the ground and pillar of the
subject s liberty, and that which only maketh Eng
land a free monarchy.

" For the order of assistance to the committee of
both houses, as they had no directions or instruc-
" tions n , but what had the laws for their limits,
" and the safety of the land for their ends, so they
" doubted not but all persons mentioned in that or-
" der, and all his majesty s good subjects, would
" yield obedience to his majesty s authority, signi-
" fied therein by both houses of parliament. And
" that all men might the better know their duty
* in matters of that nature, and upon how sure a
ground they go, that follow the judgment of par
liament for their guide, they wished them judi
ciously to consider the true meaning and ground
of that statute made in the eleventh year of king
Hen. VII. ch. 1. which was printed at large in
" the end of his majesty s message of the fourth of
May : that statute provides, that none who shall
attend upon the king, and do him true service,
should be attainted, or forfeit any thing. What

n or instructions] Not in MS. laws] law

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OF THE REBELLION. 535

" was the scope of that statute? To provide that BOOK

" men should not suffer as traitors, for serving the -

" king in his wars according to the duty of their
" allegiance ? If this had been all, it had been a
" very needless and ridiculous statute. Was it then
" intended, (as they seemed to take the meaning of
it to be, that caused it to be printed after his ma
jesty s message,) that they should be free from all
" crime and penalty, that should follow the king,
" and serve him in war in any case whatsoever ;
" whether it were for or against the kingdom, and
" the laws thereof? That could not be ; for that
could not stand with the duty of their allegiance ;
which, in the beginning of the statute, was ex
pressed to be to serve the king for the time being
" in his wars, for the defence of him and the land ;
and therefore if it be against the land, (as it can
not be understood to be otherwise, if it be against
the parliament, the representative body of the
kingdom,) it is a declining from the duty of alle-
" giance ; which this statute supposeth may be done,
" though men should follow the king s person in the
" war : otherwise there had been no need of such a
proviso in the end of the statute, that none should
take the benefit thereby, that should decline from
their allegiance. That therefore which is the prin
cipal verb in this statute is, the serving of the king
for the time being; which could not be meant ofP
Perkin Warbeck, or any that should call himself
king ; but such a one, as, whatever his title might
prove, either in himself or in his ancestors, should

P of] of a

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536 THE HISTORY

BOOK " be received and acknowledged for such by the
v .

" kingdom ; the consent whereof cannot be discern-

1 642. <f ec [ k u by parliament ; the act whereof is the act
" of the whole kingdom, by the personal suffrage of
" the peers, and the delegate consent of all the com-
" mons of England.

" And Henry VII. a wise king, considering^ that
" what was the case of Rich. III. his predecessor,
" might, by chance of battle, be his own ; and that
" he might at once, by such a statute as this, satisfy
" such as had served his predecessor in his wars,
" and also secure those which should serve him, who
" might otherwise fear to serve him in the wars ;
" lest, by chance of battle, that might happen to him
" also, (if a duke of York had set up a title against
" him,) which had happened to his predecessor, he
" procured this statute to be made ; that no man
" should be accounted a traitor for serving the king,
" in his wars, for the time being, that is, which was
" for the present allowed and received by the parlia-
" ment in behalf of the kingdom : and, as it is truly
" suggested in the preamble of the statute, it is not
" agreeable to reason or conscience, that it should
" be otherwise ; seeing men should be put upon an
impossibility of knowing their duty, if the judg
ment of the highest court should not be a rule
and guide to them. And if the judgment thereof
should not be followed, where the question is, who
is king ? much more, what is the best service of
the king and kingdom ? And therefore those, who
should guide themselves by the judgment of par-

^ considering] Omitted in MS.

a

OF THE REBELLION. 537

" liament, ought, whatever happen, to be secure and BOOK
" free from all account and penalties, upon the

" grounds and equity of this very statute.

" They said, they would conclude, that although
" those wicked counsellors about his majesty had
" presumed, under his majesty s name, to put that
" dishonour and affront upon both houses of parlia-
" ment ; and to make them the countenancers of
" treason, enough to have dissolved all the bands
" and sinews of confidence between his majesty and
6( his parliament, (of whom the maxim of the law
" is, that a dishonourable thing ought not to be
" imagined of them,) yet they doubted not, but it
" should, in the end, appear to all the world, that
" their endeavours had been most hearty and sin-
" cere, for the maintenance of the true protestant
" religion ; the king s just prerogative ; the laws
" and liberties of the land ; and the privileges of
" parliament : in which endeavours, by the grace of
* God, they would still persist, though they should
" perish in the work ; which if it should be, it was
" much to be feared, that religion, laws, liberties,
" and parliaments, would not be long lived after
" them."

This declaration wrought more upon the minds of
men, than all that they had done ; for the business
at Hull was, by very many, thought to be done be
fore projected ; and the argument of the militia to
be entered upon at first in passion, and afterwards
pursued with that vehemence, insensibly, by being
engaged ; and that both extravagances had so much
weighed down the king s trespasses, in coming to the
house and accusing the members, that a reasonable
agreement would have been the sooner consented to

538 THE HISTORY

BOOK on all hands. But when, by this declaration, they
. - saw foundations laid, upon which not only what had
42 been already done would be well justified, but what
soever they should, hereafter, find convenient to se
cond what was already done ; and that not only the
king, but the regal power, was either suppressed, or
deposited in other hands ; the irregularity and mon-
strousness of which principles found little opposition
or resistance, even for the irregularity and monstrous-
ness : very many thought it as unsafe to be present
at those consultations, as to consent to the conclu
sions ; and so great numbers of the members of both
houses absented themselves ; and many, especially of
the house of peers, resorted to his majesty at York.
So that, in the debates of the highest consequence,
there was r not usually present, in the house of com
mons, the fifth part of their just numbers ; and, very
often, not above a dozen or thirteen in the house of
peers. In the mean time the king had a full court,
and received all comers with great clemency and
grace ; calling always all the peers to council, and
communicating with them all such declarations, as s
he thought fit to publish in answer to those of the
parliament ; and all messages, and whatever else was
necessary to be done for the improvement of his con
dition : and, having now the great seal with him, is
sued such proclamations, as were seasonable for the
preservation of the peace of the kingdom. First he
published a declaration in answer to that of the nine
teenth of May, in which his majesty said :
His majes- " That if he could be weary of taking any pains

" for the satisfaction of his people, and to undeceive

to

r was] were s as] Not in MS.

OF THE REBELLION. 539

" them of those specious, mischievous infusions, which BOOK

" were daily instilled into them, to shake and corrupt !

" their loyalty and affection to his majesty and his rat | 6 n 4 J the
" government, after so full and ample declaration of nineteenth
himself and intentions, and so fair and satisfactory
answers to all such matters as had been objected
to him, by a major part present of both houses of
parliament, he might well give over that labour of
his pen ; and sit still, till it should please God to
enlighten the affections and understandings of his
" good subjects on his behalf, (which he doubted not,
but that, in his good time, he would do,) that they
might see his sufferings were their sufferings : but
" since, instead of applying themselves to the method,
" proposed by his majesty, of making such solid par
ticular propositions, as might establish a good un-
C6 derstanding between them, or of following the ad
vice of his council of Scotland, (with whom they
communicated their affairs,) in forbearing all means
that might make the breach wider, and the wound
deeper ; they had chosen to pursue his majesty
with new reproaches, or rather to continue and
improve the old, by adding, and varying little cir
cumstances and language, in matters formerly urg-

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(i ed by them, and fully answered by his majesty, he
" had prevailed with himself, upon very mature and

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particular consideration of it, to answer the late
printed book, entitled a Declaration or Remon-
" strance of the Lords and Commons, which was or-
" dered, the nineteenth of May last, to be printed
" and published ; hoping then, that they would put
" his majesty to no more of that trouble, but that
" that should have been the last of such a nature
" they would have communicated to his people ; and

f(

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540 THE HISTORY

BOOK " that they would not, as they had done since, have
" thought fit to assault him with a newer declara-
" tion, indeed of a very new nature and learning ;
" which should have another answer : and he doubt
ed not, but that his good subjects would, in short
time, be so well instructed in the differences and
" mistakings between them, that they would plainly
" discern, without resigning their reason and under
standing to his prerogative, or the infallibility of a
now major part of both houses of parliament, (in
fected by a few malignant spirits,) where the fault
was.

His majesty said, though he should, with all hu
mility and alacrity, be always forward to acknow
ledge the infinite mercy and providence of Al
mighty God, vouchsafed, so many several ways, to
" himself and this nation ; yet^ since God himself
doth not allow, that we should fancy and create
dangers to ourselves, that we might manifest and
" publish his mercy in our deliverance ; he must pro-
" fess, that he did not know those deliverances, men
tioned in the beginning of that declaration, from
so many wicked plots and designs, since the begin
ning of this parliament, which, if they had taken
" effect, would have brought ruin and destruction
" upon this kingdom. His majesty well knew the
great labour and skill, which had been used to
amuse and affright his good subjects with fears and
" apprehensions of plots and conspiracies; the several
" pamphlets published, and letters scattered up and
" down, full of such ridiculous, contemptible animad-
" versions to that purpose, as (though they found, for
" what end God knows, very unusual countenance)
" no sober man would be moved with them. But,

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OF THE REBELLION. 541

" he must confess, he had never been able to inform BOOK
himself of any such pernicious, formed design

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against the peace of the kingdom, since the begin- 1642 -
ning of this parliament, as was mentioned in that

" declaration, or which might be any warrant to
those great fears, both houses of parliament seemed
to be transported with ; but he had great reason
to believe, that more mischief and danger had been
raised and begotten, to the disturbance of the king-

" dom, than cured and l prevented, by those fears and
jealousies. And therefore, however the rumour
and discourse of plots and conspiracies might have
been necessary to the designs of particular men,
they should do well not to pay any false devotions

" to Almighty God, who discerns whether our dan
gers are real or pretended.

For the bringing up of the army to London, as
his majesty had heretofore, by no other direction
than the testimony of a good conscience, called

" God to witness, that he never had, or knew of, any
such resolution ; so he said, upon the view of the
depositions now published with that declaration, it
was not evident to his majesty, that there was ever
such a design ; unless every loose discourse^ or ar
gument, be evidence enough of a design : and it
was apparent, that what had been said of it, was
near three months before the discovery to both
houses of parliament ; so that if there were any
danger threatened that way, it vanished without
any resistance, or prevention, by the wisdom, pow
er, or authority of them.
" It seemed the intention of that declaration,

* and] or

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1642.

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se

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542 THE HISTORY

BOOK " whatsoever other end it had, was to answer a de-
v.

claration they had received from his majesty, in
answer to that which was presented to his majesty
" at Newmarket, the ninth of March last ; and like
wise his u answer to the petition of both houses,
presented to him at York, the twenty-sixth of
" March : but, before it fell upon any particular of
his majesty s declaration or answer, it complained
that the heads of the malignant party had, with
much art and industry, advised him to suffer divers
unjust scandals and imputations upon the parlia
ment, to be published in his name, whereby they
might make it odious to the people, and, by their
help, destroy it : but not instancing in any one
" scandal, or imputation, so published by his majes-
" ty, he was, he said, still to seek for the heads of
" that malignant party. But his good subjects would
" easily understand, that if he were guilty of that
" aspersion, he must not only be active in raising
" the scandal,, but passive in the mischief begotten
" by that scandal, his majesty being an essential
" part of the parliament ; and he hoped the just de-
" fence of himself and his authority, and the neces-
" sary vindication of his innocence and justice, from
the imputations laid on him, by a major part
then present of either or both houses, should no
" more be called a scandal upon the parliament, than
" the opinion of such a part be reputed an act of par-
" liament : and he hoped his good subjects would
" not be long misled, by that common expression in
" all the declarations, wherein they usurp the word
" parliament, and apply it to countenance any reso-

u his] to his

a

a

"

OF THE REBELLION. 543

lution or vote some few had a mind to make, by BOOK

.

calling it the resolution of parliament ; which

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" could never be without his majesty s consent ;
" neither could the vote of either or both houses
make a greater alteration in the laws of the king
dom, (so solemnly made by the advice of their pre-
" decessors, with the concurrence of his majesty and
his ancestors,) either by commanding or inhibiting
any thing, (besides the known rule of the law,)
than his single direction or mandate could do, to
which he did not ascribe that authority.
" But that declaration informed the people, that
the malignant party had drawn his majesty into
the northern parts, far from his parliament. It
might, his majesty said, more truly and properly
" have said, that it had driven, than drawn him
" thither ; for, he confessed, his journey thither (for
" which he had no other reason to be sorry, than
" with reference to the cause of it) was only forced
" upon him, by the true malignant party ; which
" contrived and countenanced those barbarous tu-
" mults, and other seditious circumstances, of which
" he had so often complained, and hereafter should
say more ; and which indeed threatened so much
danger to his person, and laid so much scandal
upon the privilege and dignity of parliament, that
" he wondered it could be mentioned without blushes
or indignation : but of that anon : but why the ma
lignant party should be charged with the x causing
a press to be transported to York, his majesty said,
" he could not imagine ; neither had any papers or
" writings issued from thence, to his knowledge, but

x the] Not in MS.

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544 THE HISTORY

BOOK " what had been extorted from him by such provo-
" cations, as had not been before offered to a king.

1642. 66 And, no doubt, it would appear a most trivial and
" fond exception, when all presses were open to vent
" whatsoever they thought fit to say to the people,
" (a thing unwarranted by former custom,) that his
majesty should not make use of all lawful means,
to publish his just and necessary answers there
unto. As for the authority of the great seal,
(though he did not know that it had been neces
sary to things of that nature,) the same should be
more frequently used hereafter, as occasion should
require ; to which he made no doubt, but the
greater and better part of his privy council would
concur ; and whose advice he was resolved to fol
low, as far as it should be agreeable to the good
and welfare of the kingdom.

" Before that declaration vouchsafed to insist
upon? any particulars, it was pleased to censure
both his majesty s declaration and answer to be
" filled with harsh censures, and causeless charges
upon the parliament 7 , (still misapplying the word
parliament to the vote of both houses,) concerning
which they resolve to give satisfaction to the king
dom, since they found it very difficult to satisfy
his majesty. If, as in the usage of the word par
liament, they had left his majesty out of their
thoughts ; so by the word kingdom, they intended
" to exclude all his people who were not within
their walls, (for that was grown another phrase of
the time, the vote of the major part of both houses,
and sometimes of one, was now called the resolu-

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upon] on z parliament] Omitted in MS.

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OF THE REBELLION. 545

" tion of the whole kingdom,) his majesty believed, BOOK

" it might not be hard to give satisfaction to them- .

" selves ; otherwise he was confident, (and, he said,
his confidence proceeded from the uprightness of
his own conscience,) they would never be able so
to sever the affections of his majesty and his king-
" dom, that what could not be satisfaction to the
" one, should be to the other : neither would the
" style of humble, and faithful, and telling his ma
jesty that they will make him a a great and glo
rious king, in their petitions and remonstrances,
so deceive his good subjects, that they would pass
over the reproaches, threats, and menaces they
were stuffed with ; which surely could not be
more gently reprehended by his majesty, than by
saying, their expressions were different from the
usual language to princes ; which that declaration
" told him he had no occasion to say : but he be-
" lieved, whosoever looked over that declaration,
presented to him at Newmarket, to which his was
an answer, would find the language throughout it
" to be so unusual, that, before this parliament, it
could never be paralleled ; whilst, under pretence
of justifying their fears, they gave so much coun
tenance to the discourse of the rebels of Ireland,
as if they had a mind his good subjects should
give credit to it : otherwise, being warranted by
the same evidence, which they have since published,
" they would have as weU declared, b that those re
bels publicly threaten the rooting out the c name
of the English, and that they will have a king of

a him] his majesty clared,] Not in MS.

b they would have as well de- c the] of the

VOL. II. N n

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546 THE HISTORY

BOOK " their own, and no longer be governed by his ma-
jesty, as that they say, that they do nothing, but

a

it

1642. j^ ki s ma j es ty s authority; and that they call
" themselves the queen s army. And therefore he
had great reason to complain of the absence of
justice and integrity in that declaration ; besides
" the unfitness of other expressions.

" Neither did his majesty mistake the substance,
" or logic of their message to him, at Theobalds,
" concerning the militia ; which was no other, and
" was stated to be no other, even by that declaration
" that reproved him, than a plain threat, that if his
" majesty refused to join with them, they would
" make a law without him d : nor had the practice
" since that time been other ; which would never be
" justified to the most ordinary if not partial 6 under-
" standings, by the mere averring it to be according
" to the fundamental laws of this kingdom, without
" giving any directions, that the most cunning and
" learned men in the laws might be able to find
" those foundations. And he would appeal unto all
" the world, whether they might not, with as much
" justice, and by as much law, have seized upon the
" estate of every member of both houses, who dis-
" sented from that pretended ordinance, (which
" much the major part of the house of peers did,
" two or three several times,) as they had invaded
" that power of his over the militia, because he,
" upon reasons they had not so much as pretended
" to answer, refused to consent to that proposition.

" And if no better effects, than loss of time, and
" hinderance of the public affairs, had been found by

d him] his majesty c if not partial] Not in MS.

OF THE REBELLION. 547

" his answers and replies, all good men might judge BOOK

6 by whose default, and whose want of duty, such

" effects had been; for as his end, indeed his only 642>
" end, in those answers and replies, had been the
" settlement and composure of public affairs ; so, he
" was assured, and most men did believe, that if
" that due regard and reverence had been given to
" his words, and that consent and obedience to his
" counsels, which he expected, there had been, be-
" fore that time, a cheerful calm upon the face of
" the whole kingdom ; every man enjoying his own,
" with all possible peace and security that can be
" imagined ; which surely those men did not desire,
" who (after all those acts of justice and favour
" passed by him this parliament ; all those suffer-
" ings and affronts endured and undergone by him)
" thought fit still to reproach him with ship-money,
" coat and conduct-money, and other things so abun-
" dantly declared, as that declaration itself confessed,
" in the general remonstrance of the state of the
" kingdom, published in November last ; which his
" majesty wondered to find now avowed to be the
" remonstrance of both houses ; and which, he was
" sure, was presented to him only by the house of
" commons ; and did never, and, he was confident,
" in that time could never have passed the house of
" peers ; the concurrence and authority of which was
" not then thought necessary. Should his majesty
" believe those reproaches to be the voice of the
" kingdom of England, that all his loving subjects
" eased, refreshed, strengthened, and abundantly sa-
" tisfied with his acts of grace and favour towards
" them, were willing to be involved in those un-

Nn 2

66

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548 THE HISTORY

BOOK "thankful expressions? He would appeal to the

! " thanks and acknowledgments published in the pe-

42> " titions of most of the counties of England ; to
the testimony and thanks he had received from
both houses of parliament ; how seasonable, how
agreeable that usage was to his majesty s merit, or
" their former expressions.

" His majesty said, he had not at all swerved
" or departed from his resolutions, or words, in the
" beginning of this parliament ; he had said, he was
" resolved to put himself freely and clearly upon the
" love and affection of his English subjects ; and he
" said so still, as far as concerns England. And he
called Almighty God to witness, all his complaints
and jealousies, which had never been causeless, nor
of his houses of parliament, (but of some few schis-
" matical, factious, and ambitious spirits ; and upon
" grounds, as he feared, a short time would justify
to the world,) his denial of the militia, his absent
ing himself from London, had been the effects
of an upright and faithful affection to his English
subjects ; that he might be able, through all the
inconveniences he might be compelled to wrestle
with, at last to preserve and restore their religion,
" laws, and liberties unto them.

" Since the proceeding against the Lord Kim-
" bolton, and the five members, was still looked
" upon, and so often pressed, as so great an advan-
" tage against his majesty, that no retractation made
" by him, nor no action, since that time committed
" against him, and the law of the land, under the
" pretence of vindication of privilege, could satisfy
" the contrivers of that declaration, but that they

..

a
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OF THE REBELLION. 549

" would have his good subjects believe, the accusa- BOOK
" tion of those six f members must be a plot for the

breaking the neck of the parliament, (a strange
arrogance, if any of those members had the pen
ning of that declaration,) and that it was so often
urged against him, as if by that single, casual mis
take of his, in form only, he had forfeited all duty,
credit, and allegiance from his people, he said, he
would, without endeavouring to excuse that, which
in truth was an error, (his going to the house of
commons,) give his people a full and clear narra
tion of the matter of fact ; assuring himself, that
his good subjects would not find his carriage, in

" that business, such as had been reported.

His majesty said, that when he resolved, upon
such grounds, as, when they should be published,
would satisfy the world, that it was fit for his
own safety and honour, and the peace of the king
dom, to proceed against those persons ; though,
he well knew, there was no degree of privilege in

" that case ; yet, to shew his desire of correspond
ence with the two houses of parliament, he chose
rather than to apprehend their persons by the or
dinary ministers of justice, (which, according to
the opinion and practice of former times, he might
have done,) to command his attorney general, to
acquaint his house of peers with his intention, and

" the general matters of his charge, (which was yet
more particular, than a mere accusation,) and to
proceed accordingly; and at the same time sent
a sworn servant, a sergeant at arms, to the house

" of commons, to acquaint them, that his majesty

1 six] five

N n 3

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550 THE HISTORY

BOOK " did accuse, and intended to prosecute, the five
members of that house for high treason ; and did

66

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" require, that their persons might be secured in
" custody. This he did, not only to shew that he
" intended not to violate or invade their privileges,
" but to use more ceremony towards them, than he
" then conceived in justice might be required of
" him ; and expected at least such an answer, as
" might inform him, if he were out of the way ; but
" he received none at all ; only, in the instant,
without offering any thing of their privileges to
his consideration, an order was made, and the
same night published in print, that if any person
* ; whatsoever should offer to arrest the person of
any member of that house, without first acquaint
ing that house therewith, and receiving further
" order from that house, that it should be lawful for
" such member, or any person, to resist them, and
" to stand upon his or their guard of defence ; and
" to make resistance, according to the protestation
taken to defend the privileges of parliament : and
this was the first time that he heard the protesta
tion might be wrested to such a sense, or that in
any case, though of the most undoubted and un
questionable privilege, it might be lawful for any
person to resist, and use violence against a pub
lic minister of justice, armed with lawful au
thority ; though his majesty well knew, that even
such a minister might be punished for executing
such authority.

" Upon viewing that order, his majesty confessed,
" he was somewhat amazed, having never seen or

g resist] assist

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OF THE REBELLION. 551

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heard of the like; though he had known mem- BOOK
" bers of either house committed, without so much
" formality as he had used, and upon crimes of a far
" inferior nature to those he had suggested ; and
" having no course proposed him for his proceeding,
" he was, upon the matter, only told, that against
those persons he was not to proceed at all ; that
they were above his reach, or the reach of the
law. It was not easy for him to resolve what to
do : if he employed his ministers of justice in the
usual way for their apprehension, who without
" doubt would not have refused to have executed
" his lawful commands, he saw what opposition, and
resistance, was like to be made ; which, very pro
bably, might have cost some blood : if he sat still,
" and desisted upon that terror, he should, at the
" best, have confessed his own want of power, and
" the weakness of the law. In that strait, he put
" on a sudden resolution, to try whether his own
presence, and a clear discovery of his intention, 11
which happily 1 might not have been so well un-
" derstood, could remove those doubts, and prevent
" those inconveniences, which seemed to have been
" threatened ; and thereupon he resolved to go, in
" his own person, to the house of commons ; which
" he discovered not, till the very minute of his go-
" ing; when he sent out orders k , that his servants,
" and such gentlemen as were then in his court,
" should attend him to Westminster ; but giving
" them express command, as he had expressed in
" his answer to the ordinance, that no accidents, or

h intention,] intentions, k orders] Not in MS.

happily] haply

N n 4

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552 THE HISTORY

BOOK " provocation, should draw them to any such action,

! " as might imply a purpose of force in his majesty ;

42 - " and himself, requiring those of his train not to
" come within the door, went into the house of com-
" mons ; the bare doing of which, he did not then
conceive, would have been thought more a breach
of privilege, than if he had gone to the house of
peers, and sent for them to come to him : which
" was the usual custom.

" He used the best expressions he could, to assure
" them how far he was from any intention of vio
lating their privileges; that he intended to pro
ceed legally and speedily against the persons he
" had accused ; and desired therefore, if they were
" in the house, that they might be delivered to him ;
" or if absent, that such course might be taken for
" their forthcoming, as might satisfy his just de-
" mands ; and so he departed, having no other pur
pose of force, if they had been in the house, than
he had before protested, before God, in his answer
to the ordinance. They had an account now of
his part of that story fully ; his people might judge
freely of it. What followed on their part, (though
" that declaration said, it could not withdraw any
part of their reverence and obedience from his
majesty; it might be any part of theirs it did
not,) he should have too much cause hereafter to
" inform the world.

His majesty said, there would be no end of this 1
discourse, and of m upbraiding him with evil coun
sellors, if, upon his constant denial of knowing
any, they would not vouchsafe to inform him of

1 this] the m of] Not in MS.

66

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OF THE REBELLION. 553

" them; and after eight months amusing the king- BOOK
" dom with the expectation of the discovery of a ma-

(6

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ft

" lignant party, and of evil counsellors, they would
" not at last name any, nor describe them. Let the
" actions or n lives of men be examined, who had
" contrived, counselled, actually consented to grieve
" and burden his people ; and if such were now
" about his majesty, or any against whom any no-
" torious, malicious crime could be proved, if he
sheltered and protected any such, let his injustice
be published to the world : but till that were done,
particularly, and manifestly, (for he should never
conclude any man upon a bare, general vote of
the major part of either, or both houses, till it
" were evident, that that major part was without
" passion or affection,) he must look upon the charge
" that declaration put upon him, of cherishing and
countenancing a discontented party of the king
dom against them, as a heavier and unjuster tax
upon his justice and honour, than any he had, or
could lay, upon the framers of that declaration.
And now, to countenance those unhandsome ex
pressions, whereby they usually had? implied his
majesty s connivance at, or want of zeal against,
the rebellion of Ireland, (so odious to all good
men,) they had found a new way of exprobration :
that the proclamation against those bloody trai
tors came not out, till the beginning of January,
though that rebellion broke ^ out in October, and
then, by special command from his majesty, but
forty copies were appointed to be printed. His

n or] of whereby usually they had

upon him,] on him, <i broke] brake

P whereby they usually hadj

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554- THE HISTORY

BOOK " majesty said, it was well known where he was at

: " that time, when that rebellion broke r forth ; in

1642. "Scotland: that he immediately, from thence, re-
" commended the care of that business to both
houses of parliament here, after he had provided
for all fitting supplies from his kingdom of Scot-
" land : that, after his return hither, he observed all
" those forms for that service, which he was advised
" to by his council of Ireland, or both houses of par-
" liament here ; and if no proclamation issued out
sooner, (of which, for the present, he was not cer
tain ; but thought that others, by his directions^
were issued before that time,) it was, because the
lords justices of the kingdom desired them no
sooner ; and when they did, the number they de-
" sired was but twenty ; which they advised might
be signed by his majesty ; which he, for expedi
tion of the service, commanded to be printed ; a
circumstance not required by them ; thereupon he
signed more of them, than his justices desired ; all
which was very well known to some members of
one, or both houses of parliament ; who had the
more to answer, if they forbore to express it at
the passing of that declaration ; and if they did
express it, he had the greater reason to complain,
that so envious an aspersion should be cast on his
majesty to his people, when they knew well how
to answer their own objection.

What that complaint was against the parlia
ment, put forth in his name, which was such an
" evidence and countenance to the rebels, and spoke
" the same language of the parliament which the

r broke] brake

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OF THE REBELLION. 555

" rebels did; he said he could not understand. All BOOK
" his answers and declarations had been, and were.

" owned by himself; and had been attested under 1642<
" his own hand : if any other had been published in
" his name, and without his authority, it would be
" easy for both houses of parliament to discover and
" apprehend the authors : and he wished, that who-
" soever was trusted with the drawing and penning
" that declaration, had no more authority, or cun-
" ning to impose upon,, or deceive a major part of
" those votes, by which it passed, than any man
" had to prevail with his majesty to publish in his
" name any thing, but the sense and resolution of
" his own heart ; or that the contriver of that de-
" claration could, with as good a conscience, call
" God to witness, that all his counsels and endea-
" vours had been free from all private aims, per-
sonal respects or passions whatsoever, as his ma-
jesty had done, and did, that he never had, or
" knew of any s such resolution of bringing up the
" army to London.

" And since that new device was found out, in-
" stead of answering his reasons, or satisfying his
just demands, to blast his declarations and an-
swers, as if they were not his own ; a bold, sense-
less imputation ; he said he was sure, that every
answer and declaration, published by his majesty,
" was much more his own, than any one of those
" bold, threatening, and reproachful petitions and
" remonstrances, were the acts of either, or both
" houses. And if the penner of that declaration
" had been careful of the trust reposed in him, he

9 any] Not in MS.

"

"

"
"
"
"

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556 THE HISTORY

BOOK " would never have denied, (and thereupon found*

! " fault with his majesty s just indignation,) in the

42 " text or margent, that his majesty had never been
" charged with the intention of any force ; and that
" in their whole declaration, there was no one word
" tending to any such reproach ; the contrary where-
" of was so evident, that his majesty was, in ex-
" press terms, charged in that declaration, that he
" had sent them gracious messages, when, with his
privity, bringing up the army was in agitation ;
and, even in that declaration, they sought to
make the people believe some such thing to be
proved, in the depositions therewith published ;
" wherein, his majesty doubted not, they would as
" much fail, as they did in their censure of that pe
tition, shewed formerly to his majesty by captain
Leg, and subscribed by him C. R. u which, notwith
standing his majesty s full and particular narra
tion of the substance of that petition, the circum
stances of his seeing and approving it, that de-
" claration was pleased to say, was full of scandal
to the parliament, and might have proved danger
ous to the whole kingdom. If they had that dan
gerous petition in their hands, his majesty said,
" he had no reason to believe any tenderness to-
" wards him had kept them from communicating
" it ; if they had it not, his majesty ought to have
been believed: but that all good people might
compute their other pretended dangers by their
" clear understanding of that, the noise whereof
" had not been inferior to any of the rest, his ma-
" jesty said, he had recovered a true copy of the

1 found] have found C. R.] with C R.

a

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OF THE REBELLION. 557

"very petition he had signed with C. R. which BOOK
" should, in fit time, be published ; and which, he -

" hoped, would open the eyes of his good people.

" Concerning his warrant for Mr. Jermyn s pas-
" sage, his answer was true, and full ; but for his
" black satin suit, and white boots, he could give
"no account.

" His majesty had complained in his declaration,
" and, as often as he should have occasion to men-
" tion his return, and residence near London, he
should complain, of the barbarous and seditious
tumults at Whitehall and Westminster; which
indeed had been so full of scandal to his govern
ment, and danger to his person, that he should
never think of his return thither, till he had jus
tice for what was past, and security for the time
to come : and if there were so great a necessity,
or desire of his return, as was pretended, in all
this x time, upon so often pressing his desires, and
upon causes so notorious, he should at least have
procured some order for the future. But that de
claration told his majesty he was, upon the mat
ter, mistaken ; the resort of the citizens to West-
" minster was as lawful, as the resort of great num-
" bers every day in the term to the ordinary courts
of justice ; they knew no tumults. Strange ! was
the disorderly appearance of so many thousand
people, with staves and swords, crying through
the streets, Westminster-hall, the passage between
" both houses, (insomuch as the members could
hardly pass to and fro,) No bishops, down with
the bishops, no tumults? What member was

x this] Omitted in MS.

66

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558 THE HISTORY

BOOK " there of either house, that saw not those numbers,

y

L_"and heard not those cries? And yet lawful as-

1642. "semblies! Were not several members of either
" house assaulted, threatened, and evilly entreated ?
And yet no tumults ! Why made the house of
peers a declaration, and sent it down to the house
of commons, for the suppressing of tumults, if
" there were no tumults ? And if there were any,
" why was not such a declaration consented to, and
" published ? When the attempts were so visible,
" and threats so loud to pull down the abbey at
" Westminster, had not his majesty just cause to
" apprehend, that such people might continue their
" work to Whitehall ? Yet no tumults ! What a
" strange time are we in, that a few impudent, ma-
" licious (to give them no worse term) men should
" cast such a mist of error before the eyes of both
houses of parliament, as that they either could
not, or would not, see how manifestly they in
jured themselves, by maintaining those visible un-
truths. His majesty said, he would say no more :
by the help of God and the law, he would have
justice for those tumults.

" From excepting, how weightily every man
might judge, to what his majesty had said, that
declaration proceeded to censure him for what he
" had not said ; for the prudent omissions in his an
swer : his majesty had forborne to say any thing
of the words spoken at Kensington ; or the arti-
" cles against his dearest consort, and the accusa-
" tion of the six members : of the last, his majesty
" said, he had spoken often ; and he thought, enough
" of the other two ; but having never accused any,
" (though God knew what truth there might be in

66
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66

OF THE REBELLION. 559

either,) he had no reason to give any particular BOOK
answer. -

66
66

" He said, he did not reckon himself bereaved of
" any part of his prerogative ; which he was pleased
" freely, for a time, to part with by bill ; yet he
" must say, he expressed a great trust in his two
" houses of parliament, when he divested himself of
the power of dissolving this parliament; which
was a just, necessary, and proper prerogative.
" But he was glad to hear their resolution, that it
" should not encourage them to do any thing which
" otherwise had not been fit to have been done : if
" it did, it would be such a breach of trust, as y God
" would require an account for at their hands.

" For the militia, he had said so much of it z be-
" fore, and the point was so well understood by all
" men, that he would waste time no more in that
dispute. He never had said, there was no such
thing as an ordinance, though he knew that they
had been long disused, but that there was never
any ordinance, or could be any, without the king s
" consent ; and that was true : and the unnecessary
precedent, cited in that declaration, did not offer
to prove the contrary. But enough of that ; God
" and the law must determine that business.

" Neither had that declaration given his majesty
any satisfaction concerning the votes of the fif
teenth and sixteenth of March last a ; which he
must declare, and appeal to all the world in the
point, to be the greatest violation of his majesty s
" privilege, the law of the land, the liberty of the
" subject, and the right of parliament, that could be

> as] Not in MS. * of it] in it a last] Not in MS.

66
66

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560 THE HISTORY

BOOK " imagined. One of those votes was, and there
- ! " would need no other to destroy the king and peo-
42. 66 . w h en the i orc [ s an( j commons (it is well

"

..

" the commons are admitted to their part in judica
ture) shall declare what the law of the land is,
the same must be assented to, and obeyed; that
is the sense in few words. Where is every man s
" property ; every man s liberty ? If the major part
" of both houses declare, that the law is, that the
" younger brother shall inherit ; what is become of
" all the families and estates in the kingdom ? If
" they declare, that, by the fundamental laws b of
" the land, such a rash action, such an unadvised
word, ought to be punished by perpetual impri
sonment, is not the liberty of the subject, durante
beneplacito, remediless? That declaration con
fesses, they pretend not to a power of making
new laws ; that, without his majesty, they could
not do that : they needed no such power, if their
declaration could suspend this statute from being
obeyed, or c executed. If they had power to de
clare the lord Digby s waiting upon d his majesty
at e Hampton-court, and thence visiting some of-
ce ficers at Kingston^ with a coach and six horses, to
" be levying of war, and high treason ; and sir John
" Hotham s defying his majesty to his face, keeping
" his majesty s town, fort, and goods against him,
" by force of arms, to be an act of affection and loy-
" alty ; what needed a power of making new laws ?
" or would there be such a thing as law left ?

" He desired his good subjects to mark the rea-
" son and consequence of those votes ; the progress

b laws] law c or] and (1 upon] on e at] to

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66

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OF THE REBELLION.

" they had already made, and how infinite the f BOOK

" progress might be. First, they voted the king

" dom was in imminent danger (it was now above
" three months since they discerned it) from ene-
" mies abroad, and from a popish and disaffected h
" party at home ; that is matter of fact ; the law
" follows : this vote had given them authority by
" law, the fundamental laws of the kingdom, to
order and dispose of the militia of the kingdom ;
and, with this power, and to prevent that danger,
to enter into his majesty s towns, seize upon his
magazine, and, by force, keep both from him.
" Was not that his majesty s case ? First, they vote
" he had an intention to levy war against his parlia-
" ment ; that is matter of fact : then they declare
" such as shall assist him, to be guilty of high trea-
" son ; that is the law, and proved by two statutes
" themselves knew to be repealed. No matter for
that; they declare it. Upon this ground they
exercise the militia ; and so actually do that upon
his majesty, which they had voted he intended to
do upon them. Who could not see the confusion
" that must follow upon such power i of declaring ?
" If they should now vote that his majesty did not
" write this declaration, but that such a one did it,
" which was still matter of fact ; and then declare,
" that, for so doing, he was an enemy to the com-
" monwealth ; what was become of the law that
man was born to? And if all their zeal for the
defence of the law were but to defend that which
they declared to be law, their own votes ; it would
" not be in their power to satisfy any man of their

f the] that h disaffected] discontented

g from] Not in MS. such power] such a power

VOL. II, O O

a

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562 THE HISTORY

^

BOOK " good intentions to the public peace, but such who

" were k willing to relinquish their ] title to Magna

" Charta, and hold their lives, m and fortunes, by a
" vote of the n major part of both houses. In a

66

66

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66

word, his majesty denied not, but they might
have power to declare in a particular, doubtful
" case, regularly brought before them, what law is :
" but to make a general declaration, whereby the
known rule of the law might be crossed, or al
tered, they had no power; nor could exercise
" any, without bringing the life and liberty of the
" subject to a lawless and arbitrary subjection.

" His majesty had complained (and the world
" might judge of the justice and necessity of that
" complaint) of the multitude of seditious pamphlets
" and sermons ; and that declaration told him, they
knew he had ways enough in his ordinary courts
of justice to punish those ; so, his majesty said,
" he had to punish tumults and riots ; and yet they
" would not serve his turn to keep his towns, his
" forests, and parks from violence. And it might
" be, though those courts had still the power to
" punish, they might have lost the skill to define,
" what tumults and riots are ; otherwise a jury in
" Southwark, legally impanneled to examine a riot
there, would not have been superseded, and the
sheriff enjoined not to proceed, by virtue of an
" order of the house of commons ; which, it seemed,
" at that time had the sole power of declaring. But
" it was no wonder that they, who could not see
the tumults, did not consider the pamphlets and
sermons; though the author of the Protestation

k who were] as was m their lives,] his life,

1 their] his " the] a

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66

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66

66
66
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OF THE REBELLION. 563

"protested were well known to be Burton, (that BOOK

" infamous disturber of the peace of the church and

" state,) and that he preached it at Westminster, in
the hearing of divers members of the house of
commons. But of such pamphlets and seditious
preachers (divers whereof had been recommended,
if not imposed upon several parishes, by some
members of both houses, by what authority his
majesty knew not) he would hereafter take a fur-
" ther account.

" His majesty said, he confessed he had little
" skill in the laws ; and those that had had most,
" he found now were much to seek : yet he could
not understand or believe, that every ordinary
court, or any court, had power to raise what
guard they pleased, and under what command
they pleased. Neither could he imagine, what
dangerous effects they found by the guard he ap
pointed them ; or indeed any the least occasion,
why they needed any guard at all.

But of all the imputations, so causelessly and
unjustly laid vipon his majesty by that declara
tion, he said, he must wonder P at that charge so
apparently and evidently untrue ; that such were
" continually preferred and countenanced by him,
" who were friends or favourers, or related unto the
" chief authors and actors of that arbitrary power
" heretofore practised, and complained of: and, on
" the other side, that such as did appear against it
66 were daily discountenanced and disgraced. He
said, he would know one person that contributed
to the ills of those times, or had dependence upon

tc
it
66

ft

a

ft

66

ft

any] H p must wonder] most, wondered

o o 2

564 THE HISTORY

BOOK " those that did, whom he did, or lately had couri-
" tenanced, or preferred ; nay he was confident, (and

a

(6
(f
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66
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66
(t

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66

42t " he looked for no other at their hands,) as they had
" been always most eminent assertors of the public
liberties ; so, if they found his majesty inclined to
any thing not agreeable to honour and justice,
they would leave him to-morrow. Whether dif
ferent persons had not, and did not receive coun
tenance elsewhere, and upon what grounds, all
men might judge ; and whether his majesty had
not been forward enough to honour and prefer
those of the most contrary opinion, how little
comfort soever he had of those preferments, in
" bestowing of which, hereafter, he would be more
guided by men s actions than opinions. And there
fore he had good cause to bestow that admonition
" (for his majesty assured them, it was an admoni-
" tion of his own) upon both his houses of parlia-
" ment, to take heed of inclining, under the spe-
" cious shows of necessity and danger, to the exercise
" of such an arbitrary power, they before complain-
" ed of: the advice would do no harm, and he should
be glad to see it followed.

" His majesty asked, if all the specious promises,
and loud professions, of making him a great and a
glorious king ; of settling a greater revenue upon
his majesty, than any of his ancestors had en-
" joyed; of making him to be honoured at home,
" and feared abroad ; were resolved into this ; that
" they would be ready to settle his revenue in an
" honourable proportion, when he should put him
self in such a posture of government, that his sub
jects might be secure to enjoy his just protection
for their religion, laws, and liberties ? What pos-

66

66
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66

66
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66

OF THE REBELLION. 565

" ture of government they intended, he knew not; BOOK
" nor could he imagine what security his good sub- v -

6(

66

66
66

jects could desire for their religion, laws, and li- 1642.
berties, which he had not offered, or fully given.
" And was it suitable to the duty and dignity of
" both houses of parliament to answer his particular,
" weighty expressions of the causes of his remove
" from London, so generally known to the kingdom,
with a scoff; that they hoped he was driven from
thence, not by his own fears, but by the fears of
" the lord Digby, and his retinue of cavaliers ? Sure,
" his majesty said, the penner of that declaration
" inserted that ungrave and insolent expression, as
" he had done divers others, without the consent or
examination of both houses ; who would not so
lightly have departed from their former profes
sions of duty to his majesty.
" Whether the way to a good understanding be
tween his majesty and his people had been as zea
lously pressed by them, as it had been professed
" and desired by him, would be easily discerned by
"them who observed that he had left no public act
" undone on his part, which, in the least degree,
" might be necessary to the peace, plenty, and se
curity of his subjects : and that they had not de
spatched one act, which had given the least evi-
" dence of their particular affection and kindness
to his majesty ; but, on the contrary, had discoun
tenanced and hindered the testimony other men
would give to him of their affections. Witness
the stopping, and keeping back, the bill of subsi
dies, granted by the clergy almost a year since ;
which, though his personal wants were so notori-
" ously known, they would not, to that time, pass ;

o o 3

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..
..

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566 THE HISTORY

BOOK "so not only forbearing to supply his majesty them-
" selves, but keeping the love and bounty of other

<
c
it

42, men f rom fa m . an( j affording <i no other answers
" to all his desires, all his reasons, (indeed not to be
" answered,) than that he must not make his under-
" standing, or reason, the rule of his government ;
" but suffer himself to be assisted (which his majesty
" never denied) by his great council. He said, he
" required no other liberty to his will, than the
" meanest of them did, (he wished they would al-
" ways use that liberty,) not to consent to any thing
" evidently contrary to his conscience and under-
" standing : and he had, and should always give as
" much estimation and regard to the advice and
counsel of both houses of parliament, as ever
prince had done : but he should never, and he
hoped his people would never, account the con-
" trivance of a few factious, seditious persons, a
" malignant party, who would sacrifice the common-
" wealth to their own fury and ambition, the wis-
" dom of parliament ; and that the justifying and
" defending of such persons (of whom, and of their
" particular, sinister ways, to compass their own bad
" ends, his majesty would shortly inform the world)
" was not the way to preserve parliaments, but was
" the opposing, and preferring a few unworthy per-
" sons, before their duty to their king, or their care
" of the kingdom. They would have his majesty
" remember, that his resolutions did concern king-
" doms, and therefore not to be moulded by his own
" understanding : he said, he did well remember it ;
" but he would have them remember, that when

i affording] afforded

OF THE REBELLION. 567

" their consultations endeavoured to lessen the of- BOOK

v.
" fice and dignity of a king, they meddled with that

*^f ^ *

" which is not within their determination, and of
" which his majesty must give an account to God,
" and his other kingdoms, and must maintain with
" the sacrifice of his life.

" Lastly, that declaration told the people of a pre-
" sent, desperate, and malicious plot the malignant
" party was then acting, under the plausible notions
" of stirring men up to a care of preserving the
" king s prerogative ; maintaining the discipline of
" the church, upholding and continuing the reve-
" rence and solemnity of God s service ; and encou-
" raging learning, (indeed plausible and honourable
" notions to act any thing upon,) and that upon those
" grounds divers mutinous petitions had been framed
in London, Kent, and other places : his majesty
asked upon what grounds these men would have
petitions framed ? Had so many petitions, even
" against the form and constitution of the kingdom,
and the laws established, been joyfully received
and accepted ? And should petitions framed upon
those grounds be called mutinous? Had a multi-
" tude of mean, unknown, inconsiderable, contemp
tible persons, about the city and suburbs of Lon
don, had liberty to petition against the govern
ment of the church ; against the Book of Com-
" mon-Prayer ; against the freedom and privilege of
" parliament ; and been thanked for it ; and should
" it be called mutiny, in the greatest 1 " and best citi-
" zens of London, and 8 the gentry and commonalty
u of Kent, to frame petitions upon those grounds ;

r greatest] gravest s and] in

o o 4

it

..

66

..
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568 THE HISTORY

BOOK " and to desire to be governed by the known laws of
" the land, not by orders and votes of either, or

66
66

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66

1 642. both houses ? Could this be thought the wisdom
and justice of both houses of parliament ? Was it
not evidently the work of a faction, within or
" without both houses, who deceived the trust re
posed in them ; and had now told his majesty what
mutiny was ? To stir men up to a care of preserv
ing his prerogative, maintaining the discipline of
the church, upholding and continuing the reve
rence and solemnity of God s service, encouraging
" of learning, was mutiny. Let heaven and earth,
" God and man, judge between his majesty and
" these men : and however such petitions were there
called mutinous; and the petitioners threatened,
discountenanced, censured, and imprisoned ; if they
brought such petitions to his majesty, he would
graciously receive them ; and defend them, and
their rights, against what power soever, with the
uttermost hazard of his being.
" His majesty said, he had been the longer, to his
very great pain, in this answer, that he might give
" the world satisfaction, even in the most tiivial par-
" ticulars, which had been objected against him ; and
that he might not be again reproached, with any
more prudent omissions. If he had been com
pelled to sharper language than his majesty af-
" fected, it might be considered, how vile, how in-
" sufferable his provocations had been : and, except
to repel force were to assault, and to give punctual
and necessary answers to rough and insolent de-
" mands, were to make invectives, he was confident
" the world would accuse his majesty of too much
" mildness ; and all his good subjects would think,

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tt

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OF THE REBELLION. 569

" he was not well dealt with; and would judge of BOOK
" his majesty, and of their own happiness, and secu-

_ *

" rity in him, by his actions ; which he desired might 1642 -
" no longer prosper, or have a blessing from God
" upon them, and his majesty, than they should be
" directed to the glory of God, in the maintenance
" of the true protestant profession, to the preserva-
** tion of the property and liberty of the subject, in
" the observation of the laws ; and to the mainte-
" nance of the rights and freedom of parliament, in
" the allowance and protection of all their just pri-
" vileges."

APPENDIX

APPENDIX, A.

REFERRED TO IN PAGE 6.

OO when they assumed the power to control and reverse?
the licence and power granted by the king to the Spanish
ambassador, for transporting four thousand Irish soldiers
upon the disbanding that army into Flanders, (as was be
fore touched,) and to the French ambassador, for three
thousand of the army disbanded here, for the service of
that king ; in debate whereof they used all licence to look
into the mysteries of state, and to weigh the interest of king
doms, of which very few of them could be competent con-
siderers, though they had been qualified by authority. In
these irregular and undutiful contests, the French ambassa
dor, whose business was to foment the jealousies between
the king and people, had insinuated himself into that li
berty of transporting men for his master s service, with no
other design, than to be thereby enabled to contribute to
wards the affronting the king, by departing from it, to in
gratiate the houses ; and, therefore, having very particular
intercourse and correspondence with the prime managers,
as soon as upon their first addresses his majesty had signi
fied his engagement to the two kings, and that he could not
in honour recede from what he had promised, he volun
tarily offered to acquit the king of that supply which con
cerned his master, if his majesty would likewise retract
what was expected by the Spaniard ; which gave them op
portunity so importunately to press his majesty, who had
no other counsel to consult with upon any despatches, but
such as durst not contradict their overtures, (secretary Vane
then waiting on him,) that he departed from his former re-

574 APPENDIX, A.

solutions and concessions ; and so to common understanding
disobliged both crowns, with that disadvantage to himself,
that both thereby found his want of power ; and the Spa
niard from thence (besides the inflammation of the corre
spondence with Portugal) took occasion to comply with
those, who they found could do them hurt; whilst the
French delighted themselves both with disappointing their
enemy, and cozening their friends ; to whom, in truth, they
were more irreconciled than to the other. Whether in that
conjuncture of the affairs of Christendom, the resolution was
well taken of supplying those two kings, or either of them,
with soldiers at that time, or whether either kingdom could
then well spare auxiliaries to another, I will not now con
sider ; but the counsel being once taken, it was in view that
the retracting of it by their advice, who naturally were not
counsellors in those mysteries, and yet were very apt to ex
tend and usurp the jurisdiction and right of advising, upon
the least precedent of admission, would open a door to let in
many bold desires, to the king s disadvantage.

APPENDIX, B.

REFERRED TO IN PAGE 13.

U PON the king s first coming into Scotland, there having
been some jealousies and discontents in that army, the earl
of Montrose declaring himself an enemy to their proceed
ings, and being not only in disgrace, but under restraint, as
a person suspected too much to incline to the king, himself
professing that he had been seduced by the specious pre
tences and false informations of the other party, the error
whereof he had now discovered ; others reproaching his le
vity and ambition, with being discontented at the greatness
and reputation of the earl of Argyle, who appeared not so
early in the first commotions as himself; the king was in
formed and advised, by some of near trust about him, who
had great correspondence with Montrose, that the marquis
of Hamilton had betrayed him throughout that whole great
business, and that he and Argyle combined together to de
stroy him ; and that if his majesty would give his consent,
they should be both accused of high treason. The king
hath told me, that (though he had reason enough to believe
the worst that could be said of those two) he was positively
against meddling with them at that time, both in respect of
their very great interest in that kingdom, and the failing he
conceived would be in the proofs against them ; and espe
cially, that he had no reason to believe any attempt against
him ; and the law could at that time be adjudged a crime
by those, who had the only liberty of judging. But being
with great confidence assured, by Will. Murray, of his bed
chamber, whom he singularly trusted, that the proofs would
not be only full and sufficient, but that the major part of
the nobility had so great indignation against those two lords,

576 APPENDIX, B.

(for their disserving his majesty, and for making them in
struments of bringing so great mischief upon so good a
king,) that they would join together, and that they should
be no sooner accused of high treason, but they should be
immediately carried to prison ; and then, that it would be
no hard matter to break their factions, and master their de
pendants; the king was persuaded to refer it to them
selves, every one well knowing, that by the law of that
kingdom, the delator (if he failed in his proof) was to suffer
the same punishment, his accusation could bring (being
proved) upon the other. About the same time, the lord
Carr, eldest son to the earl of Roxburgh, upon some pri
vate difference, but upon the public cause, had sent a chal
lenge to the marquis of Hamilton, by the earl of Crawford,
who indeed was of an inveterate hatred to the marquis ; the
which being taken notice of, care was taken to prevent that
mischief. Upon a sudden, two or three days before the
session was thought to end, the two great lords, Hamilton
and Argyle, at midnight, with such followers as were at
hand, fled out of the town to a house of the marquis Ha
milton s, some miles distant from Edinburgh, where they
stood upon their guard, their dependants giving it out that
there was a plot to have murdered them. The town was
presently in an uproar, the gates shut, and guards set, and
the parliament there in great disorder and apprehension;
whilst the two lords writ letters both to the king and to the
parliament, of great conspiracies and combinations entered
into against them, not without some reflection upon his ma
jesty. The king desired the parliament to be careful in the
examination of all particulars, who thereupon made com
mittees : and after some days spent in taking the depositions
of such witnesses as offered themselves, and of such other
persons whom they thought fit to produce, the lords return
to Edinburgh, not without some acknowledgment to the
king of an over-apprehension ; though otherwise they car
ried themselves like men that thought they were in danger.
That which gave most occasion of discourse was, that from
that time Will. Murray (who was the only, or the most

APPENDIX, B. 577

notable prosecutor and contriver of whatsoever was to have
been done in that business, and was before understood to be
a most avowed enemy to marquis Hamilton) grew to be of
a most entire friendship with him, and at defiance with the
earl of Montrose, with whom, till then, he had so absolute a
power, that by his skill and interest that earl was reduced
to the kinsfs service : and I have heard the earl of Montrose

o

say, that he was the only man who discovered that whole
counsel to the marquis, after he had been a principal en-
courager of what had been proposed to the king ; and an
undertaker to prove many notable things himself. -

Whatever was in this business, and I could never dis
cover more than I have here set down, though the king
himself told me all that he knew of it, as I verily believe,
it had a strange influence at Westminster, and served to
contribute to all the senseless fears they thought fit to
put on. The committee in Scotland (Mr. Hambden, Mr.
Fynes, and the rest) writ, that the parliament there was,
with great harmony of affections, even concluding all the
great affairs of that kingdom, and the king thinking upon
his speedy return into England ; but that there was unex
pectedly fallen out an accident, by the sudden departure of
the two great lords of Hamilton and Argyle (whom they
loaded with the large attributes of piety arid affection to the
peace of the two kingdoms) from the parliament, and stand
ing upon their guards, which, they said, had begot so ge
neral an amazement, that they knew riot what to apprehend ;
but for the better prevention of mischief, that strong guards
were set in Edinburgh, and all strangers required to avoid
the town ; the copy of which order was sent. This letter
(whether it arrived then, or was reserved for that seasonable
season) was produced to the committee on Tuesday the 19th
of October, which was the day before the remeeting of the
two houses; and immediately, as if Edinburgh had been
London, and the two lords the king s children, it was con
cluded, there was some desperate design on foot, and some
other practices of the same nature to be executed upon the
good patriots of this kingdom ; and therefore, without any

VOL. IT. p p

578 APPENDIX, B.

pause, till another despatch might come from Scotland,
whereby all mysteries might be revealed, the committee is
sued their warrants to the sheriffs of London and Middle
sex, and to the justices of peace, to appoint strong guards
in arms, to watch about London and Westminster; and
besides their public warrants, by private intimations di
rected what was necessary to be done, to improve the use
ful fears of the people: and so that very day, as if all
things had been ready for the occasion, a very formal
guard of armed men attended at the palace at Westmin
ster, where the committee of both houses sat.

On Wednesday the 20th of October, after a recess of
about six weeks, (in which time the foundation was laid for
all the mischief of the next year,) the two houses met
again, and found themselves guarded by a great body of
soldiers in arms, (the whole train-band of Westminster of
ficiously giving their attendance that day,) whilst Mr. Pym
reported to them the dangers they were in ; and, though
upon reading the letters no great matter appeared, gave
them cause to believe they should know more shortly than
they expected : and thereupon the earl of Essex (who, as
was said before, was general of that side Trent) was so
lemnly desired to appoint a guard to attend every day the
two houses ; who graciously dispensed so great number as
then attended, and directed only one hundred a day to
wait, and to be relieved at night by another hundred : and
being thus secured, they proceeded in the ordinary vexa
tions of the committee; enjoining all such persons to at
tend, who had refused obedience to their orders of reforma
tion in the church, or of recommendation of lecturers ; but
not yet trusting the house enough to bring any one person
to judgment before them, for his contumacy to those in
junctions. Though the kindness and protection of both
houses towards marquis Hamilton had been very visible
from the beginning of the parliament, that in all their in
quisition for reformation, they had never suffered him to
be so much as named, who was before the most odious to
court and country, yet their acknowledging him for a pa-

APPENDIX, B. 579

triot, and so vital a part of the kingdom, that a combina
tion against him was no less than treason, was not disco
vered till this husbanding of the Scotch fears, to the terror
of the two houses : and it is not to be believed, how those
men, who in their hearts were as great enemies to his per
son, and as well acquainted with his nature, seemed con
cerned in the danger that was threatened to his greatness ;
insomuch as the next day after the receipt of the letters,
the earls of Essex and Holland sadly told me, that I might
clearly discern the indirect way of the court, and how
odious all honest men grew to them.

p p

APPENDIX, C.

REFERRED TO IN PAGE 19.

J. HERE was another accident happened a little before,
of which the indisposition in Scotland was the effect, the
death of the earl of Rothes, a man mentioned before, of
the highest authority in the contriving and carrying on the
rebellion in Scotland, and now the principal commissioner
in England, and exceedingly courted by all the party
which governed. Whether he found that he had raised a
spirit that would not be so easily conjured down again, and
yet would not be as entirely governed by him as it had
been ; or whether he desired from the beginning only to
mend his own fortune, or was converted in his judgment
that the action he was engaged in was not warrantable,
certain it is, that he had not been long in England, before
he liked both the kingdom and the court so well, that he
was not willing to part with either. He was of a pleasant
and jovial humour, without any of those constraints which
the formality of that time made that party subject them
selves to ; and he played his game so dexterously, that he
was well assured upon a fair composition that the Scots 1
army should return home well paid, and that they should
be contented with the mischief they had already done,
without fomenting the distempers in England. He was to
marry a noble lady of a great and ample fortune and
wealth, and should likewise be made a gentleman of the
king s bed-chamber, and a privy-counsellor ; and upon
these advantages made his condition in this kingdom as
pleasant as he could ; and in order thereunto, he resolved to
preserve the king s power as high as he could in all his do
minions. When any extraordinary accidents attend those

APPENDIX, C. 581

private contracts, men naturally are very free in their cen
sures, and so his sudden falling into a sickness, and from a
great vigour of body, in the flower of his age, (for he was
little more than thirty,) into a weakness, which was not
usual, nor could the physicians discover the ground of it,
administered much occasion of discourse; and that his
countrymen too soon discovered his conversion. He was
not able to attend upon his majesty to Scotland ; where he
was to have acted a great part ; but he hoped to have been
able to have followed him thither. His weakness increased
so fast, that by the time the king was entered that king
dom, the earl died at Richmond, whither he retired for the
benefit of the air ; and his death put an end to all hopes of
good quarter with that nation ; and made him submit to
all the uneasy and intolerable conditions there, they could
impose upon him. Yet he returned from thence with some
confidence that he should receive no more trouble from
thence, the principal persons there having made him great
acknowledgment, and greater professions; (for which he
had given them all they could desire, and indeed all and
more than he had to give :) and Lesley the general, whom
he made earl of Leven, with precedence of all earls for his
life, had told him voluntarily, and with an oath, that he
would not only never serve against him, but would do him
any service he should command, right or wrong.

r p3

APPENDIX, D.

REFERRED TO IN PAGE 35.

Monday, the first day of November, (the king being
still in Scotland,) the house of commons was informed,
that the body of the lords of the council desired to impart
somewhat to them of great consequence and concernment
to the kingdom; whereupon (after a short debate for the
manner of their reception, there having never been the like
occasion) chairs were placed in the middle of the house,
and they sent for in. The lord keeper informed the house,
that the lord lieutenant of Ireland (who was present) had
acquainted their lordships of the council with some letters
he had received from the lords justices and council of Ire
land, of a dangerous commotion and rebellion in that king
dom ; and that the house of peers being adjourned till the
next day, (for it was All Saints day, which the lords yet
kept holy, though the commons had reformed it,) they
knew no other way to communicate it but this : and there
upon the earl of Leicester, lord lieutenant of Ireland, read
the letters he had that morning received ; by which it ap
peared, that on the day of October, there had
been a great design and conspiracy by some catholics to
seize upon the castle of Dublin, where the arms and maga
zine for that kingdom were principally kept ; and that the
discovery was fortunately made by one Owen O Conelly,
(who was sent over with the letters,) not many hours be
fore it should have been put in execution : and so the prin
cipal conspirators, the lord Macguyre, one Mark Mahon,
and some others, were apprehended, who, upon their ex
aminations, had confessed their intentions of seizing the

APPENDIX, D. 583

castle, and imprisoning at least the justices and council ;
for their doing whereof, many hundreds of Irish were by
appointment at that time in the town and suburbs : that
though by this happy discovery the mischief was for the
present prevented in that city, yet that the rebellion was
broken out in many places of the kingdom, especially in
Ulster, where sir Phelim CTNeile had gathered together a
great body, and had seized upon many houses and places
of strength, his men exercising great barbarities and inhu
man cruelties upon the English protestants ; and that the
whole kingdom was in that terror and apprehension, that
they knew not whom to trust, every hour discovering the
defection of some person or place which they before sus
pected not ; and therefore they desired, with all possible ex
pedition, a supply of men and money, and some materials
for war. Within two or three days at most, arrived letters
from his majesty in Scotland, containing the same intelli
gence, and an information of some levies of men, prepared
by the advice of the parliament of that kingdom, for their
speedy relief; and a recommendation, and in truth a full
submission of the whole business, and carrying on that
war, to the wisdom and conduct of his parliament here;
his majesty too soon considering it only as matter of trou
ble and charge ; and not that the devotion of that people,
and all that were to be engaged for them, would naturally
incline to those from whom they were to expect support,
which could not (as it hath since done) but beget him some
trouble. The opinions and minds of men upon this great
accident were very different and various. Some, who re
membered well enough the blood and treasure less commo
tions in Ireland than this seemed to be had cost this king
dom, and in a time that was better prepared to spare both,
were yet less affected with the mischief and danger; be
cause they thought (too reasonably) that the storm in that
kingdom would make fair weather in this, and that all ill
humours and indispositions would be allayed, and united
towards the suppression of that rebellion, there being like

r p 4

584 APPENDIX, D.

to be business enough for the most active, and reward
enough for the most covetous, and honour for the ambi
tious. Others, who observed with what smooth brows the
great champions for reformations received this alarum,
otherwise than was natural to their courage, and that by
the advice of the parliament of Scotland the king had on
a sudden committed the ordering as well as the maintain
ing the war to them, believed they had fomented and con
trived this rebellion to keep themselves in action, reputa
tion, and dominion ; for here was now a new argument for
the continuance of the parliament, superior to the first
ground of the act: and this opinion was seriously im
proved, when it was observed how warily they entered
upon the war, and moved as though they feared it would
be too soon ended ; some of them not sticking to say, that
nothing was so necessary to the well settling and advancing
that kingdom, as the present rebellion, of which we shall
have occasion to say more hereafter. Those men again
whispered, and by degrees shortly after spake aloud, that
that commotion was licensed by the king, with a purpose
to perplex this kingdom, and to form an army of papists
that should be at his devotion, to invade this kingdom,
and oppress the parliament ; which most odious and scan
dalous imputation, how senseless and groundless soever,
found by the wicked arts of these men so much credit with
the people, that we shall often have occasion hereafter to
mention sundry inconveniences and mischiefs the king sus
tained thereby. But as I very well know that barbarous
rebellion to have been ever most perfectly odious to the
king, so I am confident the parliament (nor any of those
that then swayed there) never originally and intentionally
contributed thereunto; though it is as true, that by their
rage and fury they fomented and inflamed it, after it was
begun ; being willing to increase the number of the guilty ;
and truly I am persuaded, collaterally advanced the first
inclination to rebel : for it is very probable, that the seeds
were sown, and the design framed, at least polished, during

APPENDIX, D. 585

the time that the committee stayed here, which came hither
from the parliament of Ireland the spring before; of
which, upon this occasion, I shall speak a word.

The committee (consisting most of papists, and who have
been since the most active in the rebellion) being sent from
the parliament of that kingdom, amongst other things, to
assist any complaint that should be preferred against the
earl of Strafford, who, well knowing the nature of that na
tion, had been very watchful over them, were, as soon as
they came to London, affectionately treated by those who
were engaged to ruin that great man; admitted to their
counsels, and, for the assistance they gave to that important
work, were hearkened to in whatsoever they informed or
proposed for that kingdom. Thus, upon the death of sir
Rowland Wansford, (their deputy,) they procured the king
to be moved by some powerful persons, that he would take
their advice in the placing a new governor, as best knowing
the state and affection of that kingdom ; at least, that he
would [take] exceptions from them against some persons,
whom they knew to be very unfit for that charge ; and this
was, with great respect and subtlety, advised his majesty, to
prevent the intermeddling of the house of commons, who
might be too apt to offer their advice and opinion in that
matter. Having gotten thus much ground, towards which
they used the puritans about the king, and the priests about
the queen, (which were like to engender an excellent reso
lution,) they excepted against three persons, who, they said,
in that conjuncture of time, could not be useful to his ma
jesty in the government of that kingdom ; which were, the
lord of Ormond, the lord of Roscommon, and sir Wm. St.
Leger, lord president of Munster; which three had been
recommended by the earl of Strafford to the king, to make
choice of: and, without question, if either the first or the
last, and, it may be, the other, had been then made choice
of, the peace and quiet of that kingdom had been preserved.
By this means sir Will. Parsons and sir Jo. Borlase were
made lords justices; one of which had never been a man,
and was now a child again ; and the other, though a person

586 APPENDIX, D.

of great experience and subtlety, so obnoxious, that, in so
inquisitive a time, he durst not exercise the necessary acts
of sovereignty ; but, from his first entrance upon the com
mand, suffered any invasion to be made on the rights of the
crown and the dignity of his office.

In this time they observed the proceedings of the parlia
ment here, and the grounds upon which they built their
greatness, and transmitted the precedent to the two houses
there, where were as many papists, as puritans here, who,
according to the pattern, built upon the sure foundations.
Then they discovered, by sundry acts they did themselves,
and countenanced in others, that they had an implacable
rancour to the catholics of this kingdom ; and when they
heard it declared at the trial of the earl of Strafford, that
the kingdom of Ireland, and the parliament thereof, was
subject to this parliament, and that an act made here would
bind that kingdom, if it were named in the act, they appre
hended themselves and their religion to be in much danger ;
and so considered, amongst themselves, how to make use of
the troubles they saw like to befall this kingdom, to their
own advantage.

Upon the death of the earl of Strafford, the king consti
tuted the earl of Leicester lieutenant of Ireland, who being
then extraordinary ambassador in France, was necessarily
to return into that kingdom, (from which he was come hi
ther, by leave from the king, for few days,) to finish that
negociation, before he could go to receive the sword in Ire
land, which, in that article, wanted a vigilant and active
commander.

It is true, that the parliament was nothing satisfied with
the king s election, the earl of Leicester being known to few
of them, and without cause suspected, for some correspond
ence he was thought to have with the earl of Strafford : be
sides, that they had a mind to have that kingdom in the
custody of a confident of their own; and either marquis
Hamilton himself, or some friend for him, had a thought of
it. On the other hand, the committee was more displeased,
for they hoped so wisely to have managed their negative

APPENDIX, D. 587

voice of excepting to persons, that at last it should be com
mitted to some person at least well inclined to them ; and
the earl of Leicester, however his late grace at court had
sullied him at home, was generally understood to be a pu
ritan abroad ; at least they knew him more than ordinarily
averse to their religion : so that they had little hope of more,
than the advantages they could make in the time he was ne
cessarily to be absent from them. Therefore, having done all
for which they came, (except in this point of the chief go
vernor,) and having by their interest with the enemies of the
earl of Strafford here prevailed against their sending away
and transporting the soldiers of the new army in Ireland,
and in the parliament in Ireland against their disbanding,
for a good time after the king s command to that purpose,
they departed to their own country ; where they found great
licences used in resisting the government, taking possessions
by force, and other acts of disorder, which were every day
exercised, by the remissness of the lords justices; together
with the discountenance which had been here put upon the
extraordinary, but necessary proceedings, which, upon rea
son of state, had been always used by the supreme governors
there : and, without doubt, the scheme was then laid for the
general insurrection over the kingdom, which brake out in
October following, though, I believe, it was prosecuted with
more barbarous and inhuman circumstances by the base peo
ple than was intended, and though many more of quality
joined afterwards with the rebels, by the indirect carrying of
the lords justices, and by the violence of the parliament of
England, than in the beginning were privy, or consenting in
their hearts to it : of which more hereafter.

The earl of Strafford, by his experience of the temper of
that people, foresaw a storm would arise thence to the king,
as had done to himself, and gave his majesty warning of it,
and afterwards advised him to send the lord Cottington thi
ther his lieutenant ; but the winds here were too high, and
too much against him then, to venture thither, which was
like to be no easy or pleasant station, though no rebellion
had happened. It was strange, that upon the first opening

588 APPENDIX, D.

of this, the king was not persuaded (which I have not
heard he was) to dissolve that parliament, which, in proba
bility, could be no further applied to his service, and visibly
might do him great hurt, as it after did; but the court
believed, that the only danger being from the puritans of
this kingdom, it could not be improved by the papists of
that, whose ambition and interest found a line of communi
cation in spite of their religion. If that parliament had been
dissolved when this was summoned, (after, it could not rea
sonably be,) it being discernible of what spirit it would be ;
or if the earl of Ormond or the president of Munster had
been made deputy upon the death of Wansford, and the
lieutenant absolutely laid down his interest, which he did
not till his death, so that the nation was without a subor
dinate dependance upon any man, who might lessen their
fears, and improve their hopes; or if the soldiers of that
army had been suffered to be transported, when the king
gave his licence and warrant to that purpose, I am verily
persuaded that fire would never have been kindled, or as
soon extinguished. And it is as probable, that if that king
dom had contained itself within their old limits of obedi
ence and loyalty, I should neither have had the leisure or
occasion to have complained of the breaches or violation of
this. How one, which should have prevented, did contribute
to the other, must be too often remembered and mentioned
in this ensuing discourse.

As soon as the condition of Ireland was understood, order
was given for the speedy raising of five thousand foot and
one thousand horse, under such officers as the house should
approve of; a list of which was to be preferred to them by
the lord lieutenant, his lordship having, with their approba
tion, sent a commission of lieutenant-general to the earl of
Ormond, by the desire and recommendation of the lords
justices and council there. A committee of both houses
was appointed to intend the business and affairs of that
kingdom, and special directions given, that no officer of the
late northern army, who was suspected to have any hand in
their plot against the parliament, should be entertained in

APPENDIX, D. 589

that service. New jealousy and sharpness was expressed
against the papists, as if they were privy to the insurrection
in Ireland, and to perform the same exploits in this king
dom. Hereupon the guards were doubled, and several houses
searched for arms and ammunition; letters were framed,
and directed to some obscure papists, and then found in the
street, and brought to the house, and there opened and read,
in which there are dark discourses of plots and disappoint
ments ; but that all will be speedily repaired by the dili
gence and power of their friends : and such absurd, gross
follies, as even the discoverers blushed at. Yet this is made
matter of serious concernment, and thereupon lists of all
papists of quality, in the several counties of England, was
presented, and the house of peers moved, that their persons
may be secured. The houses of ambassadors were searched
for priests ; and such insolencies offered to their persons, as
exposed the honour of the king and kingdom to the won
der and censure of Christendom. The barbarous curiosity
was revived of opening letters, (which they had practised
upon discovery of their first plot, and upon the flight of
Mr. Percy and Mr. Jermyn,) especially to one from France,
in which they often met with expressions of censure, scorn,
and reproach, upon their own proceedings, which were straight
interpreted as so many conspiracies against the parliament.
Once they found a letter of intelligence to Mr. Mountague,
in France, which they discovered by some that knew the
hand to be written by Phillips, the queen s confessor. Though
there was nothing in it of public relation, they would needs
have him examined upon some expressions in it, and so he
was sent for to the lords * house. When the oath was admi
nistering to him, he absurdly pulled away his hand from the
book, and said, it was no true Bible ; for which he was de
servedly committed. As soon as it was known to the house
of commons, (and it was immediately communicated at a
conference by the lords as a notable testimony of their zeal,)
it was looked upon as a reproach to our religion upon de
sign ; and of that nature, that no priest would presume, in
the face of a parliament, but by extraordinary countenance

590 APPENDIX, D.

and instigation : and from thence great liberty was taken to
inveigh against the religion of the court, with bold and ap
parent glances at the person of the queen. By these high
and fierce proceedings the catholic lords were so appalled,
that they not only withdrew themselves from the house of
peers, (which was the drift of the powerful party,) but, out
of tameness of spirit and dejection of mind, deposited their
proxies with those lords, who were the principal contrivers
and cherishers of the violence that was against them : and
yet it is true, that the earl of Essex, who was trusted with
the earl of St. Alban s proxy, would very frequently, in the
agitation of business, give his own vote one way, and his
proxy the other way ; saying, he knew it was the mind of
him who trusted him ; which was no doubt the rule he was
to govern himself by : but there was no other example of
that justice.

APPENDIX, E.

REFERRED TO IN PAGE 39.

x\.T the beginning of the parliament, or shortly after,
when all men were inflamed with the pressures and illegali
ties which had been exercised upon them, a committee was
appointed to prepare a remonstrance of the state of the
kingdom, to be presented to his majesty, in which the se
veral grievances might be recited; which committee had
never brought any report to the house, most men conceiv
ing, (and very reasonably,) that the quick and effectual
progress his majesty made for the reparation of those griev
ances, and prevention of the like for the future, had render
ed that work needless. But as soon as the intelligence came
of his majesty being on his way from Scotland towards Lon
don, that committee was, with great earnestness and impor
tunity, called upon to bring in the draft of such remon
strance, upon pretence, that great endeavour had been used
(and then the examinations procured by the earl of Hol
land s information, upon the old business of the army, were
produced, or rather reported) to pervert the affections of
the people from the parliament, by magnifying the great
grace and bounty of the king, in the many acts passed by
him from the beginning of the parliament ; and by under
valuing whatsoever had been done in retribution by them to
the king, which was said to be nothing : and therefore, that
it was necessary, for their acquittal, that they should let the
kingdom know, in what state and condition they found it
at their first convention, and the fruit and benefit they had
received by their counsels, wherein their securities were not
yet sufficiently provided for; and what they intended to do
further for them, both in church and state : and they said,

592 APPENDIX, E.

though the prime evil counsellors were removed, there were
others growing up in their places, like to do as much mis
chief. And so the committee was directed to prepare and
bring in the remonstrance.

On Monday, the 22d of November, (the king being
within two miles of London,) Mr. Pym brought in the re
monstrance, which was read, having no direction to the king,
or mention of the house of peers, but being a plain decla
ration from the house of commons to the people ; and en
titled, A Remonstrance of the State of the Kingdom ; in
which they set forth, " that there had been from the begiri-
" ning of his majesty s reign,"" &c. as in page 49, line 14.

APPENDIX, F.

REFERRED TO IN PAGE 58.

J. HIS remonstrance being read about ten of the clock in
the morning, it was demanded, whether it should be sent to
the lords, and passed that house ; for that though it seemed
to be intended only for an act for the commons, yet it com
prehended some particulars which concerned the peers in
matter of privilege, and might be occasion of difference, if
their concurrence should not be desired. Though no posi
tive declaration of the sense of the house was made in this
point, it being said, it might be considered after it passed
the vote, it was apparent they meant not to carry [it] to the
lords, and desire their approbation. It was thereupon ob
jected, " That such a remonstrance was unprecedented,
" and never before heard of in parliament ; all remon-
" strances having been heretofore directed to the king, by
" way of petition, or else to the house of peers, when it
" concerned matter in difference between them : whereas
" this seemed to be an instrument to the people, in the na-
" ture of an appeal to them ; which had never been prac-
" tised, and might prove of very dangerous consequence.
" That his majesty had reason to expect, upon his return
" from Scotland, some demonstration of their affection, in
" bills and other acts prepared for the settlement of his re-
" venue, in acknowledgment of the many acts of grace and
" favour passed by him to his people since the beginning of
" this parliament, surpassing all that had been ever granted
" by his progenitors ; and that his expectation would be
u strangely disappointed, to find, after he had passed an
" oblivion himself of all matters which had relation to the
" differences between the two kingdoms, by which, no doubt,
VOL. II. Q q

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a
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594 APPENDIX, F.

44 many men found themselves much at ease, all his own
44 mistakes and oversights, in those particulars he had abun-
44 dantly repaired, exposed to the public view, not only to
44 sharpen the memory of his subjects to a sense of their
44 former sufferings, but to publish to all Christian princes
44 a view of a disjointed and unsatisfied people, and how far
"his majesty was from being possessed of their hearts;
44 which might be a means to invite a foreign enemy to in-
" vade this kingdom, and to bring all those mischiefs upon
it they seemed to apprehend. That it would probably
infuse into the people a dislike of the settled form of go-
44 vernment, when they should find many things, which were
44 established by law, inveighed against, as pernicious to the
* peace of the kingdom : and that it must give the house of
peers a just offence, and consequently beget a misunder
standing between them, when they should see themselves
so irregularly presented to the people, as the obstructors of
44 the public justice, and enemies to a reformation ; whereas
44 their concurrence had been more eminent than had been
44 known in any age. That, beside the matter, the dialect
44 and expressions were so unusual, and might be thought
44 to lessen, in many particulars, the reverence due to his
" majesty; that it might be a means to alienate his ma-
" jesty s heart from them, by lessening his confidence in
44 their affection and duty. Lastly, that the publishing
44 thereof was simply unnecessary, and could produce no
44 good effect, the grievances complained of being already
44 redressed, and probably might occasion great inconve-
44 niences and distempers ; and therefore, that in prudence
44 it ought to be laid aside."

The debate held many hours, in which the framers and
contrivers of the declaration said very little, or answered any
reasons that were alleged to the contrary ; the only end of
passing it, which was to incline the people to sedition, being
a reason not to be given ; but called still for the question,
presuming their number, if not their reason, would serve to
carry it : and after two of the clock in the morning, (for so
long the debate continued, if that can be called a debate,

APPENDIX, F. 595

when those only of one opinion argued,) when many were
gone home to their lodgings, out of pure indisposition of
health, having neither eat or drank all the day ; and others
had withdrawn themselves, that they might neither consent
to it, as being against their reason and conscience, nor dis
oblige the other party by refusing ; it was put to the ques
tion, and the house divided, and upon the computation, the
dissenters found to be the smaller number by eleven voices :
and so that absurd, fatal remonstrance, the first visible
ground and foundation of that rage and madness in the
people, of which they could never since be cured. Yet when
this passed, the number in the house exceeded not three
hundred, which was not much more than half, the house
consisting of above five hundred ; and there being not one
man absent, of known inclinations to the violence which
then carried all before it, those of that constitution being
never absent in any article of time in which any thing that
concerned their aims was handled ; when men of moderate
and sober purposes contented themselves with wishing well,
and disliking what was amiss, presuming that truth would
in the end prevail, without their troubling themselves : and
therefore they either quite left the house, and went into the
country, to attend their own business, or were content only
to sit two or three hours in a day, in those hours which
former times had made most parliamentary, and then with
drew; the which the active party discerning, usually re
served their greatest designs to be proposed and debated in
those seasons, either of dinner or the evening, when most
of different opinions were absent : so that my lord of Falk
land was wont to say, that they who hated bishops, hated
them worse than the Devil ; and they who loved them, loved
them not so well as they did their dinners.

APPENDIX, G.

REFERRED TO IN PAGE 62.

it was at that time lamented that the king chose
rather to pass through the town to Hampton-court, with
out staying at Whitehall, which every wise man a wished
he had done, and which would have kept up the spirits of
his friends ; and it was visible enough, the governing peo
ple feared it much, and were dejected with the apprehen
sion ; but in a few days recovered their courage, and sent
their remonstrance to the king by a committee of their
members to Hampton-court ; and at the same time sent it
carefully over the kingdom in print. And the diligence and
dexterity of the lord mayor causing an address to be made
to his majesty from the court of aldermen, by the two she
riffs, and others of that body, with an humble desire that
his majesty would reside at Whitehall, (which angered the
house of commons as much as their ceremonious reception
had done,) the petition was very graciously received, all
the aldermen knighted, and the court within a day or two
removed to Whitehall.

The king, at his return, found a greater alteration in his
family to the worse, than he did in the parliament to the
better. Before the disbanding of the armies, when the
earl of Northumberland delivered up his commission, it
was thought necessary, for the prevention of all disorders,
that another general should be constituted, though he was
like to have little else to do, than to take care for the or
derly disbanding ; and most men believed that the earl of
Essex, who the king had made chamberlain of his house
hold and of his council, should have been designed to that

a every wise man] Altered afterwards to most men.

APPENDIX, G. 597

office ; which had been very happy. But howsoever it came
about, the unlucky genius of the court prevailed, that the
earl of Holland, who wiped out the memory of many great
faults with new professions of duty, had that commission ;
which the other earl looked upon as an injury and indig
nity to him ; and conferring with Mr. Hyde upon that oc
casion, he protested that, if the king had made him gene
ral, he would have exacted very punctual proceedings from
the Scots ; and if it had been necessary, he would [have]
executed martial law in the army, let the parliament have
been as angry as they would, and they had declared as
much against marshall, and made as penal, as any other
excess of which they had accused the earl of Strafford.
And it was believed, by those who knew him very well,
that it had been at that time very easy to have fixed him
to the king s service ; whereas, from this disobligation, he
grew much soured to the court. The earl of Holland,
whose nature and fortune disposed him to acquire all
he could for the support of his vanity and necessary ; and
he promised himself more profit than honour from his new
office of general : and so when the king visited the army in
his journey to Scotland, when they were upon disbanding,
the earl of Holland pressed his majesty, with great impor
tunity, to bestow upon him the making a baron, which at
that time might possibly have yielded him ten thousand
pounds ; which the king as positively refused to grant ; be
ing not only in his judgment very averse from making mer
chandise of those honours, but having no mind to increase
at that time the number of the peers : which was prudently
resolved. The earl, resenting this refusal, withdrew his
zeal for the king s service, and writ a letter to the parlia
ment, of his majesty s passing that way; and used such
mysterious expressions of some endeavours used to corrupt
and pervert the army, that, as it might relate to the former
practices in the beginning of the year, upon discovery
whereof so many had been committed, and others fled the
kingdom, so it did as naturally imply some new design of
his majesty himself, to hinder the disbanding the army, at

598 APPENDIX, B.

least till the Scots should be withdrawn, and the king in
Scotland : notwithstanding all which, the earl said, he had
begun the disbanding that day, (the day on which he writ,)
and would continue it, till all should be done : which letter
made impression on many, to keep up those jealousies,
which all good men ought to allay. The earl seemed to
many of his friends, whose affections he knew, to be much
troubled that his letter was so interpreted, protesting, that
as there was no reason to make any such reflection upon
any thing the king had said or done, so he intended it only
upon a retrospect of the former attempt. However, after
that, he wholly estranged himself from the king^s service;
and after his return out of the north, the king being still
in Scotland, it was long before he so much as waited upon
the queen, who resided at Oatlands, and saw her but once;
and wholly betook himself to the conversation and friend
ship of those who directed all their counsels and endea
vours to lessen the king^s authority, and discredit his repu
tation, and was constantly with them in their private meet
ings; and whether he seduced or was seduced, the lady
Carlisle, with whom he always held a strict friendship, at
the same time withdrew herself from her attendance upon
the queen, communicated all she knew, and more, of the na
tures and dispositions of the king and queen; and after
she had for a short [time] murmured for the death of the
earl of Strafford, she renounced all future devotion for
those who would, but could not, protect him, and applied
herself to, and courted all those who murdered him, with
all possible condescensions ; so that his majesty found, at
his return from Scotland, these two very considerable per
sons retired from his service into the closest counsels of his
enemies, to which they contributed their information.

There was another defection at the same time, that gave
the king more disturbance than the other. The last obli-

o

gation he had conferred, and the best he could confer,
brought him not that harvest which he expected. The
earl of Leicester, after his being declared lieutenant of Ire
land, made a journey into France, to take his leave of that

APPENDIX, G. 599

court, upon the expiration of his embassy, and returned
from thence whilst his majesty was in Scotland, to prepare
for his transportation into Ireland. He was a man of a re
served nature, and communicated with very few ; so that
he gave his enemies no advantage against him: but his
wife was my lady Carlisle s ow r n sister, equally active and
tempestuous, and drew the principal persons, who were
most obnoxious to the court, and to whom the court was
most obnoxious, to a constant conversation at Leicester
house, where all freedom of discourse was used of all things
and all persons ; which was not agreeable to the earPs na
ture or his prudence. But the rebellion no sooner fell out
in Ireland, and the king had committed the managing of
that war to the two houses of parliament, but the earl like
wise disposed himself to more address towards that govern
ing party, which he saw was able much to advance or ob
struct all his pretences ; and as he took care to do nothing
which might anger or provoke them, (who were not with
out some prejudice towards him,) so by degrees he became
involved in actions, and in concurrence in vote with them,
much to the displeasure of the king: so that his majesty
found likewise upon his return, that, very contrary to his
expectation, he was disappointed at least of the confidence
he promised himself in his service ; though some, who knew
the earl very well, did believe that he erred through too
much wariness, and too nice a consideration of offending
them ; and in truth never failed in his fidelity to the king.
And in this melancholic state his majesty found his domestic
and his public affairs, when he returned from Scotland to
Hampton-court.

q 4

APPENDIX, H.

REFERRED TO IN PAGE 80.

-L HE king resolved to make the right use of this temper
in the two houses, and to expect what benefit it would pro
duce to his service, and to give all the countenance he
could to those who behaved themselves well, and to give
over all private treaties with those who had disserved him,
and still pursued those ways which sufficiently informed
him, that they did not intend to depend upon him, but
that he should depend upon them: which resolution was
well taken, if it had been as punctually pursued. As soon
as he returned from Scotland, he made Mr. Nicholas, one
of the clerks of the council, who had been secretary to the
duke of Buckingham for the maritime affairs, a man of
good experience, and of a very good reputation, secretary
of state, in the place of Windebank ; and shortly after, as is
said, he removed sir H. Vane, who had attended him in
Scotland, and whom he had found mischievously false to
his service, out of the other secretary s place, reserving
that vacant, till he should find somebody who would de
serve it ; having taken his staff of treasurer of the house
hold from him before, and given it to as ill a man, the lord
Saville ; who had no other merit, than, having been one of
the first conspirators against him, in the bringing in the
Scots to invade England, and in the conspiracy against the
earl of Strafford, out of a personal malice from the animosi
ties between their families, and all the mischief was brought
to pass that he desired, he very frankly discovered the
whole to the king, and who were guilty of the same trea
son, when there was no way to call them in question for it ;
and made all the vows and protestations of future fidelity ;

APPENDIX, H. 601

and was a bold talker, and applicable to any undertaking,
good, bad, or indifferent, but without any reputation of in
genuity or integrity. And for this conversion and discovery,
he had, presently after the death of the earl of Strafford,
that office of the household conferred upon him, and had
been amongst those of that gang likewise made a privy,
counsellor.

APPENDIX, I.

REFERRED TO IN PAGE 124.

JVlATTERS being thus carried a in both houses, and in
the soul of both houses, the city and suburbs, the king found
himself in a very sad condition ; and discerned plainly how
the affections of the country would be governed. In the
house of commons, the ministers of confusion carried all be
fore them, there being very few, who either considered his
rights with j ustice, or his person with reverence, whose faces
were known to him, or who had any other obligation but
of allegiance. In the house of peers he saw twelve swept
away in an instant, upon whose duty and loyalty he might
have relied, and by a rule that might quickly dispose of the
rest : for if the house of peers would imprison all whom the
house of commons would accuse of high treason, he had now
reason enough to believe they would accuse as many as they
were angry with, or as were angry with them. He saw the
power that first drove the bishops from the house, and after
kept them from thence, would by degrees make those that
stayed consent to whatsoever they desired. He knew the li
cence their chief leaders and directors assumed in their pri
vate cabals, to vilify his person, and how they countenanced
the most infamous scandals that could be laid on him : that
they endeavoured to make it believed that he contributed
to and assisted the rebellion in Ireland, (which was justly
the most odious imputation that any man could be charged
with ;) and to that purpose suffered letters and other dis
courses from mean persons, (if not fictitious,) that the rebels
in Ireland called themselves the queen s army, and pretend-

a Continued from page 121, line 11.

APPENDIX, I. 603

ed the king s authority for what they did, to be printed and
published in the journal of both houses, which could not
but make great impression in the people, together with that
odious remonstrance they had with such industry dispersed
throughout the kingdom : so that many were heard to say in
those tumults, that the king was the traitor ; and others, that
the young prince would govern better ; and in the greatest
height and fury of them, the lord Kimbolton was heard (at
least his majesty was so informed) to bid them go to White
hall. In this unparalleled distraction, the court, and those
whom he had most notoriously obliged, seemed neither con
cerned in his honour or safety. The earl of Northumber
land, whom he had made lord high admiral of England, and
upon whom in few years he had bestowed a greater treasure
of his favours than upon any man alive, and without the
least interruption or pause, was now a declared champion for
the most violent, and totally estranged himself from the
court. The earl of Holland, whom, but four months before,
he had looked upon as his own creature, as he had good rea
son to account himself from the beginning, joined himself
close to and concurred with those councils which with the
greatest bitterness were held against him ; and having pub
lished whatsoever he had under trust drawn from men in
the army to the king s disadvantage, he disclosed whatsoever
he knew of his master s counsels, or thought of his nature
and disposition. The earl of Essex, whom he had lately made
a counsellor, and chamberlain of his house, was not the more
his servant, but continued in those popular paths he had al
ways walked in, much the less inclined to the king by the
infusions the earl of Holland every day instilled to him.
The earl of Leicester, who was the last man he had obliged,
and obliged to the most envious degree, making him lieute
nant of Ireland, was at least so conversant with them, that
they took him to be of their faction cordially. And lastly,
which, it may be, made all the rest the worse, the countess
of Carlisle, who was most obliged and trusted by the queen,
and had been for her eminent and constant affection to the
earl of Strafford admitted to all the consultations which were

604 APPENDIX, I.

for his preservation, and privy to all the resentments
had been on his behalf, and so could not but remember
many sharp sayings uttered in that time, was become a con
fidant in those counsels, and discovered whatsoever she had
been trusted with. So that he had very few fit to give him
counsel, and none that would avow it ; the council-table being
only a snare and a trap, to discover who durst think himself
wise enough to preserve the public.

In this restraint the king, considering rather what was
just, than what was expedient, without communicating it to
any of his council, and so not sufficiently weighing the cir
cumstances and way of doing it, as well as the matter itself,
resolved not to be stripped of all his own servants, and such
as faithfully adhered to him, upon general accusation of trea
son, the greatest of which was their being dutiful to him,
against whom only treason could be committed ; but that
he would accuse those, who he well knew, and believed
he could prove to be guilty of all the treason had been
acted or imagined : and so on the third day of January,
about two of the clock in the afternoon, he sent for sir Ed
ward Herbert, his attorney general, and delivered a paper to
him in writing, which contained a charge against those he
meant to accuse ; and commanded him forthwith to go to the
house, and in his name to accuse those persons to the house
of peers of high treason. The attorney accordingly went,
and standing up, told their lordships, that he did, in his ma
jesty s name, and by his especial command, accuse the lord
Kimbolton, a member of that house, Mr. Pym, Mr. Denzil
Hollisj Mr. John Hambden, Mr. William Strode, and sir
Arthur Haslerig, of high treason, and other misdemeanours,
and seven articles, which he read in these words, and then
delivered them to the clerk, and desired the persons might
be committed.

APPENDIX, K.

REFERRED TO IN PAGE 170.

JL HE same day of this triumph, that the danger might be
understood to extend farther than these members, who were
then accused, and to take away the reputation of the new
counsellors, who were preferred to places they had promised
themselves, and were looked upon with singular estimation,
and were most like to check the furious course they meant
to run, two letters were produced in the house, which had
been the day before brought to the committee in London,
by Mr. Bridgman, a member of the house, of very good re
putation, who, having a relation to the king s service, by being
solicitor to the prince, and of eminent learning in the law,
usually opposed their extravagant proceedings, and had been
one of those who dissented in the bill of attainder of the earl
of Strafford, and had argued against the treason of the
charge. This gentleman received a letter, directed to him
self, and left at his lodgings, containing these words :

" Sir,

" We are your friends. These are to advise you
" to look to yourself, and to advise others of my lord of
" Strafford^s friends to take heed, lest they be involved in
" the common calamity. Our advice is, to be gone, to pre-
66 tend business, till the great hubbub be past. Withdraw,
" lest you suffer amongst the puritans. We entreat you to
" send away this enclosed letter to Mr. Anderton, enclosed
" to some trusty friend, that it may be carried safely without
" suspicion ; for it concerns the common safety. So desire
" your friends in Covent Garden. January 4th."

The enclosed was directed, " To the worshipful and my

606 APPENDIX, K.

" much honoured friend Mr. Anderton, these present. 1 Mr.
Bridgman had acquaintance with no such man, and easily
found, by the style of his own letter, that it was only di
rected to him, to bring somewhat to light, or to be able to
accuse him of smothering some notable conspiracy ; and
therefore immediately carried his own letter, and the other,
which he would not open, to the committee, which being
risen, he delivered both to him who sat in the chair for that
service. The letter being broken up by him, was presented
to the house, at the next sitting ; and was in these words :

" Sir,

" Although many designs have been defeated, yet
" that of Ireland holds well. And now our last plot works
" as hopefully as that of Ireland, we must bear with some-
" thing in the man : his will is strong enough, as long as he
" is fed with hopes. The woman is true to us, and real ; her
" counsel about her is very good. I doubt not but to send
" you by the next very joyful news : for the present, our
rich enemies, Pym, Hambden, Hollis, Strode, and Hasle-
rig, are blemished, challenged for no less than treason.
" Before I write next, we doubt not but to have them in
" the Tower, or their heads from their shoulders. The
" solicitor, and Fynes, and earl, we must serve with the same
" sauce. And in the house of lords, Mandevil is touched ;
" but Essex, Warwick, Say, Brook, and Paget, must fol-
" low ; or else we shall not be quiet. Falkland and Cul-
" P e PP er are friends to our side, at leastwise they will do us
" no hurt. The protestants and puritans are so divided,
" that we need not fear them ; the protestants in a greater
part will join with us, or stand neuters, while the puritan is
suppressed. If we can bring them under, the protestant
will either fall in with us, generally, or else, if they do not,
" they are so indifferent, that, either by fair or foul means,
" we shall be able to command them. The mischievous
" Londoners arid apprentices may do us some hurt for pre
sent ; but we need not much fear them ; they do nothing
orderly, but tumultuously ; therefore we doubt not but

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APPENDIX, K. 607

" to have them under command, after one brunt ; for our
" party is strong in the city, especially Holborn, the new
" buildings, and Westminster. We are afraid of nothing
" but the Scots appearing again ; but we have made a party
" there, at the king s last being there, which will hold their
" hands behind them, while we act our parts at home. Let
" us acquit ourselves like men, for our religion and country,
66 now or never. The king s heart is protestant, but our
" friends can persuade him, and make him believe any
" thing : he hates the puritan party, and is made irrecon-
" cileable to that side ; so that the sun, the moon, and the
" stars are for us. There are no less than twenty thousand
" ministers in England ; the greater part will, in their places,
" be our friends, to avenge the bishops dishonour. Let our
" friends be encouraged, the work is more than half done.

" Your servant,

R. E."

These letters were no sooner read, (though the forgery
was so gross, that every discerning and sober person clearly
discovered it,) but many seemed much moved by them, and
concluded that there was some desperate design against the
parliament, which was not yet fully discovered ; and they
that had but three days before declared, that the proclama
tion published by the king against those whom he had ac
cused of high treason was a false and scandalous paper, and
that the articles which he had preferred against them were
seditious, and an injury and dishonour to the said mem
bers, were now contented to entertain the most senseless and
groundless scandal against two of their members, equal in
reputation to the best of the other, and in a matter every
man s heart absolved them ; and ordered the letters with so
lemnity to be delivered at the lords bar, after they were en
tered in the books of the other house, that the lords might
see how many of their members were in danger of the same
conspiracy those that were accused had undergone.

APPENDIX, L.

REFERRED TO IN PAGE 384.

OlR John Hotham appeared himself upon the wall, and
when the king commanded him to cause the port to be
opened, he answered like a distracted man, that no man
could understand ; he fell upon his knees, and used all the
execrations imaginable, that the earth would open and swal
low him up, if he were not his majesty s most faithful sub
ject ; talked of his trust from the parliament, of whose fide
lity towards his majesty he was likewise well assured ; and
in conclusion, he made it evident, that he would not permit
the king to enter into the town. So that after many mes
sages and answers, for he went himself from the wall, out of
an apprehension of some attempt upon his person, the king,
after the duke of York, and they who attended him, were
permitted to return out of the town ; and after he had caused
sir John Hotham to be proclaimed a traitor, for keeping the
town by force against him, he returned to York, with in
finite perplexity of mind, and sent a complaint to the par
liament, of Hotham s disobedience and rebellion. It was
then believed, and Hotham himself made it to be believed,
that Mr. Murray, of the bedchamber, who was the mes
senger sent by the king in the morning, to give sir John
Hotham notice that his majesty intended to dine with him,
had infused some apprehensions into the man, as if the king
meant to use violence towards him, which produced that
distemper and resolution in him : but it was never proved,
and that person (who was very mysterious in all his actions)
continued long after in his majesty s confidence.

As soon as it was known at Westminster what repulse the
king had received at Hull, the joy that appeared in their

APPENDIX, L. 609

countenances and behaviour cannot be expressed, and their
public proceeding in the houses were never so insolent.
They declared, by an act of both houses, that sir John
Hotham had behaved him honestly, and according to the
trust they had reposed in him, and in which they would
justify him, and that his behaviour had been according to
law ; and that the king, in proclaiming him guilty of trea
son, had again broken their privileges. What passed here
upon, by way of messages and declarations, to which the
king always (having notice timely, and all preparations be
ing made whilst the debate held in the houses) sent quick
and sharp answers, which were still read in churches, as the
parliament had appointed theirs to be. Their proceedings
in the militia, and their listing men by virtue thereof, in se
veral places in the country, as well as in the city; their
choosing the earl of Essex to be their general^ and declaring
that they would live and die with him, and all other prepa
rations towards a war, are the proper subjects of a history
of that time, and not fit to be contained in this discourse a ,
though some important particulars cannot be omitted. Nor
will it be denied, by any who had the least knowledge of
the temper of that time, that from the beginning of those
paper skirmishes, the king recovered great reputation and
advantage over the two houses, whose high proceedings and
carriage was in all places exceedingly censured by all per
sons of honour and great interest ; it being very evident,
that they were followed and submitted to principally by
the meanest of the people. And though some persons of
quality and estates, who had, from their prejudice to some
particular bishops, contracted a dislike and displeasure
against the church itself, and the religion established, fol
lowed their party ; yet the number of them was not great,
and their credit only with some factious preachers, and those
poor people who were corrupted by them ; and even of those,
there were few that imagined they should be engaged in a
war to compass their desires.

a Namely, of his life.
VOL. II. R r

APPENDIX, M.

REFERRED TO IN PAGE 404.

ABOUT this time, or a little before, there was an acci
dent, which, though no man could conceive begat the pre
sent distempers, many thought did improve them, added
fuel to that fire, which otherwise possibly might not have
blazed so soon, or in so great a flame. It is remembered,
that at the king s going to Hampton-court in January be
fore, he sent to the earls of Essex and Holland to attend
him, and that they both refused, that is, neglected to wait
on him. During the time that he stayed at Windsor, nor till
the queen was shipped from Dover, neither of them came
near him. That day he rested at Greenwich, in his way to
the north, they came to him, and stayed three or four
hours, and returned to Whitehall, where their tables at the
king s charge, belonging to their places, were kept, and
those especially (if not only) entertained at those tables
who were most factious and seditious against the king; and
their lordships, in all those conclusions by which the sove
reign power was most wounded and contemned, gave their
full suffrages. The king being resolved to free himself
from the ignominy of such retainers, or at least to reduce
them to some formality of duty, shortly after his coming to
York, to which place he had adjourned the solemnization
of St. George s feast, when he meant (and accordingly did)
install his younger son, the duke of York, a knight of that
order, his majesty by special letters required the earl of
Essex, the lord chamberlain of his household, and the earl
of Holland, the first gentleman of his bedchamber and
groom of his stole, to be present at that ceremony, whither
both their places and relations required them. Whether

APPENDIX, M. 611

they in truth feared any design or attempt upon their per
sons, which is hardly credible, or (which is more probable)
whether they were so conscious of their miscarriages, that
they should be displaced if they went, and so would be
sure not to lose the favour of the king and parliament at
once, or (which is most likely) that they were at this time
so far interessed and engaged with the powerful faction,
(who knew well to work by degrees upon their several vani
ties and infirmities,) that they could not safely retire ; they
both resolved not to yield obedience to the just summons
they had received; but, acquainting the house therewith,
for their excuse, procured an absolute inhibition, and to be
commanded not to desert the service of that house to at
tend upon the king, who might better dispense with them.
Hereupon, the king, being not disappointed in his expecta
tion, sent a letter to the lord keeper in his own hand, with
another enclosed to each of the earls, by which he required
them forthwith to come to him, and, in case of refusal, to
deliver the ensigns of their offices to the lord keeper, who
was likewise required to receive the same. The fearful
keeper (whose foundations of courage and reason were
strangely shaken) durst not adventure the delivery of the
letters, but pretended that it would be interpreted in him a
breach of privilege, being a member of that house ; and upon
that pretence wrote to the king to be excused. But the king
would not be thereby drawn to wave his resolution; and
therefore sent an express command to his faithful secretary
the lord Falkland, to perform that which the other refused :
who, without any hesitation, being a most punctual man in
his duty, though he was nothing glad of the employment,
both as he thought it might inflame the present distemper,
and as in his nature he abhorred the doing an unkind or
unacceptable thing to any man, delivered the letters ; and
after two or three hours 1 consideration between themselves,
both the lords delivered him the badges of their several of
fices, the one his staff , the other his key, and so went with
out those ensigns, which were easily missed, into the house
of peers. Great fury and dislike was presently expressed,

612 APPENDIX, M.

that the king should put marks of his displeasure upon any
persons so eminently in their favour, and a conference de
sired with the commons upon a matter of great importance,
and highly concerning the honour and privilege of parlia
ment; where the lords declared, that the king had dis
placed two great officers only for their affection and fidelity
to the service of the commonwealth, and that they were to
be looked upon as men suffering for doing their duty ; and
therefore they had voted (in which they desired the con
currence of the commons) that the displacing those great
lords from their offices was an effect of evil counsel ; and
being apparently done because they would not desert the
service of the house, was a breach of the privilege of par
liament ; and that whosoever should presume to take either
of those offices was an enemy to the commonwealth, and
should be held unworthy of any preferment or place of
honour in the kingdom. The commons made no scruple
of concurring ; and, according to their usual course in mat
ters of censure, added, that whosoever gave the king that
pernicious counsel to remove those lords, were enemies to
the commonwealth, and should be removed from being
near or about his majesty s person. And because the fre
quent discoursing of evil counsellors carried not that terror
with it as they expected, they appointed a solemn day
upon which they would name those they conceived (for
conceit was enough) to be those evil counsellors, that they
might be disabled from doing any farther mischief. Very
many, who stood at the nearest distance, and observed the
arts and industry that were used to corrupt the affections
and to pervert the understandings of the weak, and to
heighten the malice and rancour of the wilful, were very
sorry for the displacing those two lords, especially the earl
of Essex, at that time, believing that it would make him
the more capable of being applied to some services against
the king, which he would else be drawn very hardly to.
And the truth is, the violent and governing party though
they seemed very angry, were very much pleased with the
accident, imagining that his proud nature would be easily

APPENDIX, M. 613

whetted and inflamed to such an indignation, that he would
henceforward stick at nothing. And it did prove of sove
reign use to them ; his lordship seeming to believe, that the
discharging him from his place was the absolving him from
any obligation of affection or tenderness, at the least, to the
king s service. And many who were avowed and professed
enemies to the whole course of his friendships and corre
spondencies, were then, and have been since, persuaded,
that if he had been still suffered to have walked with that
staff, he would never have rid in those errands he after
wards did ; and whilst he had been trusted with the guard
of his majesty s person, which he well understood his office
to be, that it would not have been possible to have engaged
him in the leading an army against him : and then, I am
persuaded, how many soever they have since bred up to
lead their armies, there was none that at that time could
have raised one for them but the earl of Essex. On the
other side, they who only looked upon the bold scandals
that were every day raised and countenanced, and the dis
service that was every day done to his majesty, and ob
served those two lords to be not only constant concurrers,
but active and stirring promoters of the same, thought the
king in policy, that his other servants might not by their
examples be taught to tread in their paths, (the common
disease then of the court,) and in honour, obliged to remove
those whom he could not reform, that he might not be
thought insensible of the affronts and indignities offered to
him ; and rather wondered that he did it no sooner, than
that he did it then. So different were the observations and
judgments of men of the same affections and equal under
standings.

It may be wondered, that neither then, nor upon many
other occasions, when the houses seemed highly inflamed
with evil counsellors, and appointed set days for the nam
ing of, that they never proceeded in that work ; especially
after they well enough knew the persons who were not of
their opinions, and had interest enough to cross their de
signs, and the courage to contemn them ; and when they

VOL. II. S S

614 APPENDIX, M.

had resolved that without any allegation of a particular
crime, their general diffidence (that is, their not confiding)
in a man, was argument enough to remove him from any
office or trust : but their true reason of not daring to med
dle with that general of naming evil counsellors, was their
great care of preserving marquis Hamilton, whom, they
discovered, some (who meant to give shrewd and experi
mental reasons, not easy to be answered or avoided) re
solved to name, and so they waved the general, till some
particular accident (how light soever, as in the absurd, un
paralleled case of the duke of Richmond) gave them oppor
tunity to be revenged on him, whom they desired to de
stroy.

END OF VOL. II.

V

Clarendon, Edward Hyde,

1st earl of,

1609-1674

The history of the
rebellion and civil
wars in England :

i

.