A little respite was granted[831] whilst the municipal authorities drew up a reply to Fairfax.[832] They expressed great regret if the arrears due from the City to the army, or anything else connected with the City, should be the cause of the army continuing so long in the vicinity of London, to the great prejudice if not to the ruin of many. They were doing all they could to get in the arrears, and they called the general's attention to certain proposals which they were about to submit to parliament. They concluded by assuring Fairfax that the City was determined to remain faithful to parliament and the kingdom, and at the same time to cultivate good relations with the army.
Proposals for the better getting in of arrears in the city rejected by parliament, 22 Nov.
The City's proposals, which were submitted to parliament on the 22nd November, met with little favour in the House of Commons. The deputation presenting them was somewhat bluntly informed that parliament had done what it had judged fit in the matter of the City's arrears; that it was much dissatisfied with the slowness with which they were[pg 269] being got in; that the City was setting a very bad example to others which might have ill consequences; that the commands of parliament were expected to be obeyed, and that prompt measures ought to be taken by the City to carry them out.[833]
Letter from Fairfax at Windsor, 24 Nov., 1647.
Two days later (24 Nov.) Fairfax wrote to the City from Windsor,[834] whither the army had removed as soon as the king's escape (11 Nov.) from Hampton Court did away with the necessity of its presence in the immediate neighbourhood of London, informing the authorities that as parliament had raised an objection to his sending troops to the city for the purpose of getting in arrears, he was content to wait and see the result of parliamentary action in the matter and whether the City's recent promises bore fruit or not. Should the result prove unsatisfactory, he doubted not the consequences would be sad, "and that not more to the parliament, kingdom or army than to the city itself."
City's petition to parliament, 1 Dec., 1647.
On the 1st December Alderman Bide, who had narrowly escaped impeachment with Gayer and the rest, and who was now sheriff, presented a petition to the Commons on behalf of the City. This petition, which had been ordered to be prepared as far back as the 6th November—that is to say, before Charles's escape from Hampton Court and the withdrawal of the army to Windsor—after expressing the City's humble submission to parliament and its appreciation of the many benefits it had derived from the course which parliament had followed, prayed the House to[pg 270] take steps for the removal of the army to a greater distance from the city and for the strict observance of the Covenant, and concluded by asking for the release of their Recorder and of the aldermen recently committed to prison.[835] The Journal of the House records nothing more than the formal answer which the Commons returned to the petition: their thanks to the City for expressions of goodwill, their readiness to consider such matters referred to in the petition as had not been already taken in hand, and their assurance that speedy justice should be done to those imprisoned.[836] But from other sources it appears that the petition created considerable ill-feeling in the House, and that it was only after Vane had threatened to bring the army back again that the petition was practically rejected. Had the petitioners succeeded in their object it was expected that the Presbyterians in parliament and in the city would have followed up their victory by restoring the expelled members and preparing for a personal treaty with Charles without imposing upon him any test whatever.[837]
The royalist cause in the city.
In the city the royalist cause was gaining ground every day. The merchant was tired of the disquietude that had so long prevailed, condemning him to frequent calls upon his purse whilst preventing him replenishing it by his commercial pursuits. He was ready to support any party that would promise him peace and quiet. "The citty is subject still to be ridden by every party and wilbe so rather than endanger trade and stock," wrote a royalist in March[pg 271] of this year.[838] The more youthful inhabitant was disgusted with the closing of the playhouses,[839] whilst the shopkeeper was indignant at having to close his shop on Christmas-day for fear of a riot, notwithstanding his having parliamentary sanction for opening it. The city apprentices resisted the interference of the lord mayor and his officers who would have put a stop to their decorating a pump in Cornhill with evergreens at Christmas, and not only did ministers who had been deprived for malignancy occupy pulpits in various city churches on that day, but they used the Book of Common Prayer.[840]
A riot in the city, 9-10 April, 1648.