prifoned and fined. After this, the king governs without a parliament twelve years. In which interval the bulwark of the national liberties, the power of raifing money, is not only affumed and rigorously exercifed by the crown (o), but the methods used to that end are pronounced legal by the judges afperity of language (fays lord Clarendon) had never before been used from the throne to the parliament. And he laments the unhappy effects it had upon the nation. In this parliament the king (though with reluctance) gave the royal affent to the petition of right, whereby he bound himfelf among other things, not to raise any money by way of loan, gift, benevolence, or tax, without confent of parliament, nor to imprifon any perfon without certifying the caufe; both which articles he violated immediately after the diffolution of this parliament, and continued to do fo for twelve years together. This breach of his parliamentary word, the moft folemn a king can give, was afterwards used as a ftrong argument that he would break through all his conceffions to the parliament of 1640, as foon as it fhould be in his power, and thereby proved one occafion of the civil wars. The most natural way to account for this proceeding of king Charles I. muft be on the fuppofition beforementioned, that he imagined he was only pursuing his own rights. Accordingly he faid to the parliament, when he paffed the petition of right, "You neither "mean nor can hurt my prero"gative." And as his extraordinary methods received the fanction of the judges opinion, he probably believed them to belong to the prerogative royal. (0) Five fubfidies, only mentioned as intended to be granted in the fecond parliament were exacted with the fame rigour throughout the kingdom, as if an act had paffed to that purpofe; and divers gentlemen of prime quality were, for refufing to pay the fame, committed to prifon. Projects for money of all kinds, many ridiculous, many fcandalous, all very grievous, were fet on foot. Supplemental acts of ftate were made to fupply defects of laws, and fo tunnage and poundage, and other duties were collected by order of counci', which had been pofitively refufed to be fettled by act of parliament, and new and greater impofitions laid upon trade. fupport of thefe extraordinary ways, and to protect the agents and inftruments, and to discountenance and fupprefs all bold inquirers and oppofers, the counciltable and flar-chamber inlarge their jurifdictions to a vast extent, For the better holding (as Thucydides faid to the Athenians) for honour"able, that which pleafed, and for juft, that which profited:" and being the fame perfons in feveral rooms, grew both courts of law to determine right, and courts of revenue to bring money into the treasury; the council-table by proclamations enjoining the people what was not enjoined by the judges (p), and preached as obligatory to the fubject's confcience by fome of the clergy (q). During these incroachments on the law, and prohibiting that which was not prohibited; and the ftar-chamber cenfuring the breach and disobedience to thofe proclamations by very great fines and imprisonment, fo that any difrefpect to any acts of flate, or to the perfons of ftatefmen, was in no time more penal, and thofe foundations of right by which men valued their fecurity, to the apprehenfion and understanding of wife men, were never more in danger of being deftroyed. This paragraph is entirely taken from the lord Clarendon's hiftory, (B. I. p. 67, 68.) who cannot be fufpected of aggravating any thing to the difadvantage of king Charles I. and is with fome other paffages a probable argument a gainst the charge of omiffions and interpolations caft upon the editors of that history. For notwithstanding fome softening expreffions with regard to the king, the illegal proceedings in the firft fifteen years of his reign, are in a few pages as ftrongly reprefented, as in volumes of the republican writers. (p) The lord Clarendon ob ferves, that the damage and mifchief cannot be expreffed that the crown and state fuftained, by the deferved reproach and infamy that attended the judges, by being made ufe of in fhip-money and other acts of power. (fays he) men fubmitted to the preffures as affuring themselves that they might, when they pleafed, refort to the law for relief. But when they heard fhipmoney demanded in a court of For the law as a right, and found it by fworn judges of the law adjudged fo, upon fuch grounds and reafons as every ftander-by was able to fwear was not law, and were required to pay it by a logic that left go man any thing which he might call his own, they thought themselves bound, in conscience to the public juftice, not to submit to the impofition. Sir John Finch, lord chief juftice of the common-pleas, and a ftrenuous afferter of fhip-money, being made lord keeper, upon a demurrer put into a bill before him, which had no other equity tn it than an order of the lords of the council, declared, "Whilft "he was keeper, no man should "be fo faucy as to dispute thofe "orders, but the wisdom of that "board fhould be always ground "enough for him to make a de the rights of the people, and the king's tacit renunciation of the conftitution by the difufe of parliaments, jealousy and difcontent fpread themselves in the nation, the puritan party daily increases, and all true lovers of their country earnestly long for an opportunity to rescue the conftitution from entire deftruction. Perhaps this opportunity would have been expected in vain, had it not been accidentally given by the king himself. For in the height of his power, he refolves to accomplish the project, begun by his father, of introducing the English church-difcipline into Scotland. By this attempt fuch a flame is kindled in the nation, that a war at laft breaks out between the king and his Scottish subjects, wherein England is no way concerned. The king, tho' the occafions of the government were, by his extraordinary methods of raising money, amply supplied, could not long maintain an army without being forced to come to a treaty of pacification, and to apply to the parliament, the very mention of which had by a former proclamation been strictly forbid (r). Accordingly a parliament, after a twelve years intermiffion, is fummoned to meet on the 13th of April 1640. The king opens the feffion with defiring a speedy fupply; but the commons are refolved that the grievances fhall first be redreffed. Whereupon the king, to the furprize and concern of the whole nation, haftily diffolves the parlia "duty to direct and make laws." Dr. Manwaring spoke more plainly in one of his fermons : The king (fays he) is not "bound to obferve the laws of "the realm concerning the sub"jects rights and liberties, but "his royal will and command "in impofing taxes and loans, "without common confent in "parliament, doth oblige the "fubjects confcience upon pain "of eternal damnation." This man, after having been fined and imprisoned by the lords, was pardoned by the king, and made a bishop. And archbishop Abbot was fufpended, for refufing to licenfe Sibthorp's fermon. (r) The diffolution of the third parliament was followed with a declaration, that "fince for fe "veral ill ends the calling again "of a parliament was divulged, "however, his majesty had fhowed, by his frequent meeting his people, his love to the "ufe of parliaments, yet the "late abufe having, for the pre"fent, driven his majefty un"willingly out of that course, "he fhall account it prefump"tion for any to prescribe any "time to his majesty for parlia"ments." Which words (fays lord Clarendon) were generally interpreted, as if no more af femblies of that nature were to be expected, and that all men were prohibited, upon the penalty of cenfure, fo much as to fpeak of a parliament. Clar. B. I. p. 4. ment, ment (s), but at the fame time, the convocation, by his special warrant, is continued, and canons are paffed, wherein the divine right of kings, and unlimited obedience, are exprefsly afferted (t). Immediately after, the war with Scotland is renewed, and by the advice of a junto of felect counsellors, all expedients for raifing men and money are employed (u). Mean () After a feffion of three weeks. In all probability, if the king had fuffered this parliament to fit, the grievances of the nation had been redreffed in a regular manner, and the civil wars entirely prevented. For it is univerfally agreed, that the houfe of commons confifted in general of fober and difpaflionate men, whofe fole aim was to reftrain the prerogative within due bounds, and fecure the juft liberties of the people. Accordingly, the lord Clarendon obferves, that "there could not a greater damp "have feized upon the fpirits of "the whole nation than this dif"folution caufed, and men had "much of the mifery in view which fhortly after fell out." He was himself a member of this parliament. The king was quickly fenfible of his error, and very defirous to repair it, and the fame, or the next day, confulted whether he might by proclamation recall the commons, to meet again. Clar. B. I. p. 139, 140. (t) By the first canon all parishpriests were ordered to read in the church one Sunday in every quarter the following explanation of regal power. "That "the most high and facred order of kings is of divine right, "being the ordinance of God "himself, founded in the prime "laws of nature and revelation, by which the fupreme power 8 any pretence whatsoever, is at least to refift the power or"dained of God; and though they do not invade, but only "refift, St. Paul fays, they fhall "receive damnation." See Nelfon, p. 545. This, and the other canons, were by the next parliament condemned as con trary to the fundamental laws "of the realm, the king's pre"rogative, property of the fub"ject, and the rights of parlia"ment." Whit. Mem. p. 37. The proceedings of this convacation (fays lord Clarendon) drew the fame prejudice upon the whole body of the clergy, to which before only fome few clergymen were expofed. B. II. p. 148. It is obfervable, that the judges Finch, Littleton, &c. gave their opinion, that "the "convocation called by the "king's writ was not to diffolve "but by the king's writ, not"withstanding the diffolution of "the parliament." Whit. Mem. p. 32. (u) The king's most intimate counsellors at this time were, Laud, Strafford, and Cottington, by whom, it seems, he was told, that being refufed by the commons, he might ufe any methods to raise money. Accord ingly, Mean while the Scots, by private encouragement from England, advance to their borders (x), and routing a party of English, become mafters of Newcastle. The king is quickly reduced to great ftraits, and petitioned to call a parliament and treat with the Scots. Want of money, and a manifest averfion in the English, and particularly in the army, to fight against the Scots, oblige the king to comply. Commiffioners are appointed on both fides to treat, firft at Rippon, and afterwards at London, and a parliament fummoned to fit the 3d of November 1640. So univerfal was the diflike of the principles and proceedings of the court, that notwithstand-, ing all their endeavours, few of that party could obtain a feat in this parliament (y). The counties, cities, and boroughs, were almost unanimous in chufing ftate-puritans, or (in the modern phrafe) whigs, that is, men, who without believing the divine right of kings, were attached to the conftitution as well in church as ftate, and enemies only to abuse of power in both. Of fuch men the majority of the ingly, (fays Whitlock) all the wheels of the prerogative were fet in motion to provide money, as loans, knighthood, monopolies, &c. Whit. Mem. p. 33, &c. It is remarkable, that the fift footsteps we have of a cabinetcouncil in any European government were in the time of Charles IX. king of France, when refolving to maffacre the protellants he durft not truft his council with it, but chofe a few men whom he called his cabinet council. Formerly, it feems, all matters were debated and refolved in the privy-council, where every man fubfcribed his opinion, and was anfwerable for it. This part of the conftitution was broken by king Charles I. but more notoriously by king Charles II. who fettled a cabal or cabinet-council, where all matters of confequence were refolved, and then bought to the privy-council to be confirmed. See prof. to the hift. of standing armies. (x) As the king (fays Whitlock) had his private junto, fo the agents of the Scots-covenanters and their friends in London had their private meeting and counfels, with thole who were difcontented at the prefent management of affairs at court, and who had fuffered by the late proceedings; and from hence no fmall encouragement and promife of affittance was given to the covenanters. Whit. Mem. p. 33. () The court (fays Whitlock) laboured to bring in their friends; but thofe who were most favoured, at court, had leaft refpect in the country, and it was not a little ftrange to fee what a spirit of oppofition to the court-proceedings was in the hearts and actions of mot of the people, fo that very few of that party had the favour to be chofen members of this parliament. Whit. Mem. P. 35. commons |