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away, and their golden candlestick be removed for

ever.

1

In consequence of these appeals, the Commons resolved upon a solemn Vow and Protestation, to defend, as far as lawful, "with life, power, and estate, the true reformed Protestant religion" of the Church of England, against all popery and popish innovations; to maintain the privilege of Parliament, and the liberties of the subject; and to endeavour to bring to condign punishment any person who should engage in conspiracy, or do anything contrary to this Protestation.2 It was forthwith taken by every member, and then the document was sent up to the Lords. The peers present, except the Earl of Southampton and Lord Roberts, followed the example of the Commons. In two days the formulary had passed the lips of eighty temporal lords, seventeen bishops, nine judges, and four hundred and thirty-eight commoners. It was then printed and sent to the magistrates throughout the kingdom, with an order that it should be solemnly adopted on the following Sunday by heads of families and all persons of proper age.3

776.

May 3, 1641. Parl. Hist., ii.

I have here and elsewhere, in giving the substance of speeches, adhered to the quaint phraseology employed by the speakers.

* For the protestation, see Parl. Hist., ii. 777. Alterations were made which throw light on the fears of returning popery.-Verney's Notes, published by the Camden Society, 67-70.

3 Instances of the taking of it are numerous. In the Register Book of Wansted it is found with the names

of the principal inhabitants.-Lyson's Environs of London, iv. 243.

Whitaker, in his History of Richmondshire, mentions an endorsement on the Return Roll for the parishes and townships of Bentham, Ingleton, Thornton, Sedberg, Dent, and Garsdale:-"The names of those persons who refused to make protestation within Garsdale parcell of the township of Dent, viz: George Heber Gent, Abraham Nelson, chapman, who publiquely refused before the whole Dale in the Church."-vol ii.

363.

The

Of course, questions arose as to the meaning of the words, in many cases, no doubt, after they had been sealed by oath. Episcopalians took the declaration to mean defending the Protestant religion, as in the Church of England by law established. No such thing, said the Puritan majority of the Lower House; it includes not the hierarchy. It is against all popery and popish innovations, not for the discipline worship and ceremonies of the Church as they stand at present.1 The Commons, having so explained their own measure, afterwards passed a Bill for its universal enforcement, which however was objected to by the Lords. A conference between the two Houses followed, conducted by Denzil Holles, who defended the imposition of the oath, as a shibboleth to distinguish Ephraimites from Gileadites. With his reasons, "after some debate, the Lords seemed satisfied." proceeding shewed the alarm of the representatives of the people, lest they should be checkmated by their opponents. It indicated a determination to abide by what had been done, and further to grapple with all Papistical tendencies; whilst the Protestation itself anticipated the more famous Covenant of an after year, much to the joy of Robert Baillie, who, writing from his house in St. Antholin's, on the 4th of May, informed a Scotch brother: "After much debate, at last, blessed be the name of the Lord, they all swore and subscribed the writ, which here you have, I hope in substance, our Scottish covenant." 3 The intolerance and injustice of the imposition could not be seen in those days as it is in ours. Intended to secure liberty for such as were counted its only friends, it in fact partook of that very injustice,

2

1 See Journals of the Commons, May 12th.

August 2nd. Parl. Hist. ii, 895. Compare Nalson, ii. 414-41~.
Baillie, i. 351. He refers here to the Commons.

which, when exercised on the other side, appeared intolerable.

The resolute temper of the House of Commons, in resolving upon the enforcement of the Protestation in spite of the Lords, is to be ascribed very much to the new position in which the House had placed itself. Mistrusting the intentions of the King, fearful of another dissolution, which would frustrate all patriotic plans, the representatives of the people had passed a Bill to render Parliament indissoluble until it should dissolve itself. The Bill was read a third time on the 7th of May, and such was the ascendancy of the Commons, that the King-either struck for a moment, as if by the eye of a basilisk, or intending to violate the Act, should it be in his power; or influenced by "his own shame and the Queen's consternation at the discovery of the late plot"-gave his assent to the fatal measure only two days after it had passed the Lords.

During the progress of the Protestation, the Londoners manifested the greatest excitement; crowds assembled in Palace Yard, and the King sent a message to the House of Lords to say, that, taking notice of the great tumult and concourse of people, he had called a council to advise what should be done, and it was his pleasure that Parliament should adopt some speedy course for preserving peace.2 A laughable circumstance occurred amidst this panic. Two fat citizens, in the gallery of the Commons, stood earnestly listening to Sir Walter Erle, whilst he was descanting on the dangers of the times. Just then,

1 Hallam's Const. Hist., i. 524. The sagacious author justly remarks-" And thus we trace again the calamities of Charles to their two great sources; his want of judgment in affairs, and of good

faith towards his people." The Lords passed the Bill on the 8th; the royal assent was given on the 10th.

Parl. Hist., ii. 778.

an old board gave a loud creak, and Sir John Wray, imagining a second Guy Fawkes concealed in the cellar, called out," "he smelt gunpowder." This was enough. Knights and burgesses rushed out and frightened the people in the lobby, and the people in the lobby ran into Westminster Hall, crying, "the Parliament House was falling, and the members were slain." A few, scampering as fast as they could to Westminster Stairs, took water, and rowing at the top of their speed, reached the City, where they caused the alarm drums to beat, and the train bands to march as far as Covent Garden. All this arose from the creaking of a rotten board. 1

The exposure of these idle fears did not, however, compose the House; for, on the 10th of May, members were in such consternation about a gunpowder plot, that the Serjeant-at-arms received an order to get the holes of the floor examined and stopped up; also a committee of five proceeded carefully to search the building to discover and prevent the designs of ill-affected persons any might be imitating the example of Guy Fawkes. Whilst we smile at these unfounded terrors, we must believe some real danger to have been in the wind, to make strong hearts, such as beat in the Long Parliament, thus flutter with apprehension.

who

About the same time London echoed with "No popery riots." The presence of Marie de' Medicis in England excited immense uneasiness; and the zeal of that lady and her daughter, Queen Henrietta Maria, on behalf of the interests of the Roman Catholic religion, came to be regarded by Puritan citizens as a fountain of intrigue. At the end of April, the London apprentices-a class always

1 Parl. Hist., ii. 783. May 5. D'Ewes gives another amusing version of the story, (under date May

19).-Sanford's Illustrations, 373Baillie's account is somewhat different.

foremost in city frays-catching the spirit of their sires and elders, gave it violent expression, by assaulting the Spanish ambassador's house in Bishopsgate Street, threatening to pull it about his Excellency's ears, and to take his life in revenge for permitting English Papists to frequent his chapel.1

Other tumults and a deeper excitement appear in connexion with the trial of Strafford. Though the charges. against him were chiefly of a political character, and his overthrow was accomplished mainly for political reasons, yet the religious feelings of the Puritans were intensely excited against this arbitrary chieftain, as the friend of Laud, and the abettor of his High Church policy. They saw in him the evil genius of the past, and his removal seemed to them essential for accomplishing the ecclesiastical reforms which they desired.2 The conclusions which a student will reach, or the doubts that he will entertain touching the righteousness of Strafford's attainder and sentence, depend entirely upon the point of view from which he may regard the question. No wonder that lawyers now pronounce the attainder infamous.3 Looking at the statutes of treason, it is impossible to bring

1 Maitland's London, i. 338.

The bitter Presbyterian feeling against Strafford is plain enough in Baillie's letters.

It belongs not to the scope of this ecclesiastical History to enter on the details of the trial, but I cannot resist the temptation to insert in the Appendix two letters found in the State Paper Office, giving an account of the way in which the bill of attainder was introduced.

See Speeches by Lane and St. John (Rushworth's Trial of Strafford, 671, et seq.); then read what follows:

"It certainly does astonish us that men, however they may have condemned the conduct of Strafford, could bring themselves to believe that he was guilty of the crime of. high treason; for they could hardly have been deceived by the wicked sophistry of St. John that an attempt to subvert the fundamental laws of the kingdom was high treason at common law, and still remains so, or by the base opinion delivered by the judges that this amounts to high treason under the Statute of Edward III."- Campbell's Lives of the Chancellors, iv. 15.

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