London, which had very rarely rejected their Recorder upon that occafion; and left that fhould fail, diligence was us❜d in one or two other places that he might be elected. The oppofition was fo great, and the Faction fo ftrong, to hinder his being Elected in the City, that four others were chosen for that Service, without hardly mentioning his name: nor was there lefs industry us'd to prevent his being chofen in other places; Clerks were corrupted not to make out the Writ for one place, and ways were found out to hinder the Writ from being executed in another, time enough for the Return before the meeting: fo great a fear there was, that a Man of entire Affections to the King, and of prudence enough to manage thofe Affections, and to regulate the contrary, should be put into the Chair. So that the very morning the Parliament was to meet, and when the King intended to go thither, he was inform'd that St Thomas Gardiner was not return'd to ferve as a Member in the House of Commons, and fo was not capable of being chofen to be Speaker, fo that his Majefty deferr'd his going to the Houfe till the afternoon, by which time he was to think of another Speaker. 1 UPON the perufal of all the Returns into the Crown Of fice, there were not found many Lawyers of eminent Name, (though many of them prov'd very Eminent Men afterwards) or who had ferv'd long in former Parliaments, the experience whereof was to be wifh'd; and Men of that Profeffion had been most commonly thought the most proper for that Service, and the putting it out of that Channel at that time was thought too hazardous: to that, after all the deliberation the fhortness of that time would admit, Mr Lenthall, a Bencher of Lincolns Inn (a Lawyer of competent practice, and no ill reputation for his Affection to the Government both of Church and State) was pitch'd upon by the King, and with very great difficulty rather prevail'd with than perfwaded to accept the Charge. And no doubt a worfe could not have been deputed of all that Profeffion who were then return'd; for he was a Man of a very narrow, timorous nature, and of no experience or converfation in the Affairs of the Kingdom, beyond what the very drudgery in his Profeffion (in which all his defign was to make himfelf Rich) engag'd him in. In a word, he was in all refpects very unequal to the Work, and not knowing how to preserve his Own dignity, or to reftrain the Licence and Exorbitance of Others, his Weakness contributed as much to the growing Mifchiefs, as the Malice of the principal contrivers. However, after the King had that afternoon recommended the distracted Condition of the Kingdom (with too little Majefty) to the Wisdom of the two Houses of Parliament, to have fuch reformation and remedies applied as They They should think fit, propofing to them, as the best rule for their Counfels, "That all things fhould be reduced to the "practice of the time of Queen Elizabeth; the House of Commons no fooner return'd to their House, then they chose Mr Lenthall to be their Speaker; and two days after, with the usual ceremonies and circumstances, prefented him to the Mr LenKing, who declar'd his acceptation; and to both Houses were thall made ready for the Work. Speaker. THERE was observ'd a marvellous elated Countenance in many of the Members of Parliament before they met together in the Houfe; the fame Men who fix months before were obferv'd to be of very moderate Tempers, and to wish that gentle remedies might be applied, without opening the wound too wide and expofing it to the air, and rather to cure what was amifs than too ftrictly to make inquifition into the causes and original of the Malady, talk'd now in another dialect both of Things and Perfons; and faid "that they must now "be of another temper than they were the laft Parliament; "that they must not only sweep the House clean below, but "must pull down all the Cobwebs which hung in the top "and corners, that they might not breed duft, and fo make a "foul House hereafter; That they had now an opportunity "to make their Country happy, by removing all Grievances, "and pulling up the Causes of them by the Roots, if all Men "would do their Duties; and us'd much other sharp discourse to the fame purpose: by which it was difcern'd, that the warmeft and boldest Counfels and Overtures, would find a much better reception than thofe of a more temperate allay which fell out accordingly: and the very firft day they met together, in which they could enter upon bufinefs, Mr Pym, Mr Tym in a long, form'd difcourfe, lamented the miferable ftate and begins the condition of the Kingdom, aggravated all the particulars Grievances. debate of which had been done amifs in the Government, as "and contriv'd maliciously, and upon deliberation, to change "the whole Frame, and to deprive the Nation of all the Li"berty and Property which was their Birthright by the Laws "of the Land, which were now no more confider'd, but fub"jected to the Arbitrary Power of the Privy-Council, which govern'd the Kingdom according to Their will and plea"fure; these Calamities falling upon us in the Reign of a Pi "ous and Virtuous King, who lov'd his People, and was a "great lover of Juftice. And thereupon enlarging in fome fpecious commendation of the nature and goodness of the King, that he might wound him with less fufpicion, he faid, “We "muft enquire from what Fountain these Waters of bitter"nefs flow'd; what Perfons They were who had fo far infi"nuated themselves into his Royal Affections, as to be able « done "to Book III. « to pervert his excellent Judgement, to abuse his Name, and << wickedly apply His Authority to countenance and support << their Own corrupt designs. Though he doubted there would «be Many found of this claffis, who had contributed their « joint endeavours to bring this mifery upon the Nation; «Yet he believ'd there was One more fignal in that Admini«<stration than the reft, being a Man of great parts and con« trivance, and of great industry to bring what he defign'd « to pafs; a Man, who, in the memory of many prefent, had « fate in that House an earnest vindicator of the Laws, and a « most zealous Affertor and Champion for the Liberties of the « People; but that it was long fince he turn'd Apoftate from « thofe good Affections, and according to the cultom and na«ture of Apoftates, was become the greatest Enemy to the «Liberties of his Country, and the greatest promoter of Ty«ranny that any Age had produc'd. And then he nam'd the Earl of Strafford, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and Lord « Prefident of the Council establish'd in York for the Northern « Parts of the Kingdom; who, he said, had in both Places, «and in all other Provinces wherein his fervice had been «us'd by the King, rais'd ample monuments of his Tyranni«cal nature; and that he believ'd, if they took afhort furvey · of his actions and behaviour, they would find him the ❝ principal Author and Promoter of all thofe Counfels which "had expos'd the Kingdom to fo much Ruin; and fo inftanc'd in fome high and imperious actions done by him in England and in Ireland, fome proud and over confident expreffions in difcourfe, and fome paffionate advices he had given in the moft fecret Councils and Debates of the affairs of State; adding fome lighter paffages of his vanity and amours; that they who were not inflam'd with anger and detestation against him for the former, might have lefs efteem and reverence for his prudence and discretion: and fo concluded "That they would well confider how to provide a Remedy "proportionable to the Disease, and to prevent the farther Mifchiefs they were to expect from the continuance of this great Man's power and credit with the King, and his influ❝ence upon His Counfels. FROM the time that the Earl of Strafford was nam'd, moft Men believ'd that there would be fome Committee appointed to receive information of all his miscarriages, and that, upon report thereof, they would farther confider what course to take in the examination and profecution thereof; but they had already prepar'd and digefted their business to a riper period.:. MrPYM. had no fooner finish'd his difcourfe, than Sr John Clotworthy (a Gentleman of Ireland, and utterly unknown in in England, who was, by the contrivance and recommendation of fome powerful perfons, return'd to ferve for a Burrough in Devon-fhire, that fo he might be enabled to act This part against the Lord Lieutenant) made a long and confus'd rela tion "of his Tyrannical carriage in that Kingdom; of the "Army he had rais'd there to invade Scotland; how he had "threaten'd the Parliament, if they granted not fuch Supplies as he requir'd; of an Oath he had fram'd to be administer'd "to all the Scotish Nation which inhabited that Kingdom, and "his fevere proceedings against some Perfons of Quality who "refus'd to take that Oath; and that he had with great pride "and paffion publickly declar'd at his leaving that Kingdom, "If ever he fhould return to that Sword, he would not leave "a Scotifb-man to inhabit in Ireland: with a multitude of very exalted expreffions, and fome very high actions in his adminiftration of that Government, in which the Lives as well as the Fortunes of men had been difpos'd of out of the common road of Juftice: all which, made him to be look'd upon as a man very terrible, and under whose authority men would not choose to put themselves. SEVERAL Other Persons appearing ready to continue the discourse, and the morning being spent, fo that, according to the obfervation of Parliament hours, the time of rifing was come, an Order was fuddainly made "that the door should "be fhut, and no body fuffer'd to go out of the Houfe; which had rarely been practis'd: care having been first taken, to give fuch advertisement to fome of the Lords that that House might likewise be kept from rifing; which would otherwife very much have broken their measures. THEN Sr John Hotham, and fome other York-fhire men, who had receiv'd fome difobligation from the Earl in the Country, continued the Invective, mentioning many particulars of his imperious carriage, and that he had, in the face of the Country, upon the execution of fome illegal Commiffion, declar'd, "that they fhould find the little finger of the King's "Prerogative heavier upon them than the loyns of the Law; which expreffion, though upon after-examination it was found to have a quite contrary fenfe, marvellously increas'd the Paffion and Prejudice towards him. IN conclufion, after many hours of bitter inveighing, and ripping up the course of his life before his coming to Court, and his Actions after, it was mov'd, according to the fecret Refolution taken before, "that he might be forthwith "Impeach'd of High Treafon; which was no fooner mention'd, than it found an univerfal approbation and confent from the whole House: nor was there, in all the debate, one perfon who offer'd to stop the Torrent by any favourable testimony concerning concerning the Earl's carriage, fave only that the Lord Falk- To those who were known to have no kindness for him, and feem'd to doubt whether all the particulars alledg'd, being prov'd, would amount to High Treafon, it was alledg'd, "That the House of Commons were not Judges, but only "Accufers, and that the Lords were the proper Judges whe"ther fuch a complication of Enormous Crimes in one Per"fon, did not amount to the highest Offence the Law took "notice of, and therefore that it was fit to prefent it to Them. Thefe reafons of the haft they made, fo clearly deliver'd, gave that univerfal fatisfaction, that without farther confidering the Injustice and Unreasonableness of it, they Voted unanimously (for ought appear'd to the contrary by any avow'd contradiction) "That they would forthwith fend up to the "Lords and accuse the Earl of Strafford of High Treason, and "feveral other Crimes and Mifdemeanours, and defire that "he might be presently fequefter'd from the Council, and committed to fafe Custody; and Mr Pym was inade choice Son. of for the Meflenger to perform that office. Tlais being de The Commens im peach the Earl of High Trea termin'd, |