FOOTNOTES:
[154] Baillie i. 218: ‘The Kings own exposition, declared to us by all the Communers, and taken first at their mouth by many extemporary penns, and there set down by themselves to be communicat to all, gave tolerable satisfaction.’ No doubt this was the original of the promise, which at a later period was so often brought home to the King, but which he never acknowledged.
[155] The Marquis his advise to the King. Berwick, July 6. Burnet, Dukes of Hamilton 144. This shows more sagacity than anything else that fell from Hamilton, so far as I know.
[156] ‘For many things may be contrary to the constitution of a church, which of themselfs are not simply unlawfull. For whatsoever is absolutely unlawfull in one church, cannot be lawfull in the other of the same profession.’ Charles I to Traquair, Oct. 1, in Burnet, Dukes of Hamilton 158.
[157] ‘All civil places and power of kirkmen to be unlawfull in the kingdom.’
[158] ‘Commissioners of shyres chosen (to be) one (of the lords of) artickells.’ Balfour ii. 360.
[159] Baillie, Oct. 12, 1639, notices all this.
[160] ‘Persuadés que pour l’honneur de leur pays et le bien de leur religion ils ne doivent point laisser executer l’accord fait en termes généraux entre le roi de la Grande Bretagne et ceux du covenant, qu’ils ne fassent bien expliquer en quoy consistent leurs privilèges.’
[161] ‘Nous ne consentirons jamais, que tant et tant d’alliances faites entre les deux royaumes soient jamais teintes par la moindre soupçon de notre côté.’ 20/30 Août.
[162] ‘Ils ne feront point de traité avec le roi sans que les conditions suivantes ne leur soient accordées: à savoir 1. que l’ancienne alliance entre les roys et les royaumes de France et d’Ecosse sera entièrement retablie; 2. le roi d’Ingleterre ne pourra entreprendre aucune guerre sans l’avis et le consentement du parlement d’Ecosse, et s’il le fait autrement, les Ecossois ne seront tenus d’en prendre part; 3. dans le conseil des affaires étrangères et près de la personne du roi d’Ingleterre il y aura dorénavant des Écossois qui prendront garde, que rien ne se resolve qui préjudice à leurs alliances, 4. que les rois d’Ingleterre et leurs fils auront des Ecossois en chaque office de leur maison, 5. que le roi d’Ingleterre trouvera bon que les Ecossois tiennent un agent à la cour de France, ainsi qu’ils font a la Haye.’
[163] Traduction de l’instruction du Sr. Colvil envoyé par les Seigneurs d’Ecosse in Mazure, Histoire de la Revolution de 1688, iii. 406. The letter also is printed there according to the copy found in the French archives.
CHAPTER V.
STRAFFORD AND THE SHORT PARLIAMENT.
About this time the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Thomas Viscount Wentworth, was summoned to England to take a seat in the Council of the King: the affairs of Scotland were the immediate cause of his return.
The statesmen of England have always been distinguished from those of other countries by the combination of their activity in the Council and in the Cabinet with an activity in Parliament, without which they cannot win their way into the other sphere. Wentworth, like others, had first made himself a name in Parliament as a resolute and dangerous opponent of Buckingham. But there was as yet no clear consciousness of the rule, infinitely important for the moral and political development of remarkable men, that the activity of a minister must be harmonious and consistent with his activity as a member of Parliament. In the case of Wentworth especially it is clear that he opposed the government of that day, by which he was kept down, only in order to make himself necessary to it. His natural inclination was, as he once avowed, to live, not under the frown, but under the smile of his sovereign. The words of opposition to the government had hardly died away from his lips, when, at the invitation of that government, he joined it, although no change had been introduced into its policy. He accepted the position of Lord President in the North, although the powers of this office, which transgressed the ordinary limits of jurisdiction, were repugnant to those conceptions of English law of which he had just before been A.D. 1639. the champion. He had been trained beforehand for an office of this kind in the school of the Law Courts, principally by the proceedings of the Star Chamber, which he had attended for five years; he was afterwards for a time a Justice of the Peace, and had the reputation of knowing, perhaps better than any one in England, what was required for the exercise of that office. Nature, inclination, and ability, united in fitting him to wield authority. The Council of the North, which embraced the counties of Yorkshire, Northumberland, and Westmoreland, the bishopric of Durham, the towns of Newcastle, York, and Hull, was restored by him, in spite of all opposition, to the high position which it had possessed under the Tudors. Charles I assisted him in this enterprise by conferring fresh powers upon him. But Wentworth afterwards found a far larger arena for his activity as Lord Deputy of Ireland, where we have already met with him, and where, for the first time for centuries, obedience to the King was once more enforced. He despised the custom, adopted by former viceroys, of coming to an agreement beforehand with the native nobility about the measures that were to be taken; his only counsellors were the exigencies of the country, his only support was the royal authority itself. He derived great advantage from the exclusive possession of the initiative in Parliament, which was enjoyed by the government in Ireland: he there brought his idea of the royal prerogative into practical operation; he declared to the members without any circumlocution, that reward, or even punishment, awaited each of them according to his behaviour during the deliberations. The resolutions of Parliament served him as his instruments in ruling the country; he put an army into the field, and found means to pay it: for the first time the revenues of Ireland covered the outgoings; the island was protected from piracies by its own naval power. While he remitted many oppressive burdens in favour of the Catholics, he yet gave fresh encouragement to the Protestant Churches by the agency of learned bishops and theologians; he maintained the conformity between the Irish and English Churches, which by his decisive word he had restored. Under him justice was regularly administered, principally for the protection of the humble and weak; he considered that in his position A.D. 1639. he was justified in directing arbitrary measures against the great, if at the same time he did not come into collision with the actual letter of the law, which he was careful not to do. The impulses of natural imperiousness he nevertheless moderated by deliberating with prudent confidants[164]. If Ireland, which needed the adjustment of internal rivalries and enmities, not by counsel but by a strong arm, had alone been concerned, Wentworth would certainly have been the right man for the government of that country; for he was, as it were, born to conduct administration according to his own judgment of what was best: he was indisputably one of the greatest of the administrators who rose up among the English before they gained possession of India. But nevertheless Ireland could only be governed on those principles which prevailed in the rest of the kingdom. What if these were in contradiction to the principles which he himself followed? The Lord Deputy was of opinion, and he thought the King’s system required, that the whole realm should be governed as he governed Ireland.
Thomas Wentworth was a man of lofty stature, who although still in the full strength of manhood, already stooped as he walked. When he was seated and immersed in reflection, a cloud seemed to rest upon his face; when he raised himself and gave expression to his thoughts his countenance appeared cheerful and almost radiant: he spoke fluently and with effect; and he had the gift of quick apprehension and apt rejoinder.
In the narrow circle of persons among whom the affairs of Scotland were first debated, Laud, Wentworth, and Hamilton, the opinion was quickly arrived at, that nothing could be done without resorting to arms. But the importance of the matter made it indispensable to bring the question also before a full sitting of the Privy Council, to which all the members were summoned. Traquair was present on this occasion, A.D. 1639. and delivered a speech about the late proceedings in Scotland. Charles put the question, whether he should concede the demands of the Scots, which in his opinion were inconsistent with the honour of the King and the obedience due to him in temporal matters, or whether he should not rather bring back the people to their duty by force of arms. Every individual was invited to give his opinion on the subject. The Council answered unanimously that it was now advisable to have recourse to arms. But it still remained to consider how Charles should obtain the means requisite for the war; whether, on this occasion at all events, he should not seek to obtain them in the ordinary way by the help of Parliament. It seems strange at first sight that the smaller body which surrounded the King expressed itself favourably to this plan. But the necessity of such a step had been already foreseen when the King resolved not to go on from Berwick into Scotland; for the most important turns are given to affairs at a few decisive moments. Hamilton had at that time already remarked that the King would be obliged to employ force, and to claim a grant of Parliament for that purpose[165]. Yet the royal councillors did not intend thereby to make themselves entirely dependent on the opinion of Parliament. On the contrary, they definitely set before themselves the possibility that Parliament might refuse its assistance. And perhaps they looked forward with no great anxiety to an unfavourable result. They were of opinion that in such a case the King would be justified in the eyes of God and man, if he had recourse to the extraordinary means which he was still trying to avoid.
The summoning of a Parliament was also approved at a meeting of the Privy Council: the anticipation was expressed that Parliament would take the honour of the King into consideration, and would provide him with the necessary subsidies. The King, who knew the temper of the people, was not satisfied with this conclusion: he put forward the possibility that Parliament might perhaps even oppose his A.D. 1639. wishes, and he submitted to the assembled Councillors the question whether in such a case they would support him in resorting to extraordinary means. They unanimously and cheerfully declared ‘that in such case they would assist him with their lives and fortunes, in such extraordinary way, as should be advised and found best for the preservation of his state and government[166].’ On this the King gave out that he would summon the English Parliament for the ensuing 13th of April.
The prospect of a successful issue of the negotiations with Parliament was not perhaps in the first instance altogether hopeless. Some old members gave an assurance that the House of Commons would on this occasion remain within its proper limits, and would agree to the necessary grants. Some effect was expected from the impression which the connexion between the Scots and the French, that was by degrees coming to light, could not fail to produce upon Englishmen of the genuine old stamp. The Puritans themselves had been put into an ill humour with the French and their selfish policy by the imprisonment of the Elector Palatine, from whose appearance in Germany they had expected great things. People had said that in the next war the English arms might be turned against France as easily as against Scotland[167]; and the Queen, at all events, had now no objection to such a measure. She had been formerly an opponent of Wentworth, whose ambition had been represented to her as dangerous; she was now one of his admirers, as were also her friends the Countess of Carlisle and the Duchess of Chevreuse. The most influential members of her household, her intimate friends Jermyn and Montague, passed for the most decided adversaries of the French. Yet there were some who adhered to their side: the Earl of Holland would not be deterred from visiting Bellièvre, even when he lay under the displeasure of the court; but he and his friends feared for the results of the next Parliament. They thought that the A.D. 1639. dominant party had laid their plans so well that they would maintain their ascendancy[168]: that the King would allow only the affairs of Scotland and the imprisonment of the Elector to be brought under discussion: that his design was to hold a Parliament according to his own views, and after his own fashion, and to become more powerful by its assistance than any of his ancestors had ever been. It was thought that the opposite party had already resolved, if all went well, not to spare the heads of their opponents.
The opposition of religious opinions, the great European interests at stake, and the most important questions of internal policy, were mixed up with the quarrels of persons in high positions, who, in the event of a political defeat, would, according to old English custom, have to fear even for their lives.
The King had resolved that an Irish Parliament should precede the sitting of Parliament in England. Wentworth, who was not until now raised to a rank fully equal to his position, was nominated Lord Lieutenant in Ireland, and at the same time was made Earl of Strafford, which was the name of the wapentake in which Wentworth-Wodehouse was situated, where his ancestors had resided since the Conquest. He had now to go over to Ireland once more, in order to bring matters there to a successful issue.
He fully realised to himself the importance, the difficulty, and even the danger of his position.
In his gratitude for his promotion in rank he once more expressed the opinion that the kingship was an image of the Divine Majesty. After his journey to Ireland, where he had to endure an attack of gout, he writes that whether in health or suffering, whether lame or blind, he would at all times be found faithful to the service of his lord. He promises to be back in England at the opening of Parliament, even if he should be tormented with pain, even though he might have to expect to find his most violent enemies in that body; but he A.D. 1640. strongly urges that everything should meanwhile be carefully prepared beforehand in England as well as in Ireland, and especially that the raising of troops, which had been resolved on, should not be delayed. ‘For that this work before us,’ he says, ‘should it miscarry, we are all like to be very miserable: but carried through advisedly and gallantly, it shall by God’s blessing set us in safety and peace for our lives after, nay, in probability, the generations that are to succeed us. Fi a faute de courage: je n’en ay que trop. What might I be with my legs that am so brave without the use of them[169].
In Ireland the Lord Lieutenant easily attained his object. On March 23, the very same day on which he invoked the loyalty of the King’s Irish subjects against the Scottish Covenanters, whose designs he declared to be detestable, the Irish granted four subsidies, adding that they were ready, in case the war continued, to devote all their possessions, and even their persons, to the service of the King. Further measures were taken to equip an army of 8000 men, with cavalry and artillery. Thus, after a stay of fourteen days, in which he had successfully executed his plans, Strafford recrossed St. George’s Channel.
At the English Court meanwhile negotiations with the Scots had been resumed, but the commission appointed by the King to manage the affair decided that, if Scotland did not first of all acknowledge both those rights, without which no supreme authority could exist, namely, the right of convening and dissolving deliberative assemblies in Church and State, as well as of vetoing any measure proposed in these assemblies, no further negotiation could be carried on with that country. Strafford, successful and full of conscious pride in consequence of his success in Ireland, thought that matters had been so skilfully arranged that the Scottish war would be ended as soon as begun, and that the Earl of Argyle would sell his cause at a cheap price.
The eyes of every one in the three kingdoms were now turned upon the English Parliament, to which the question was submitted, whether it would support its sovereign in his position A.D. 1640. in Europe, and, above all, maintain him in his sovereignty over Scotland, or whether it would, on the contrary, attempt to give effect to its own ancient but hitherto repressed claims.
On April 13/23, 1640, the Parliament, as had been announced, was opened. The Lord Keeper above all things set before them the necessity of giving the King assistance against the Scots. He read the despatch of the six Scottish nobles already referred to, by which Colvil had been accredited at the court of the King of France, whom in the despatch, after French fashion, they simply called ‘The King.’ Charles I himself added a few words on the matter. The Lord Keeper’s proposal aimed at securing an immediate grant of adequate subsidies; without this, it was said, the war could not be conducted, and yet it must be waged in the following summer. A formal approval of tonnage and poundage which the King, under the pressure of necessity, had hitherto collected without approval, was also now proposed. If these grants should be made, which the King regarded as a pledge of the affection and loyalty of his subjects, he would prove himself on his part, it was said, a just, gentle, and gracious sovereign; then, and not till then, might petitions directed to promote the welfare of England be brought under discussion, and the King would then co-operate with Parliament to the advantage of the country.
It was intended that, before any further discussion of the questions of domestic policy at issue, the King should be placed by means of copious subsidies in a position to revive the royal authority which had been shaken in Scotland, and, in consequence, everywhere else as well.
It is evident however that the English Parliament could not be moved to adopt such a course. In the elections the government had been again as unsuccessful on this occasion as it had been ten or twelve years before. The boroughs had the preponderance at the elections, and in the boroughs the party devoted to the Presbyterian and Parliamentary cause were in the ascendant. The oppression of the system previously pursued, and the apprehension of worse consequences, had necessarily led to this result. We learn that even in Westminster the King failed to procure a seat in the House A.D. 1640. of Commons for a confidential servant of his court: supporters of the Opposition were elected under his very eyes[170].
A disadvantageous influence had been exercised from the very first by the reappearance of the man who had given occasion to the last violent scenes in the year 1629, and who was in ill repute with every one—John Finch, who now came forward as Lord Keeper. His appearance awakened the old controversies and the old hatred.
And moreover the disloyalty of the Scots failed to produce so great an impression as was expected, because it was partly a result of the religious conflict. France was regarded as the protector of Protestantism, which, on the contrary, was in danger from a King who belonged to it. The French government had not been slow to release the Elector Palatine from prison, on the receipt of the warning which was addressed to it; it had removed this cause of offence as well as others, and in both Houses of Parliament it reckoned decided partisans.
Thus it came to pass that Charles I was encountered in the Parliament of 1640 by an opposition no less resolute than that which had led to the dissolution of the Parliament of 1629.
The very first speaker who made himself heard, Grimstone, set off domestic grievances against the complaints which the King made of the Scots; he dwelt above all on the infringement of the obligations undertaken by the acceptance of the Petition of Right. He said that freedom and property had been shaken, the Church thrown into confusion, and the true religion even persecuted. While appealing for support to a passage of the Bible he gave utterance to the significant opinion that men ought to enquire how this result had come to pass, and who had given the advice which had brought it about.
Then rose up John Pym, the man of all others in that assembly in whom the union of Puritan and Parliamentary principles was most clearly displayed. He had drawn up for himself a list of the grievances, which he now set forth, with A.D. 1640. methodical and almost scholastic accuracy, but with clear vision, and not without statesmanlike insight. He gave especial prominence to the religious grievances, to the failure in executing the ancient laws in consequence of which men of the Catholic faith were placed in positions of trust and power, and to the presence of a Papal Resident in England, who, he said, was only carrying into execution what a congregation sitting at Rome was devising for the conversion of England. It was necessary, he affirmed, to consider the Papacy in its connexion with the other states which it governed, as the sun governs the course of the planets; he thought it was intended that England also should be torn from her proper path and subjected to the same influence[171].
To this origin—for everything, he said, had its source—most of the abuses were then referred by him and by others; especially the suspension of the sittings of Parliament, and the attacks made on private property by the collection of taxes which had not been granted, measures intended to relieve the government from any need of convening that body[172].
The various complaints of a similar nature which came in from every county and every class made all the stronger impression, as they were also based on the ground of a general danger to the religion ‘which was professed according to the law of God and the law of the land.’
These all showed the same conception of the King’s intentions as that entertained by the Scots, although much more moderately expressed; yet, for all that, it cannot be accepted as resting on an historical basis. The efforts of the government certainly proceeded from one fundamental design, but this was the design of uniting the three kingdoms in a like obedience, not by the acceptance of Catholicism, A.D. 1640. but only by more lenient treatment of it; according to the King’s idea, Great Britain far from again becoming a satellite of the Papacy, was, on the contrary, to describe its own course as an independent portion of the universe, while external influence was to be neutralised. But nevertheless Pym’s assertions made a great impression even in England. In the religious conflict which filled the world neutrality might well seem to be partiality to one side; the danger lay, not merely in the intention of the ruler, but in the nature of things, which often exercises an influence even beyond that of individuals.
The controversy was connected with a question which has always been one of the most important in those countries which have a highly developed representative constitution. When, on April 23, at the wish of the government the proposal was made to allow the granting of subsidies to precede the discussion of grievances, this proposal, after long debate, was rejected in the House of Commons; it was thought that it ought not to set so bad an example to posterity. The House came to a resolution to grant no money, unless it received at all events simultaneously the definite assurance of redress on those three points under which all others were comprised—security for religion, for property, and for Parliamentary liberties.
By this resolution the House of Commons at once placed itself in opposition to the intentions of the government, which required grants of money without delay. For what a wide prospect must have been opened by the discussion of these points even in a friendly and indulgent spirit! On the evening of the same day a meeting of the Privy Council was held, and, at Strafford’s proposal, although not without opposition, a resolution was taken to bring the matter before the House of Lords. Not that the power of granting subsidies was ascribed to that House; the formal question was laid before it, whether the King ought first to give satisfaction to his subjects, or to expect satisfaction from them[173]. In the A.D. 1640. House of Lords a tendency in favour of the opposition was not wanting: the Earls of Southampton and Rutland, and Lords Say and Brooke were against the King’s proposal. But the majority were still decidedly in favour of the government; and a resolution was passed that the satisfaction to be given to the King must precede the discussion of grievances[174]. The members of Convocation without waiting any longer granted the King six subsidies. The House of Commons in great excitement remarked that its rights were thereby trenched upon, as the granting of subsidies belonged to that House alone[175]. Hereon the House of Lords once more took the matter into consideration on the 29th of April; but on a second division they arrived at just the same result as before. The Lords again took the side of the government by a majority of twenty votes.
The King considered this an important advantage, and Strafford as the only man whose advice he could follow. He said to him that he had more confidence in him than in all the Privy Council together, and the Queen spoke of him as her husband’s most capable and trustworthy minister.
With renewed hopes of a favourable issue, especially as the Lords had explained their views at full length to the Commons, the King had his proposal again brought before the latter House a few days afterwards by the Treasurer of the royal household, Sir Henry Vane. In the sketch of the message to be submitted to it, very strong expressions were originally inserted with regard to the delay of the grant, which was represented as unprecedented in such a case; the King, however, for fear of making bad blood, had struck them out with his own hand. The Treasurer merely represented in the most urgent terms the necessity of the grant, without which, he said, the honour of the King and of the State would be in danger; delay in this matter was no less pernicious than A.D. 1640. a refusal[176]. The subject was again taken into consideration at once; it continued to be the unaltered feeling of the House that the removal of grievances in Church and State must first be taken in hand; its answer however was still kept back.
At the court it was thought that a grant might still be obtained, at all events by the offer of concessions; and the King had a declaration made that he would give up ship-money if twelve subsidies were promised him. It was not the sum which people would have had to pay that kept them from accepting this offer. The Speaker, Sergeant Glanville, who rose to address the House, (the debate was being carried on in Committee,) calculated, judging from his own case, that the tax would not fall very heavily on each individual, but he did not for that reason advise Parliament to accede to the offer; for, as he affirmed, this would be to acknowledge the payment of ship-money as binding, and would indirectly be authorising it. Glanville was regarded as one of the greatest authorities upon legal questions; and a deep impression was made by his declaration that ship-money was against the laws, if he understood anything about them. Others suggested other motives besides, but the legal point was decisive. Sir Henry Vane, when he came out of the House, told the King that he ought not to reckon upon obtaining any grant.
That this was in fact the case is not quite certain; but such was the impression which was made by the proceedings. The government thought they had tangible proof that Parliament would grant the King no subsidies, or, at all events, would grant them only under such conditions as ran counter to his system of government. It would not content itself with any mere removal of grievances by the act of the sovereign, for it thought that the interference of Parliament was necessary for the cure of national evils: the King was A.D. 1640. to be pledged for ever to abide by parliamentary procedure. The King found himself not merely forsaken but threatened with further demonstrations; he did not hesitate, before such demonstrations were actually made, to declare the dissolution of this Parliament, as he had that of others[177] (May 5, 1640).
This was a decision of all the more importance inasmuch as no resolutions of Parliament, properly speaking, had yet been arrived at; and another decision of no less consequence, with reference to the resumption of the Scottish war, immediately followed. In the Commission appointed to consider the subject attention had indeed been called to the insufficiency of the means available for the support of an offensive war; the question was asked, whether it would not be better in the first instance to leave the Scots alone. But, as we know, the leading men had already prepared themselves for an unfavourable issue of the deliberations of Parliament, and had determined not to allow themselves to be thwarted on that account. The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland encouraged the King to proceed boldly. He said that a merely defensive attitude would diminish his reputation; that he would exhaust and weaken himself, and would stand, as it were, between Saul and David; that no long time could elapse before England rose to support him. He said that an offensive war had been already decided on; that the King should undertake it; that, as Parliament refused its assistance, he was justified in the sight of God and man if, under the pressure of these circumstances, he should seize every other means which lay within the grasp of his power; that he had an army in Ireland of which he could avail himself; that Scotland could be subdued in a single summer. Were it his own affair, he added, he would make the venture; he would either carry it through or lose everything in the attempt. Archbishop Laud supported the views of the Lord Lieutenant; he said that every means had been tried, and all had failed; A.D. 1640. that if people would not grant the King what according to God’s law was his due, he had the right to take it. Cottington not only warmly agreed with Laud, but also added as a general reason for action that the House of Commons looked forward to getting rid of the monarchy as well as of the Episcopal Church[178]. If he meant a definitely entertained design, there was as little truth in his statement as there was in attributing to the King the intention of becoming a Catholic. Men on either side, judging from what has occurred, attribute to the opposite party the intentions which are most offensive to themselves.
On this the principle of parliamentary and military, or, which is much the same, of limited and absolute monarchy, once more came into conflict with one another in the King’s Privy Council. The latter obtained a complete ascendancy.
The alliance between Scotland and a foreign power was thought to remove all doubts regarding its treatment; it was therefore to be attacked by sea and land at once, from the side both of England and Ireland, with all the strength which the Crown, unaided by Parliament, had remaining to it. The militia of the country had already been called out for that object. It was intended that part of the expense should be defrayed by the contributions of the Lords, which proved very considerable, and by those of the clergy[179]. Two days after the dissolution of Parliament the assembled Privy Council embraced the resolution of calling the High Sheriffs of eight counties, among which were Middlesex, Yorkshire and Essex, to account for having improperly neglected to collect the ship-money; they were to be dealt with straightway, without regard for their rank, and to be treated according to their deserts. A command was issued to the Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk to punish with imprisonment all A.D. 1640. men of any position who had shown themselves contumacious during the levy and on the march of the troops. Fresh negotiations were begun with a view to obtaining a loan from Spain. It was also suggested that the silver lying in the Tower might be coined to more advantage than before. Strafford laid before the Council a memorial about the French practice of raising forced loans from the wealthy, and advised imitation of that practice.
Can we be surprised if the opinion gained ground that the war against Scotland, which was not in itself necessary, was intended to serve as a means of introducing absolute monarchy on the French and Spanish model into England also. Without doubt men like Strafford, Laud, Cottington, and the King himself, thought of realising, despite of all opposition in England and Scotland, the ideal of a monarchy resting on a spiritual basis.
A document is extant which indisputably sets forth this intention. This is the Book of Canons, drawn up in the Convocation of the clergy, which held its deliberations at the same time as the Parliament. In this book a theory as to the royal authority, not very unlike the views which Richelieu and his adherents were then contending for in France, was strongly asserted as the doctrine of the Church. It is therein said that the monarchy is the highest and most sacred Estate, is of divine right, is expressly instituted in the Old and New Testament for ruling over every one, of whatever rank and position he might be, and is entrusted even with the supreme government of the Church. Whoever wished to set up a power independent of the King’s, whether of Papal or popular character, thereby placed himself, it was said, in opposition to the Divine ordinance[180]: it was consonant with the law of nature, the law of nations, and the law of God, that people should repay the protection which they enjoyed from the King with tribute, tolls, and subsidies: for them to bear arms against the King, not merely in order to attack him, but even A.D. 1640. in order to defend themselves against him, was to resist the ordinance of God. These views, which condemned the resistance of the Scots, as well as the agitation of the popular spirit in England, were proclaimed as the doctrines of the Church; and an oath in keeping with them was imposed on the clergy and on the graduates of the universities.
The ecclesiastical ideas of Laud, and the political ideas of Strafford, were in complete harmony with one another. Though it was perhaps still possible to unite a form of parliamentary government with the monarchy, such as they would have made it, yet the former could only have been such as would have been unconditionally subservient to the views of the crown, and would have regarded their promotion as its own province.
Strafford and Laud were still determined to carry these plans into execution, and that, in the first instance, by means of the war in Scotland; and without being really conscious of the powerful forces which were opposed to them, they cherished the confident hope of succeeding in their attempt.