No. XIII.—Vol. II., p. 93.
“On the 19th of May, 1685, the King (about 11 a clock in the morning) came to the House of Peers in his royal robes, and with his crown off his head, being attended with the great officers of state, and having placed himself on his throne, the Usher of the Black Rod, Sir Thomas Duppa, was sent to bring up the Commons to the bar of the Lords’ House.
The Commons being come, the Lord Keeper standing behind the Chair of State (from whence he usually speaks to the two Houses) acquainted the Commons that his Majesty had commanded him to tell them that it was his royal pleasure, that they should go down to the Lower House, and choose their speaker, and present him at 4 of the clock in the afternoon, to his Majesty at the bar of the Lords’ House, for his approbation.
The Lord Keeper acquainted the Lords and Commons at the same time, that they should, in the mean time, apply themselves to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy and the test, as the law requires, and when that was done in both Houses, his Majesty would then acquaint them with the reasons why he called them to Parliament.
Thereupon the Commons withdrew, and went down to their own House, and (as I have been informed) forthwith chose Sir John Trevor to be their speaker.
In the mean time, the Lords went about the taking of the oath of allegiance, and supremacy, and the test; and in the first place, the Lord Keeper took the oaths and test singly; and then the Lords in their order, beginning with the Barons, and ending at the Archbishop of Canterbury.
When that business was over, the Lords called to go to prayers, and the Bishop of Bath and Wells read prayers, he being Junior Bishop. When prayers were ended, the Lords that were lately created by new patents, were introduced, according to the usual solemnity, that is to say, the Lord Keeper went below the bar, and being attended with the Usher of the Black Rod, and Sir W. Dugdale, King at Arms, and the Lord Marshall, and the Lord Great Chamberlain, and two other Barons (for Barons introduce Barons, and Earls do introduce Earls, &c.), the patent was carried by my Lord Keeper, and laid at his Majesty’s footstool, at the throne, he kneeling; and then he took his patent up, and carried it to his side upon the Woolsack, and then delivered it to the Clerk of the Parliament, who read it, and after the reading of it, he was, by the Lords and Officers aforesaid, brought to his seat upon the Barons’ bench, from thence he went to his place upon the woolsack, which is his seat as Speaker to the Lords’ House.
The rest of the Lords were introduced in the same manner, only they went out of the House to bring in their patents; and so did the Earl Marshall, and the Lord Great Chamberlain, and Sir William Dugdale, and the Usher of the Black Rod go out of the House to fetch them in; but the Lord Keeper did not go out of the House, because he being Speaker, ought not to be absent from the House, while its sitting, and that is the reason why he did not go out.
The Lords that were introduced were these:—First, Lord Keeper; second, Lord Treasurer; third, Lord President; fourth, Duke of Beaufort; three Earls, i.e., Earl Maclesfield, Earl Berkley, Earl Nottingham; three Viscounts, Viscount Hatton, Viscount Weymouth, Viscount Townsend. The Barons that were introduced were Dartmouth, Stawell, Churchill, Wemen; there were more, but I do not now remember their names, but I will hereafter insert them.
Then all those Lords that were introduced took the oath of allegiance and supremacy, and the test; and so went into their seats. And this was about 3 of the clock in the afternoon.
Then the Lord Privy Seal moved the House in the behalf of the three Popish Lords, that were upon bail to appear at the bar of the Lords’ House the first day of the Parliament, and he produced a petition from them, which was read; and in it they set forth, that they were impeached of high treason, and imprisoned for five years, and upwards, upon the single testimony of Titus Oates, who was found guilty of perjury by several indictments, and they prayed to be set at liberty, with reparation of their honours.
Then the Earl of Chesterfield moved the House in behalf of the Earl of Danby, and told their Lordships that he had a petition from the Earl of Danby, and prayed it might be read; and it was ordered to be read by the Clerk. The purport of his petition was to shew to the Lords, that he had been impeached and imprisoned for above four years, merely upon suggestion, without oath, and prayed their Lordships’ favour for his enlargement.
This petition of the Earl of Danby was more modest than the other Lords’ petition, which made the Lord Keeper observe, and say to the House, that the prayer of the Earl of Danby’s petition was different from the prayer of the Popish Lords’ petition; for they desired to be enlarged forthwith with reparation. And the Earl of Danby prayed either to have his trial, or to renew his bail, or to have such directions as their Lordships should think meet in his case.
The Lord Keeper’s intimation was not taken well by my Lord Danby’s friends; and therefore the Earl of Chesterfield, Lord High Chamberlain, and others stood, and moved successively, that the Earl of Danby’s case was the same with the Popish Lords, i.e., imprisonment and impeachment without oath, and therefore the remedy was the same.
Upon these motions, the House came to this resolution and order, i.e., they ordered that the Lords should be called in, and stand at the bar, to whom the Lord Keeper said that the House had read their petition, and had given order to record or enter the appearance, and that they should withdraw, and attend the House the first time they sat after this day, to know the further pleasure of the House as to their petitions.
The Lord Butler moved in behalf of the Earl of Tyrone, and he appeared at the bar, and had the same answer as the other Lords, viz., to attend at the next sitting day.
When this was done the House adjourned during pleasure, and the King withdrew into the Prince’s lodgings for a quarter of an hour, and the Lords went to the adjacent rooms to refresh themselves; and in a quarter of an hour the King returned into the House, and the Lords into their places, and then the House was resumed.
Thereupon the King withdrew, and presently came in his robes, and his crown upon his head, attended with the officers of state and heralds as aforesaid, and sat on his throne, and then the Usher of the Black Rod went down to call the Commons, who forthwith, with Sir John Trevor, their Speaker, attended at the bar of the House, and said (having made their bows or congé of reverence) that the Commons assembled in Parliament had made choice of him for their Speaker, and that he was sensible of his great disabilities to undergo that weighty task, and thereupon prayed his Majesty, that he would graciously be pleased to command the House of Commons to go down and choose another Speaker.
The King having heard his disabling harangue, whispered the Lord Keeper; and then the Lord Keeper (from behind the Chair of State) said, “Sir John Trevor, the King hath commanded me to tell you, that he is well apprised of your parts and zeal to serve him, and the Commons, and therefore he approves of their choice, and admits you to be the Speaker.”
Then the Speaker, in a short speech (read out of his paper, which was the first time that I observed a Speaker read any speech) expressed his thankfulness for his Majesty’s good opinion of him, and his parts, and promised to do his duty zealously and loyally, and then prayed (after the usual manner) that the Commons might have (1) their freedom of speech and (2) freedom from arrest, and (3) access to his Majesty to deliver their addresses, &c.
Again the King called to the Lord Keeper, and spake privately to him; and then the Lord Keeper told the Speaker, that the King had granted their petitions; and so the Commons and the Speaker were dismissed. And when the company was withdrawn, and the House clear of the people that thronged there, the doors were shut, and then the Lord Lovelace called to the Clerk to be sworn, and tendered himself to take the test.
But the Lord Keeper said that by the order of the House he should have offered himself to do that business in the morning after prayers, and therefore he could not be sworn that day.
Then the House called to adjourn, and they did adjourn, that is, the Lord Keeper as Speaker adjourned the House until Friday, at nine of the clock in the morning.
Friday 22 May, 1685.
The Lords met in their House, and in their robes that day. In the Lords’ House there was a canopy of state for the Queen Consort set up in the Lords’ House, near the Archbishop’s seat. The Queen came into the House about ten of the clock, and was in the House, while the House went to prayers.
In the same seat with her, that is with the Queen, sat the Prince of Denmark, and the Princess Anne, his consort.
About eleven of the clock, the King came to the House in his robes and attended as aforesaid, and sat upon his throne. And immediately the Commons, with their Speaker, came to the bar of the Lords’ House, at which time the King made a gracious speech, which is in print, and it is his first speech to the Parliament. The Lords and Commons hummed joyfully and loudly at those parts of it which concerned our religion, and the established government.
When the King’s speech was ended, the Commons went down to their own House, where, as I have been told, they forthwith voted the King’s revenue to be settled upon him for life.
The Lords, after reading an order pro formâ, chose committees for receiving and trying of petitions, committees for privileges and for the journal book.
The next thing was a motion made by the Lord Newport, and seconded by others, against several Lords that were minors or under 21 years, who would sit in the Lords’ House against the order of the House.
In fine, the minor Lords were ordered to withdraw, and told that they were not to sit there until they attained 21 years of age.
Then the Lords took unto consideration the petition of the imprisoned Lords, and after a warm debate, they came to the question about vacating an order of the House made anno 1678 about the continuance of impeachments after the dissolution of Parliament. The question was carried for the vacating of that order, and by that means the three Lords were ipso facto set at liberty.
Its observable that there was not above nine Lords in the negative, and there was above 80 in the affirmative at the question.
The same day there was a bill brought in and read against clandestine marriages, and then the House adjourned; only they voted thanks to the King for his gracious speech, and attended the King at the banquetting house, with the House of Commons, to give their thanks at 4 o’clock that day.
Saturday 23 of May.
The House met about ten of the clock, and after prayers, as is usual, some orders, pro formâ, were read, and then some Lords were sworn.
Then several petitions for appeals from decrees in chancery were read and admitted.
Then the bill against clandestine marriages was read 2nd time and committed.
The House fell upon consideration of Argyle’s declaration, which was by his Majesty’s order communicated to the House. It was a treasonable declaration, inviting his friends and vassals to take arms and oppose the King, whom he traitorously called a tyrant and usurper in that wicked paper.
The House returned thanks to his Majesty for imparting that matter unto the Lords, and they declared Argyle to be a traitor, and that they would be ready with their lives and fortunes to stand by his Majesty in the defence of his person, crown and dignity against that traitor and all his enemies. And they sent a message to the Commons for their concurrence in that vote, who sent answer that they did readily concur.
Then an address was made to the King by the Lords of the White Staves, to know when both Houses might wait upon his Majesty, to give him thanks for communicating unto them, the designs of Argyle, and to present their declaration upon the subject matter of his traiterous declaration.
The King’s answer was, that he would be waited upon at 5 of the clock in the afternoon in the banquetting house.
Then the house adjourned till Monday.
Both houses attended the King at the banquetting house at 5 of the clock on Saturday.
[This journal is all in the Bishop of Norwich’s (Dr. Lloyd) own hand.]”—MS. in the University Library, Cambridge.