A committee had been appointed for fairs, and a remonstance from the Irish ment was reported by it to the house. remonstrance, the Irish complained that

strance of

Irish af- Remonparlia- the Irish

In

parliament

this against

indus

his private conduct unless in so far as it is spent in vice; for good private conduct is the best security for purity in public life. Of the private discourse and studies of the ancients, we know little; and the author has reviled the moderns without foundation. Was Hampden a hypocrite, and was his discourse full of cant, &c.? The account of Clarendon would lead us to infer the very reverse. Were the English worthies ignorant of Grecian philosophy and eloquence, or of polite letters? The great blemish of the public speaking, &c. of that age, is the pedantry which a familiar acquaintance with ancient literature produced; and, it ought to be remembered, that to Grecian philosophy they joined that of Bacon, &c.; to the polite literature of Greece, the works of Spenser and Shakespeare, not to mention others. That they were sincerely devoted to the Christian religion is unquestionable; but surely it will not thence be contended that they were incapable either of relishing polite literature and philosophy, or of themselves displaying the highest reach of genius. If it were, Shakespeare ought not to be admired, nor Milton read: Nay, the grand discoveries of Newton should be despised. With regard to the public conduct of the English worthies, it may well be put in competition with that of the ancients, for their patriotism, I will venture to affirm, was as unsullied, and more usefully directed; while their capacities, courage, and enterprise were not inferior. Even in the conduct of those ancients, Mr. Hume might have discovered a useful lesson for his direction in estimating the proceedings of this reign. Those noble ancients, though above the superstition of their age, had too much good sense to insult and provoke, far less persecute their countrymen, upon their religion.

Since I am upon this subject, I cannot refrain from noticing another attempt to lower the character of Hampden. "Then," says he, "was displayed the mighty ambition of Hampden, taught disguise, not moderation, from former restraint; supported by courage, conducted by prudence, embellished by modesty; but whether founded in a love of power, or zeal for liberty, is still, from his untimely end, left doubt-· ful and uncertain." Now, I really do think, that when the character of a statesmen cannot be assailed with the imputation of a single vice, it is a little hard to insinuate away his fame by alleging that he

Strafforde reported to the com

mons.

try had been suspended, and trade extremely injured by new and illegal impositions and destructive monopolies, joined to other arbitrary proceedings: That all causes, real and personal, had been arbitrarily determined by the council, from which there was no appeal: That there was a monopoly of tobacco, which, under the pretext of increasing the revenue, was in reality a fund of private emolument to the lieutenant That they were grievously oppressed by the court of high commission, a species of nuisance which cried aloud for redress in all the three kingdoms: That a proclamation had been issued by Strafforde, forbidding the departure of any individual for England without a licence, which was never allowed without exorbitant fees: And that while many subsidies had been granted, the king was still in debt. They concluded with demanding an account of the public treasure, and desiring either a present redress of grievances, or access to the king* The cause, as minister, of all these evils was Wentworth, Earl of Strafforde,

might, had he lived longer, by swerving from virtue, have betrayed an original depravity. Such an ordeal no character can pass unsullied; and the author might have considered that the same objection could be brought to his favourites, Brutus and Cassius. Might it not be said too, that Cato probably would have been as great a usurper as Julius Cæsar, if he had been as successful? But this last member of the sentence, faulty as it is, was meant to meet objections to the preceding members, without destroying their effect. By setting out with an attack upon the mighty ambition and the disguise of Hampden, the author had really determined the question as to his motives, which he yet concludes with saying had been left doubtful.

* Cobbet's Par.. Hist. vol. ii. p. 669. Old ditto, vol. ix. p. 40. Rush. vol. iv. p. 53. See also p. 220. vol. viii. p. 7. 11, et seq.

who had arrogated to himself all the judicial powers, which he had exercised with an iniquity worthy of such a usurpation, and yet had encouraged Laud to follow his example in England; who had himself obtained the patent for tobacco, by which he is said to have amassed a large sum; and who, in short, had, in every instance, substituted his own will for the law of the land, and even the natural obligations of justice. The manners of the man had, in all respects, corresponded with the arbitrariness of his actions. It might be alleged that the external deference which he even applied to the king for liberty to exact in Ireland, was an homage to his office, not to himself; but, as his treatment of parliament, which he threatened into the grant of large subsidies, was inconsistent with the duty of a public character, his conduct, in all respects, was so like that of a bashaw, that, as appears from his own letters, the title had been bestowed upon him by the general voice of that kingdom. In his correspondence, we find him ever lamenting to the king or Laud, that he was grossly maligned, and deprecating the consequences which the complaints of that people,-complaints which he ascribed to an aversion of authority,might have upon his master; and declaring himself innocent of the crime imputed to him, of amassing a fortune at the public expence *. These letters were intended to meet the murmurs which he could not suppress; but, that the voice of com

*See his Letters and Disp.

Strafforde

on a charge

son by the

1640.

plaint should be as much stifled as possible, he prohibited the unfortunate victims of his tyranny from quitting the island, lest they should have an opportunity of uttering their grievances to the throne. The day of retribution, however, had at last arrived, when the united cry of three kingdoms, with all the personal wrongs of individuals, called for justice. It will, therefore, be necessary to give an account of his commitment.

On the 11th of November, a motion was made committed by Pym for his impeachment; and as it met of high trea- with the universal approbation of the house, it is commons, singular that Clarendon should, without at least 11th Nov. taking his own portion of the blame, have afterwards condemned the measure as the height of injustice, and the commons as extravagantly tyrannical for adopting it; since he himself appears to have joined, instead of attempting to arrest the torrent. Lord Falkland, indeed, stated, that while he agreed with his brethren in the propriety of the measure, he conceived that it would be advisable to pause till they had digested the articles against the accused; but Pym, who had named Strafforde as the greatest enemy to the liberties of his country and promoter of tyranny, that any age had ever produced, answered, that such a delay might probably blast all their hopes, as such was Strafforde's influence with the king and queen, and so loudly did his own conscience admonish him of the fate he merited, that for his own safety he would likely advise a dissolution of the parliament, or fall upon some other desperate measure,

though it should be pregnant with the ruin of the kingdom. The motion was therefore put to the vote, and carried without a dissenting voice. Pym then, followed by the house, went to the bar of the lords, and, in the name of the commons, accused Thomas, Earl of Strafforde, of high trea

son.

The accused, it is said, having obtained proof of the correspondence held between some of his prime adversaries in both houses and the Scots, had determined to anticipate the blow by impeaching them,-a circumstance which, it is alleged, and possibly with reason, quickened the motions of the popular party against him; for though it is extremely improbable that, in the present posture of things, his charge against popular characters would have been seriously entertained, the event might have created leisure for the court to concert new measures. When the impeachment was announced to him, he came to the house with his usual proud, stern look; but, to his mortification, he was instantly ordered to withdraw, and then brought to the bar on his knees to hear the charge of the commons. He attempted to speak, but was refused an audience, and committed to the usher of the black rod. These pro

ceedings against a man who had just been regarded with terror in all quarters, drew together a crowd to the door, who, as he passed, all gazed," no one capping to him, before whom that morning the greatest in England would have

* Laud's Troubles, p. 85. Clar. vol. i. p. 175.