The same day that the king's answer was read before the Lords a letter from the Scottish commissioners was produced, in which they offered to withdraw their forces from England upon payment of expenses already incurred.[741] After a considerable amount of haggling the Scots consented to take the sum of £400,000 in full discharge of all claims, a moiety to be paid to them before leaving England and the remainder by instalments at specified dates.[742] It only remained for parliament to raise the sum of £200,000 needed for the first payment, and to whom was it more natural that application should first be made than to the City? A large deputation from the Commons, including Cromwell himself, accordingly waited on the Common Council (7 Sept.) to ask it to consider ways and means for raising the money. The committee to whom the matter was[pg 239] referred lost no time. On the 9th it reported to the court a scheme for raising the money on the security of the excise and sale of the Bishops' lands, the security to extend to previous loans. Parliament accepted these terms, on the understanding that "Bishops' lands" were not to comprise impropriations and advowsons.[743]
City petitions to both Houses for redress of grievances, 19 Dec., 1646.
On the 10th December there was presented to the Common Council "an humble representacon of the pressinge grievances and important desires of the well affected freemen and covenant engaged cittizens of the cittie of London," with a request that it might be laid before parliament.[744] This document, after being revised by a committee appointed for the purpose, was laid before the Commons on the 19th December, together with a petition from the civic authorities themselves, who similarly addressed themselves to the House of Lords. The chief points on which stress was laid were the disbandment of the army, the suppression of heresy, the union of the two kingdoms, the free election of members of parliament, and the City's government of its own militia. As for the "bringing home of his majesty," that was left to the wisdom of both Houses, with the confidence that they would preserve his majesty's royal person and authority in defence of the true religion and liberties of the kingdom according to the covenant.[745] Both Houses thanked the City and promised to take the matter into their consideration.[746]
City petitions for disbandment of army, 17 Mar., 1647.
In the spring of the following year (1647) a new terror presented itself to the Presbyterians at home in[pg 240] the absolute supremacy of the army under Fairfax, although that general had given his word that the army should not come within twenty-five miles of London.[747] The City petitioned both Houses that it might be disbanded, and that the Common Council might have authority to make annual election of the members of the city's militia. To those petitions gracious answers were returned, the Lords declaring that they had considered already a measure touching the city's militia and had transmitted it to the Commons.[748]
Dispute between the Presbyterians in parliament and the army, March, 1647.
The army would in all probability have been disbanded in due course, and all might have gone well but for the high-handed treatment it received from the Commons. It was proposed to ask the soldiers after disbandment to volunteer for service in Ireland. There were, however, considerable arrears of pay due to them, and neither officers nor men would volunteer until they had received some assurance from parliament that they would be paid all that was due to them. Instead of doing this parliament contented itself with voting a sum of £200,000, not for satisfying arrears of pay, but "for the service of England and Ireland."[749] The soldiers were about to petition parliament with the sanction of their officers, but such a course was declared by both Houses to be highly improper.[750]
A city loan of £200,000, April, 1647.
It was easier for parliament to vote a sum of £200,000 than to raise that amount. Application was[pg 241] as usual made to the City (6 April).[751] The zeal of the citizens was excited by the Commons at length passing the ordinance sent down to them by the Lords for a new militia committee (16 April).[752] On the following day (17 April) the Common Council was prepared with a scheme to be submitted to parliament for raising the money. Like other schemes that had gone before, it proposed that subscribers to certain former loans should add arrears of interest, and by making a further advance equivalent to the sum total should have the whole secured on the sale of lands of bishops and delinquents.[753] Parliament hesitated at first to allow the lands of delinquents and compositions paid by them to the committee sitting at Goldsmiths' Hall to form part of the security for the loan, but afterwards consented to a moiety of all such compositions being added to the security.[754]
Nomination of the new militia committee, 27 April, 1647.