164c SIR SYMONDS D'EWES. 255 expected to receive interest upon his loan at the usual rate of Questions 8 per cent. An unexpected difficulty arose. He was whether told that the Act of Parliament which had prohibited lawful. a higher rate, had expressly refused to countenance the taking of interest at all, in point of religion or conscience.' interest was The problem was solved by a member who had already acquired a hold of a certain kind upon the assembly. The Position of part played by the Speaker in a modern House of D'Ewes. Commons in regulating the debates by an appeal to the precedents of former times, was one for which Lenthall was little qualified. Sir Symonds D'Ewes was just the man to supply his deficiencies. His lifelong studies in the legal antiquities of the country enabled him, with the aid of an excellent memory, to produce on the spur of the moment any precedent that might be needed. In this way he acquired an authority in the House, so long as no higher statesmanship was required than his pedantic self-complacency had at command. He now came to the rescue of the members in their difficulty. He solves To take or pay interest, he said, was undoubtedly the problem. held to be unlawful by the Church and law of England; but it had never been held to be wrong to pay a man damages for the loss which he suffered by abandoning for a time the use of his capital. The House caught at this sapient deliverance. The word 'damages' was substituted for the word ' interest,' and everyone was content.1 Jan. 7. The Irish army again. On the 7th there was a fresh report by Erle on the Irish army. The number, he said, 'was great, near upon 10,000, all or most of them papists.' All the strong places in the North of Ireland were in their hands. Strafford was still their general, and many of the officers were in the habit of repairing to him in the Tower. It would be well to ask the Lords to concur in a petition that this army might be disbanded. Vane's official reply was not likely to allay the suspicion felt. He said that the Irish army ought not to be disbanded till the Scottish army was disbanded also. Charles, in fact, was well aware that he could not for the moment ' D'Ewes's Diary, Jan. 4, Harl. MSS. clxii. fol. 116. venture to strike at those whom he regarded as his enemies. Yet he would not deprive himself of the power of striking at some future time. It was not in his nature to throw himself frankly on his subjects' loyalty, and to evoke the sympathies which he had lost by a hearty co-operation with the Commons in the work which they had on hand. If he could have done that he might have saved himself, and might, perhaps, have saved Strafford as well. By weakness and hesitation, by hankering after the employment of a force which he had neither the power nor the resolution to wield, he was raising the barrier between himself and his subjects higher and higher every day. Distrust at last would make the breach inevitable by driving the Commons to demands which it was impossible for a king to concede, but which would never have been made if they had been able to repose confidence in him. The wisdom of coming quickly to an agreement with his adversary was never understood by Charles. CHAPTER XCVI. THE TRIENNIAL ACT, AND THE ECCLESIASTICAL DEBATES. 1641. January. Charles's accepting First the Dutch THERE was nothing in Charles's mind repugnant to the idea of asking for foreign support against the English nation. Twice already he had attempted to procure foreign troops to serve him against the Scots, and he was equally ready feeling about to make use of foreign troops to serve him against the foreign aid. English. The habit of regarding his own authority as something distinct from the nation, prevented him from feeling, as Elizabeth would have felt, that there was anything disgraceful in appealing to foreigners for assistance against his own subjects. When, on January 6, the Dutch ambassadors, who had come to make a formal demand for his daughter's hand, had their Jan. 6. first audience, there can be little doubt that he was audience of by this time under the impression that, in case of extremity, the Prince of Orange would be ready to give him material assistance in the maintenance of his authority in England. But though he had no objection to accept that assistance if things came to the worst, he was not quite certain that things had yet come to the worst. Appearances were against the Parliament; but, after all, a better spirit might prevail. On three points he would never give way. He would never consent to pass a Bill for Annual Parliaments, or one for the abolition of Episcopacy, or to allow any of his ministers to be put to death without his free consent. If any one of these points were insisted on, he would at once dissolve Parliament, and obtain aid from Holland to protect him against the popular insurrection which was likely to follow. As yet, however, matters had not come to this pass. There was even hope that the King's chief opponents would ambassadors. come to blows with one another. Now that the question of the incendiaries had been settled, the negotiators on the part of EngProgress of land and Scotland were disputing over the amount of Lion with the money to be paid to the Scots in compensation for their expenses in the war. It was thought at Court that the English Parliament was likely to take offence at the exorbitance of the Scottish demands. If a breach ensued, the King would have everything to gain. He would find himself engaged in a national war against the Scots, and would be in a far stronger position than if he were merely at the head of a Dutch force sent to defend the Royal authority against his recalcitrant subjects.' 1 There is nothing in any published documents which throws further light on this offer of the Prince of Orange, and no engagement to assist Charles with troops is known to have been afterwards given. It will be sern, however, that there are strong reasons for thinking that money was paid by the young Prince at the time of the marriage, and at a later time actual assistance seems to have been contemplated. Rossetti says that Father Philips came to ask him whether he had yet written to Rome on the subject of the money which had been asked for. The Father expressed satisfaction on hearing that the request had been forwarded, and told him that the Queen had spoken about it again, adding 'che il Rè ancora non sapeva quali aiuti gli fussero potuti bisognore, non essendo totalmente disperato del Parlamento, ma quando succedesse il caso que da Nostro Signore gli si somministrasse in qualche maniera forze, il Rè almeno s'indurebbe a permettere la libertà di conscienza in tutt' i suoi Regni, non importando la qualità del tempo il far in ciò maggior dichiaratione et, a questo dal l'adre Filippo mi fu aggiunto che egli havrebbe havuto ancora ottima speranza del Rè medesimo, il quale, oppresso così malamente dallo spirito di questi Puritani contumaci, hora maggiormente conosce non haver eglino altro fine se non la distruttione dell'autorità Regia, non havendo egli voluto credervi o aplicarvi per il passato, e però esso mi diceva pensare che l'intentione di S. Ma fosse di voler vedere à che segno sia per mettersi questo Parlamento, e che cosa ne possa cavare con minor pregiuditio possibile della Corona, poi determinarsi a quelli espedienti che credesse essere più adequati alla qualità del bisogno, poichè se il Parlamento premerà per levare i Vescovi (benchè ciò non si creda) o voler similmente che ogni anno si tenga Parlamento, quando anchè non vi concorra il consenso di S. Mtà, e condannare alla morte senza che la sentenza sia sottoscritta di mano Regia, in questo caso si tiene che il Rè vi si vorra opponere con disciogliere il Parlamento, sperando di poter in ciò prevalersi delle forze al presente delli Olandesi promesseli per conditione matrimoniale, et in simil maniera assicurarsi dalle sollevationi popolari, e sottrahere la casa Reale dai pericoli che potrebbono 1641 THE QUEEN's overtures. 259 That the Queen had her full share in these resolutions--if at least, any of Charles's imaginings can be dignified with the name of a resolution-is beyond all doubt. By this time she had more cause than ever for personal irritation. So great were the straits to which the Court was reduced by the poverty of the Crown, that Charles had been forced to announce that he could no longer keep open table, according to custom, for the members of the Upper House during the session of Parliament. What was more annoying still, he had Poverty of the Court. The Queen Mother's allowance stopped. been unable to pay to the Queen Mother the allowance which he had granted to her, and she had consequently been obliged to sell her jewels and her horses, and to dismiss her servants.' Jan. 8. Henrietta Some time would elapse before an answer could be received from Rome, or the question of peace or war with the Scots could be finally determined. The possibility that Parliament might demand the dismissal of Rossetti drove Henrietta Maria to open a negotiation with some of the leading members of both Houses. She had some hope that they would be ready to please her in opposing the agitation for the removal of the Papal Agent, Maria nego. tiates with the Parlia mentary leaders. soprastare, se non si trovasse prontamente armato, ma perchè gli Olandesi promettono queste forze, acciò venga conservata l'autorità Regia che il Rè non sia strapazzato, et che il popolo non si sollevi, dicendo che quando si trattava di queste tre cose saranno sempre dalla parte del Rè con l'armi, ma mentre le medesime cessaranno non intendono che prende principio la guerra, se bene hora il Parlamento procura di darli ogni sodisfattione, havendo ancora aggiustato che per un altro mese la tregua debba durare, et hanno già pagato il danaro per mantenimento del essercito Scozzese. Tutta la difficultà starà sopra le pretensioni che hanno delle spese già fatte, e sin hora sta in ambiguo che cosa ne debba seguire, ma ben presto si sentirà, come vien creduto, qualche risolutione; et se venissero rotture tra gl' Inglesi et Scozzesi sarebbe molto avantaggioso per il Rè, poichè la guerra diventarebbe nationale, et in questo modo potrebbe S. Mtà sostenerla là dove, quando fosse particolare, gl' Olandesi per conditione del matrimonio faranno partiali a difendere l'autorità Regia.' Rossetti to 'Giustinian to the Doge, Jan. 7, Ven, Transcripts, R. O. Rossetti to Barberini, Jan. R. O. Transcripts. 15 25' |