Both Parliament and the army had always been most A.D. 1647. apprehensive that acts done in direct opposition to the King’s commands might some day serve as the occasion of judicial prosecution against individuals. The demand was now addressed to the King that all orders and decrees against the acts of Parliament and its adherents should be declared null and void, and that the judges should be for ever forbidden to trouble any man in respect of them.
The four bills and the propositions appended to them are the expression of the preponderance newly gained by the army—a manifesto of the alliance between the leaders for the time, the generals, and the Agitators. Not only a change of the constitution was aimed at by them, but also a legalisation of the régime of force at that moment existing.
In order not to be checked in its proceedings from the side of the city, where an independent spirit still exhibited itself, Parliament demanded the right to adjourn at whatever time and to whatever place it pleased[505]. If it should still come to negotiations with the King in person, it intended that they should not take place in London. What could be the object of such a meeting? It was assumed at the time that the prospect of it was kept open by Parliament merely in order not to be compelled to make offers side by side with the demands which it made; also that, in case of his acceptance, it wished to reserve all further points. But the King could feel no temptation to assent. It had been remarked, especially by the Scots, that he would thereby burden himself and his people with the army for ever, and make Parliament a mere sub-committee of the army[506]. Charles replied in a similar strain, that he would never deprive himself of his sovereignty, especially in such a way that his successors, as well as himself, would be unable to regain it, nor would he hold himself liable for the oppression which thereby would fall upon his people. He considered it an unheard-of thing to decide the most important points before negotiation began, and declared himself resolved to accept no acts that were offered to him before a personal interview; that neither A.D. 1648. dislike to his present position, nor fear of what might be impending, should ever move him from this determination. He not only refused the proposals, but rejected altogether the course adopted by Parliament[507]. Parliament surely must have expected this; perhaps did expect it. The general impression was that the dominant party wished to bring about a complete breach with the King, by presenting the bills to him for simple acceptance or rejection.
Now at last the King found that he had fallen into the hands of a decidedly hostile power: he was treated in the Isle of Wight altogether as a prisoner. The tone taken in Parliament was as though he had committed a crime in rejecting the four bills: there was a talk of confining him in some inland castle and bringing him to trial. Ireton intimated that the King was refusing to his people security and protection, the return for which would be obedience; but the latter could not be had without the former. Cromwell appears as a man who, after hesitating a moment, has chosen his side, and advances in the direction of his party with full vehemence. He now repeated the words of the Agitators, that God had hardened the King’s heart; that he could not be conciliated, and that the brave soldiers by whom he had been defeated and conquered must not be exposed to his vengeance: that Parliament must expect nothing more from him, but should govern by its own power and resolution.
Parliament now in fact decided on this course: it resolved henceforth to send no addresses to the King, and to receive no messages or letters from him: to send any communication to him or receive any from him without the leave of Parliament was to be high treason (Jan. 3). The King was virtually excluded from his kingdom.
The general assembly of the army accepted these declarations with joy. It asserted that Parliament could have asked for nothing less than was contained in the last proposals, without endangering the safety of itself and of all who adhered to it, without deserting the cause for which God had declared in the result of the battles. It assented without A.D. 1648. opposition to the resolutions now passed, and promised to defend them against all.
The fact that the superior officers who sat in Parliament exhibited not only no leaning towards the King, but the harshest aversion to his cause, completely put an end to the misunderstanding between them and the common soldiers. At Windsor, where the General Assembly met, the restoration of unity was celebrated by a festival. Deputies went to the various garrisons, in order to give an account everywhere of the new turn of events, which the soldiers regarded as the triumph of their opinions, and to arouse corresponding sentiments. Seven of them, with a number of officers, laid the declaration of the army before Parliament, which voted them its thanks. Thus all variance between the army and its officers, and between the army and Parliament, was removed; and at this moment they all made common cause against the King.
In their first zeal they had intended to pass formal ordinances against the King’s authority; but this was as yet avoided, the more so as no special constitutional forms were needed to carry on the government of the country without reference to him. It sufficed to do as was done by a resolution of January 3, namely, to renew in relation to England and Ireland, without reference to the Scottish members, the authority possessed by the Committee of the two kingdoms: the only thing needed was to replace by some Independents the excluded Presbyterian members. The twenty-one members of whom it was composed, seven lords and fourteen commoners, thus took into their hands the supreme power. Among the latter we find the two Vanes, Haslerig, and Cromwell. Northumberland, Warwick, and other Presbyterian lords fought for some time against agreeing to this: the King’s friends expected a breach between the two Houses; but on January 15 the Lords also assented to the resolution of the Lower House.
What then immediately came to light was the domination of the men who had obtained the lead in the Parliamentary struggles, and who were popularly named Grandees. Each of these ruled absolutely over a faction: whoever did not join the A.D. 1648. factions fell at once to the ground. The most weighty affairs were arranged beforehand in the Committees by a few persons, and then came before the Lower House. But it was asserted that all the parts were settled beforehand, who should make the proposal, support it, deal with this or that part of the question, and close the debate. A most extraordinary position was enjoyed by those who managed money matters. Great sums were raised by loan; an important part, some said half, of the property in the kingdom was in sequestration, monthly contributions were collected, the excise brought in a considerable revenue: but the millions which came in, in money or money’s worth, passed through so many hands, that it was impossible to keep account of it all: the old arrangements of the Exchequer no longer existed.
Thus, under the forms of a Parliament, which was meant to represent the rights of the nation, some few had possessed themselves of all authority, and constituted, as was said at the time, an oligarchy with dictatorial power[508]. And woe to any one who should rise against them. The Grandees desired nothing better than a manifestation made by their opponents, so as to be able to throw them into prison and seize their property. Everywhere there were, or were supposed to be, spies: the informers received a portion of the fines.