IV. BOOK Gloucester, to receive these forces into his charge, and to train and exercise them in arms m. How far we are to infer from this that the plan of an assessment on the royalists was already in contemplation, it is difficult to determine. 1655. Major-ge nominated. Aug. 9. On the second of August an order of council nerals was made, for Desborough to have twelve troops of militia specifically under his command in the west". And the next day a debate occurred in council upon the subject of the militia in general". But the decisive measure occurred one week later. On that day the council voted that the command of militia, in ten districts that were named, should be intrusted to Fleetwood, another brother-in-law of Cromwel, who had just returned from the government of Ireland, Desborough, Lambert, Whalley, Goffe, Skippon, colonel James Berry, colonel Thomas Kelsey, colonel William Boteler, and major Charles Worsley. To these were afterwards added Barkstead, lieutenant of the Tower, and admiral Dawkins P. Districts assigned them. The districts, with some inconsiderable variations, were finally settled, as follows. Fleetwood had the counties of Oxford, Bucks, Hertford, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridge, being permitted to appoint colonel Henry Haynes as n Order Book. • Ibid. Thurloe, Vol. IV, p. 117. Par m Thurloe Vol. III, p. 486. his deputy for the four last. The name of Lamıbert seems to have been used for ornament only, he being too great a man to be employed in a business of this sort: and, having received the north of England into his charge, he was allowed to depute colonel Robert Lilburne for the counties of York and Durham, and colonel Charles Howard, afterwards earl of Carlisle, for Cumberland, Westmorland and Northumberland. Whalley had the command of the militia of the counties of Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby, Warwick and Leicester; Goffe, of Sussex, Hants and Berks; Skippon, of London; Berry, of Worcester, Hereford, Salop, and North Wales; Kelsey, of Kent and Surry; Boteler, of Northampton, Bedford, Huntingdon and Rutland; Worsley, of Chester, Lancaster and Stafford 9; Barkstead, of Westminster and Middlesex; and Dawkins, of Monmouthshire and South Wales '. С Н А Р. 1655. The high character of these men must be taken Character into the account, when we proceed to examine the measure in which they were so deeply engaged. Order Book, Aug. 9, Oct. 11. Charles Worsley was eminently a favourite of Cromwel: he died in June 1656. Berry rose by the same patronage from the ranks; he had been president of the council of agitators; and Baxter says, he and Lambert were the two persons most actively concerned in bringing forward the instrument, called the Commonwealth of England, in Dec. 1653. * Public Intelligencer, Oct. 29. Thurloe, Vol. IV, p. 117. Parliamentary History, Vol. XX, p. 433, of the perployed in sons em the business. IV. 1655. BOOK Two of them were brothers-in-law of the protector; Fleetwood was one of the best-intentioned and most blameless persons of his time; Lambert was the second man in the state; Skippon is ho nourably distinguished through every period of this history; and Whalley and Goffe are memo rably recorded, in a separate work, during a period of compulsory exile and concealment in North America, from 1660 to 1679. Plan of the assessment. The tax that was imposed, was the tenth penny (as it was styled ) upon all those who should be considered as hostile to the commonwealth, and obstinately attached to the cause of Charles the Second: not, as has been stated by some historians, the tenth part of a man's capital and property, but the tenth of the annual income it produced ". It was farther directed that no man should be subjected to this tax, who did not possess an estate of one hundred pounds a year in land, or a personal property to the value of fifteen hundred pounds *. In the mean time the distribution and collection of the tax was solely intrusted to the major-generals, and certain commissioners acting under them. The preparation of the measure was conducted with the utmost secrecy; and the directions given by the govern * History of Three of the Judges of King Charles the First, by Ezra Styles, President of Yale College in New England. Heath, p. 379. XVI. ment to these its military servants, were contain- CHAP. ed in a paper, entitled Instructions and Orders to the major-generals for preserving the peace of the commonwealth. 1655. tions to the nerals. to be dis The Instructions contained the least unpala- Instructable and offensive part of the business. They major-gewere, first, to endeavour to suppress all tumults, Tumults insurrections, rebellions, and other unlawful as- to be suppressed. semblies, and for this purpose to draw together their forces and troops, and march them to such places as they should judge convenient. Se- Disaffected condly, to take care and give order that all papists, armed. and others who had been in arms against the parliament, as well as all who were found dangerous to the peace of the nation, should be deprived of their arms, which should be secured in some neighbouring garrison, or otherwise disposed of. Thirdly, every master of a family or house- Security to holder, who was considered as disaffected, was to be required to give security by his bond for the good behaviour of all his menial servants, the servants being liable to be called to appear before the major-general or his deputy, at such time and place as either should appoint. Fourthly, an of Register fice of register was to be set up in London, where the names of all persons thus giving security were to be entered, together with their residence; and, as often as they changed their abode, this also was to be punctually recorded, and notice communicated to the major-general of each district, as the be given. instituted. IV. 1655. Persons coming from abroad. BOOK case might require. Fifthly, every person, whether foreigner or otherwise, who came from beyond sea, was required, within twenty-four hours after his landing, to appear before the person whom the major-general of the district should appoint in the different ports for that purpose, to deliver his name, and an account of the place from whence he came, and to which he intended to go, as also, if he came to London, to appear before the register there, and give an account of his lodging and his purpose: all his removals from place to place were to be reciprocally communicated between the register in London and the maScandalous jor-generals in the different districts. Sixthly, and insuffi- the major-generals were to take an account of cient cler gy. Measures of police. what had been done in execution of the ordinance against insufficient and scandalous ministers and school-masters, to the end that no disaffected persons might be allowed in public teaching, or in the education of youth. To these were added certain articles as to high roads and robberies, and the execution of the laws against drunkenness and blasphemy, and gaming houses and houses of ill fame, as well as respecting idle and loose persons, who had no visible means of subsistence: to give y Public Intelligencer, Dec. 17. 27. Public Intelligencer, Dec. 31. Mercurius Politicus, Dec. 20, 1656. The whole is given consecutively under these dates. See also Parliamentary History, Vol. XX, p. 461, et seqq. |