1641

A letter to be sent to the army.

THE COMMONS EXCITED.

351

At last orders were given-none too soon-that a letter should be prepared to give assurance to the army that the soldiers should shortly receive the arrears of their pay. Then Pennington rose to tell of Suckling's armed gathering. These men, said Clotworthy, were but part of the forces which were being raised. There were intended to be 'three regiments of foot and one troop of horse; but for what end he knoweth not.' There was no division of opinion now. Tomkins rose to add 'that many Papists were newly come to London.' The King's speech delivered on Saturday was then read by the Speaker. Tomkins declared himself certain that Strafford was a traitor, and moved for a conference with the Lords.

Suckling's levies discussed.

Pym gave to this suggestion a more definite form. Even yet he was not prepared to bring odium on the King by revealing the knowledge which he had derived from

Pym's speech.

1

Goring. He pointed out that the King's interference with a matter still under discussion was a breach of the privileges of Parliament. Then, reiterating his conviction that Strafford was guilty of treason 'in the highest degree,' he acknowledged that, after the Lords had passed the Bill, the King would have it in his power to accept it or to reject it, as he thought best. If the King were then dissatisfied with it, it would be the proper time to 'inform him better.'

Pym, in short, was for leaving to the King his constitutional rights intact; but he had no idea of including amongst those rights that of directing a military force against Parliament. “Truly,” he said, "I am persuaded that there was some great

1 Historians have hitherto grounded their supposition that Pym now revealed his knowledge on a speech assigned by Rushworth to this day. That speech, however, contains a demand for the closing of the ports, and it is impossible that such a demand, if a sufficient motive were given for it, should have been left unacted on for two whole days. On the other hand, Pym's speech of the 3rd, as reported by Moore (Harl. MSS. cccclxxvii. fol. 27 b), and in the Verney Notes, 66, is plainly different from the one given by Rushworth, which I assign to the 5th, the day when the order for closing the ports was given. Another mistake made here by Rushworth is that he gives May 3 instead of May 1, as the date of the sending up of the Bishops' Exclusion Bill to the Lords.

design in hand by the Papists to subvert and overthrow this kingdom, and I do verily believe the King never had any intention to subvert the laws, or to bring in the Irish army; but yet he had counsel given him that he was loose from all rules of government; and, though the King be of a tender conscience, yet we ought to be careful that he have good counsellors about him, and to let him understand that he is bound to maintain the laws, and that we take care for the maintaining of the word of God." The Commons must declare their allegiance to the King's person and legal prerogative. They must bind themselves to maintain the liberties of the subjects, must find means to pay the Northern army and the Scots, and must provide a remedy for the grievances of Ireland.

Pym's constitutional position.

As Pym had struggled against the conversion of the impeachment into an attainder, so he now struggled against the idea that the conflict with the King must be fought out by other than constitutional means. The King must be brought round by persuasion, not by force. In the end he must be surrounded by new counsellors, as a guarantee that he would conform to the new order of things. It was far too sanguine a view of what was possible with Charles. In the meanwhile Pym did not fail to recognise the necessity of a counter-organisation to the forces which still remained at the disposal of the monarchy. In our time it is difficult to understand the necessity of such a step. The House of Commons is with us itself the centre of the national organisation to which the whole country instinctively rallies. In 1641 it was nothing of the kind. All the habits of men led them to look to the King for guidance. Parliaments were but bodies meeting at rare intervals, doing important work and then vanishing away. Nor was Pym's name as yet one to conjure with. Inside the House he was becoming better known every day. Outside he was scarcely more than one of a multitude. In default of the enthusiasm which personal leadership gives, it was necessary to awaken the higher enthusiasm which is inspired by an appeal to fellowship in a common cause. Secret cabals in the Court and in the army must be met by an appeal to

He proposes

the nation.

the general feeling of the nation.

1641

THE PROTESTATION.

353

Further than that Pym did not go for the present. He wished, perhaps, to see how the idea would be received.

Reception of

At

first it seemed to fall flat on the House. One memhis proposal. ber proposed a simple conference with the Lords on Strafford's case. Culpepper asked that a remonstrance, such as had been suggested early in the session by Digby, might now be drawn up for presentation to the King. Neither of these

plans met the real difficulty, which lay in the fact that the danger came from the King himself. The situation was at last cleared by a few plain words from Marten. "We," he said, "are honest, disjointed fellows. Let us unite ourselves for the pure worship of God, the defence of the King and his subjects in all their legal rights." “He that hath been most abused," said Strode, "doth not yet perceive it. The ill counsel given to the King doth make that the King understandeth not what treason is; and, therefore, if care be not taken, we shall be dispersed through the kingdom."

A protestation to be drawn up.

One member after another rose to approve of Pym's idea. Peard referred to the precedent of the oath of association taken in Elizabeth's reign. Such a protestation, said Holles, would give them 'force and reputation.' It would show the world that they were united. They would then be able to go through with whatever' they might undertake. A committee was appointed to draw up the manifesto. The reception of the report made by this committee revealed that, on some points, at least, the House was not united. The draft of the Protestation contained a promise to maintain 'the true reformed Protestant religion.' Hopton moved the insertion of the words, 'as it is now established in the Church of England.' A sharp controversy followed. The Root-andBranch members refused to bind themselves against the changes which they believed to be necessary. A compromise was at

last arrived at by which the maintenance of the doctrine of the Church was alone mentioned, whilst nothing was said about its discipline.1

1 Moore's Diary, Harl. MSS. cccclxxvii. fol. 27 b. Verney Notes, 66. D'Ewes's Diary, Harl. MSS. clxiv. fol. 195. The first draft of the Protestation in the Commons' Journals is worthless.

"I, A. B.,” so ran this memorable appeal in its final shape, "in the presence of Almighty God, promise, vow, and protest The Protes to maintain and defend, as far as lawfully I may, tation. with my life, power, and estate, the true Reformed Protestant Religion, expressed in the doctrine of the Church of England, against all Popery and Popish innovations within this realm contrary to the same doctrine, and according to the duty of my allegiance, his Majesty's Royal person, honour, and estate, as also the power and privileges of Parliament, the lawful rights and liberties of the subjects, and every person that maketh the protestation, in whatsoever he shall do in the lawful pursuance of the same; and to my power, and as far as lawfully I may, I will oppose, and by all good ways and means endeavour to bring to condign punishment, all such as shall, either by force, practice, counsels, plots, conspiracies, or otherwise, do anything to the contrary of anything in this present protestation contained; and further, that I shall, in all just and honourable ways, endeavour to preserve the union and peace between the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland; and neither for hope, fear, nor other respect shall relinquish this promise, vow, and protestation.”1

What was

The importance of the Protestation lay far more in what was implied by it than in what it actually said. No doubt the Commons still believed that the King was led away implied in it. by evil counsel, and that his own mind was perfectly pure and patriotic; but their belief had already reached that stage at which it seemed not quite advisable to act on it with complete assurance. Though the association to be formed must necessarily be formed for the King's security, but it was as well that it should be organised without any reference to him. The Covenanter Baillie at once discerned the import of the Protestation. "After much debate," he wrote, "at last, blessed be the name of the Lord, they all swore and subscribed the write which here you have, I hope in substance our Scottish Covenant. God maketh our enemies the instruments of all our good. We see now that it hath been in a happy time that so much time hath been lost about Strafford's head." "2

1 L. J. iv. 234.

2 Baillie, i. 351.

1641

The Preamble.

TEMPER OF THE LORDS.

355

As soon as the Protestation had been accepted, a Preamble was drawn up, in which the House declared that, in addition to the grievances which they had already made. known, they found great cause of jealousy that endeavours "had been, and still are, to bring the English army into a misunderstanding of this Parliament, thereby to incline. that army with force to bring to pass those wicked counsels."

Fear of the army.

For the first time the danger which all men dreaded was clearly pointed at. Whether Pym had revealed all that he had known for weeks from Goring's information or not, the meeting of the officers at Boroughbridge cannot have remained a secret. Charles had been working as a conspirator in the broad light of day. Not only the Commons, but the Lords as well, were shocked by the discoveries which were pressing on them. When the Lords met again in the afternoon, it was evident that they were at last likely to range themselves on the side of the Lower House. They had drawn from Charles an acknowledgment that he had given orders to Billingsley to occupy the Tower, though he tried to explain away his share in the matter by alleging that it was necessary to keep the munitions in store under safe custody. The Lords resolved that they would themselves see to their safe keeping, and directed that Essex, Saye, and Brooke should provide for the admission of 500 men from the Tower Hamlets as guards of the fortress. Charles's futile attempt to employ force had destroyed his chance of a constitutional support from the House of Lords. The Peers acquainted the Commons that the only hindrance in the way of the Bill of Attainder lay in the concourse of people round the House. They now wished to act as the Commons would have them act, but they did not wish to act under the appearance of dictation.

1

The next morning the Protestation was taken by all the

1 The King's statement is to be found in the MS. Journals of the House of Lords. Like everything else relating to Strafford's trial, it was deleted with the pen after the Restoration, and is omitted in the printed journals; but there is no difficulty in reading every word.