Without doubt such was the situation;—it is true that no popular religious union, either in England itself, or with the Scots, was actually formed: still that did not prevent the Scottish cause from being sure of general sympathy. Some A.D. 1640. saw in it the cause of God and of the only true religion, which the Scottish army had come to defend: others cared chiefly for the support which the presence of the Scots afforded to their own political attitude: in many both these motives for sympathy were united. From the beginning down to the present day, the exact understanding which had been entered into between the parties has continued in the profoundest obscurity. Tradition connects the memory of it, among other places, with Broughton Castle in Oxfordshire, the seat of Lord Say, and Fawley in Northamptonshire, the house of a son-in-law of John Hampden: there a table was pointed out, at which all the plans were concocted from which the civil troubles arose. In London it was at the house of John Pym, near Gray’s Inn, that the meetings were held and conferences took place, by which, as it was assumed, a close connexion with the Scots was maintained[197]. Moreover the well-considered and well-written manifesto of the Scots made a marked impression in their favour: it suggested points of view which every one could accept. They did not omit, after the capture of Newcastle, a place which was of the utmost importance to the English capital on account of the coal supply, to open communications with the city: they expressed in a special letter, as well as in their manifesto, their good-will and even their reverence for London, assuring them that the traffic should not be for an instant interrupted, their purpose being to make friends and not enemies. We learn that this declaration produced the desired effect[198].
After the step taken by the Lords, preparations were immediately made in the city to present a petition similar to theirs. The Privy Council sent a letter to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, warning them against this proceeding; saying that the city had from the earliest times been treated as the King’s chamber, even as his own house, to which he A.D. 1640. would entrust his wife and children[199]: that they ought not to press him about grievances which he was ever labouring to remove, and that this course was inconsistent with the customs and charters of the city. But the Aldermen refused to interfere: still less could they be induced to do what was suggested to them—address to the King a petition of contrary tenour[200]. These ideas of a special connexion vanished before the general religious and political motives of action in the Commons as well as in the Lords. The King was requested, in the name of his capital also, to summon a Parliament as soon as possible, for the removal of grievances to which, as experience proved, the usual course of justice did not extend.
This was the demand which had been repeated for more than ten years in stronger or weaker language, which the King had evaded as often as possible, but which nevertheless had often been pressed upon him. Once he had taken steps in that direction, in the hope that complications abroad might in the interval occur to check opposition at home: but he was most bitterly disappointed. Should he now after all decide on this course? The need of Parliamentary aid was more pressing than ever, the cry for a Parliament louder: and the impression which this demand had made was deepened by another motive, the fear of worse consequences in case of refusal. The idea gained ground that if the King delayed to call a Parliament, the associated Lords would take steps towards that end[201]. A Parliament had already been held in Scotland without the King’s participation. What else did the threats mean that Bedford and Hertford had uttered before the assembled Privy Council? It was asserted that the Queen, who was close at hand at Hampton Court, and was taking counsel on the state of affairs with her confidants in the Privy Council, had been induced by the impending A.D. 1640. dangers to advise the King to summon Parliament immediately; and if he would not do this—so she was reported to have written with the concurrence of some of the ministers—that at least he should not lose an instant in returning to London, otherwise irreparable disasters would be imminent[202]. Hereupon the King adopted the resolution which of all others was most repugnant to him, and that immediately; no extraneous influence could have led him to it. The time-honoured course of constitutional deliberation appeared under the circumstances to promise the best results: people flattered themselves that the Earl of Strafford would exhibit his parliamentary talents in England also. That nothing might interfere with his presence in the English Parliament, the Irish, in which he was equally necessary, was prorogued to Easter. The English Parliament was to be held as early as possible: the opening was fixed for Nov. 3.
With this declaration the King met the peers when they gathered round him at York in the latter half of September: the great question had already been decided without them. Charles I claimed their assistance in two other matters which, though secondary to this, were in themselves of great consequence—to bring about an accommodation with the Scots, and (inasmuch as until this could be effected the royal army must be held together, without any Parliamentary grant being made for its maintenance) to procure him the means of keeping the army for a time in an efficient state.
The latter of these two points was the most pressing. There was a talk of compulsory loans after the fashion of the old benevolences: some of those present declared themselves ready to make considerable efforts of that kind: but at last they came back to the idea of trying to get a loan in the capital. Lord Bristol observed that, as the previous proposal for one A.D. 1640. had been rejected through political misgivings, since removed through the issue of writs for a Parliament, they might now reckon on acceptance. Six of the peers, among whom we find Pembroke and Manchester, in the name of the remainder repaired to the city on this errand. After they had conferred with the Lord Mayor and aldermen, a meeting was held on October 2, not of the entire civic body, a thing which was purposely avoided, but of the full common council. It had been rumoured in the city that their last petition had been badly received by the King: the Lords contradicted this report, and declared themselves fully satisfied with the behaviour and with the latest resolves of the King. The objection was urged that they could not grant to the Lords what had been refused to the King, but they produced a letter from the King in which he expressed his full assent to this course. The necessity for keeping on foot the royal army was shown by the violence of which the Scots had been guilty in the northern counties. The Bishop of Durham, who had suffered most at their hands, was present to give information on the subject. After the Lords had retired their request was assented to[203]. So much trouble did it cost to obtain a loan of £200,000, the repayment of which was to depend on the grants of Parliament, but was further secured to the city by the guarantee of the Lords.
It remained to make some arrangement with the Scots. For this purpose the most favourably disposed of the lords, especially the signers of the address, were despatched to Ripon. Men like Strafford could desire nothing more than that the affair should reach this stage: they were always hoping that a complete knowledge of the intentions and demands of the Scots would induce all old-fashioned Englishmen to combine against them. All actual negotiation was however stopped by the question of money: the Scots required that their army should be maintained at the cost A.D. 1640. of England. On this account they asked so large a sum, £40,000 a month, that the lords who had been deputed to meet them thought it necessary to refer the matter back to the great council of peers at York. By this council the subject was debated at length on October 6. Among others, Lord Herbert of Cherbury, the historian of Henry VIII, declared himself emphatically against the demand, saying that he had read now and then of buying treaties of peace, but never of buying negotiations, the result of which was still as it were in the air. Others declared it to be an inevitable necessity: they must either drive the Scots back, or grant their demands in full. The first course Strafford himself deemed impossible; he pledged himself to defend Yorkshire against them, but not Westmoreland and Cumberland[204]. Could they abandon these two counties to be occupied by the Scots, and probably plundered as well, together with those already in their hands? It had been said that the Scottish army might be reduced, and then supplied out of Scotland: but in order to attain this they must first defeat it, and for this must before all things be unanimous. It was determined at last to guarantee to the Scots for the future the sum (£850) which they exacted daily from the occupied districts, this money to be raised at once from the neighbouring counties of Westmoreland and Cumberland, with the promise that Parliament would make good to them whatever they might do for the safety of the kingdom. On these terms a truce was signed with the Scots. They stayed in England, and thus the very extraordinary result followed, that two armies which had been intended to fight each other, remained facing each other with their swords sheathed, both at the cost of the same authority. That both armies thus depended on the grants of Parliament rendered that body absolutely indispensable, and gave it a necessary strength sufficient to overrule the King’s will.
In general terms it may be said that the summoning of Parliament implied the defeat of the King. His system of alliance between the crown and the hierarchy was thereby A.D. 1640. virtually overthrown. Between the ideas of the Scottish spiritual and temporal assemblies which he combated, and the tendencies which had caused him to dissolve the last English Parliament, as well as previous ones, a league was formed which thenceforth held the upper hand, and threatened to dictate the law to him. The question was merely how far the restrictions would extend, to which he must undoubtedly submit, and what changes in the State would be attempted in consequence.
In the elections which now began preference was given in general to those who had most zealously opposed the existing authorities, or were known as the most ardent Protestants. There were no such boards in London as in Edinburgh, formed on purpose to manage elections systematically. But those who were of one mind were seen to hasten from county to county, in order to exert their influence in each to the utmost. On the side of the government also a list was prepared: the King claimed the aid of the chief lords in his service, such as Pembroke, in support of his candidates in the boroughs: and some names show that this attempt was not altogether fruitless. But the efforts of the popular party were by far the most successful[205]. Of the members of the last Parliament three-fifths—294 out of 493—were re-elected. Moreover the new members belonged almost entirely to the popular party. Of those who had already won a reputation on this side, not one failed.
FOOTNOTES:
[193] Memorial, in the Hardwicke State Papers ii. 168.