had refused for some time to call the two houses at Westminster-the parliament, and when constrained by the necessity of his affairs to do so, he deemed it proper in writing to Henrietta to express himself in the following terms on that subject: "As to my calling them at London a parliament, I shall refer thee to Digby for particular satisfaction; this in general-if there had been but two beside myself of my opinion, I had not done it, and the argument that prevailed with me was, that the calling them did not by any means acknowledge them to be a parliament, upon which condition and construction I did it, and no otherwise." In another letter, the queen was desired to comfort herself with the assurance, that should the campaign of 1645 be successful, “a short period" should be given "to this perpetual parliament:" and this was the determination of the monarch, though he had ceased of late to make any difficulty about promising a continuance of the parliament, the great points with him being the preservation of episcopacy, and the command of the forces.

These letters were read by Cromwell and the officers at Naseby; they were then sent to the parliament; and a selection from them was afterwards printed, by order of the two houses, for peace. Propositions and circulated through the kingdom. The victory which placed these papers in the hands of the parliament was hardly more injurious to the royal cause than the disclosures which were thus made. It was, accordingly, with a stronger conviction than ever that no confidence could be placed in any pledge that might be given to them by the king, that the commons listened to the earnest recommendations of the lords, and of the Scots commissioners, in favour of peace. On the fourteenth of October, the house went into committee on the proposals that should be made, and having given two days a week to this subject for six weeks, a series of articles, in substance the same with those which had been insisted on by the parliamentary commissioners in the treaty of Uxbridge, was agreed upon. The principal difference between the present articles and those produced on the former occasion was, that the command of the militia should be entrusted to commissioners nominated by Englishmen for England, and by Scotsmen for Scotland; and that the militia of Loudon and its environs should be placed at the disposal of the commissioners, instead of being left in the hands of the corporation.

the state of

These variations should be noted, as they were the natural consequence of the material change which had now taken place in the position and temper of parties. By a majority in Change in the parliament, the Scots army and the city were regarded parties. as so much under the controul of the intolerant spirit which animated the majority of the presbyterians, that it was probable they would be found willing to join in some hollow compact with the king, rather than submit to see their exclusive schemes put aside by the more liberal policy which prevailed in the house of commons. About this time, more than a hundred and fifty new mem

bers were added to the lower house, in the place of those who had withdrawn, or had been declared incapable by the votes of that assembly; and the effect of these new elections was not only to add much weight to the decisions of the parliament, but to bring the independents into a more equal balance against the presbyterians. Other causes, indeed, had operated to produce some disaffection between the Scottish army and their southern neighbours, for while the latter complained of the disorderly conduct, or of the inaction or inefficiency of their allies, the former murmured in their turn about neglect of pays and similar matters. But the great object of the presbyterians was the overthrow of episcopacy and the enforcement of the covenant, and with the independents it was a matter of no less importance to maintain that whatever might be the established religion, there should be liberty of conscience for all who dissented from it.

Messages from the king.

Both parties had good cause, as well from past experience as from present circumstances, to guard against exposing their leading men by protracted negotiation to the tampering of the court, and it was the determination of the parliament, in consequence, to proceed-not by treaty, but by tendering certain propositions in the form of bills to receive the royal assent. The Scots were opposed to this course of proceeding, particularly as the propositions to be submitted were those of the English parliament only, and not strictly the same with those to which the two nations had agreed at the treaty of Uxbridge. The royalists made the best possible use of the delay, by imputing the whole blame of the continuance of the war to the selfish and malevolent passions of their enemies. Charles sent two messages, full of appeals to humanity and religion in favour of peace; and even proposed to go to the capital in person for forty days, under a safe conduct from the two houses, rather than see the restoration of tranquillity any longer deferred. He also expressed his willingness to place the militia in the hands of commissioners for three years, the one half to be nominated by himself, the other by the parliament. The parliament declined the proposed visit of the king to the metropolis, which called forth a third and a fourth message, in the last of which-that he might appear anxious for peace, in proportion as his opponents seemed to be unable or unwilling to promote it-Charles proposed that, with the restoration of the church as it was in the times of Elizabeth and James, there should be " full liberty for the ease of tender consciences; and the free use of the directory, to such as desired it."

It was the policy of Charles, by this show of moderation, and still more by professing his willingness to make his appearance again in London, either to extort a peace from his opponents on the terms which he had named at Uxbridge, or to expose them to the reproach of inhumanity toward their sovereign, and to the charge of adhering to extravagant proposals for factious purposes. The terms adhered to by the

royal commissioners at Uxbridge embraced a complete re-establishment of the church, and a restoration to the crown of the command of the militia at the close of three years; and, had the king been permitted to appear in London, the impression made by his presence on those sentiments of loyalty which, in the great majority of minds, operate with all the power of an instinctive and hereditary superstition, would probably have obliged the parliament to accept of peace on those conditions. And to us it may well seem a matter to be regretted, that peace was not concluded on such terms, joined as they now were with a provision for liberty of conscience, and some other concessions that were not without value. But the Scots would not forego their covenant; the patriots looked with alarm on the large powers which such a settlement would soon place in the hands of the king; and the parliament, accordingly, clung to its propositions, and would hear nothing of negotiation, either with the monarch in person, or with any deputation from him. When Charles found that this policy had failed to move his opponents from the position which they had taken, his tone of moderation was changed for that of censure and invective, and they were charged with all the blood which had been shed, and with having trampled on all law, that they might draw an exorbitant power to themselves. The only effect of this message was to satisfy the commons that in adhering to their propositions and declining a treaty they had acted wisely; and a few days later, this conviction was much strengthened, by disclosures relating to certain secret transactions between the king and the insurgent catholics of Ireland*.

of Glamor

From the beginning of these troubles Charles had never ceased to expect important assistance from that kingdom. But the demands of the Irish catholics not only embraced the full Commission toleration, but the legal establishment of their worship; gan. and with such terms the king could not openly comply without creating disaffection in England, much greater than any assistance to be obtained from Ireland would be sufficient to controul. It was agreed, accordingly, between Charles and the earl of Glamorgan, that the latter should proceed to Ireland, and with documents for the purpose under the royal seal, should be empowered to settle a private treaty, conceding to the catholics the whole of their claims, with the proviso that this concession should remain a secret until the king should be in circumstances to acknowledge it with safety. These instruments pledged the monarch to everything concluded by Glamorgan, without any respect to warrant of law, and included letters to the pontiff, and to a nuncio of the Roman see then resident in that island †. These terms

* Journals of Lords, Oct.-Jan., passim.

For the documents relating to this commission see Birch's Inquiry respecting it. Clarendon's State, Papers, ii. 201, 346. Carte's Ormond, iii. 436-440. Rushworth, vi. 239, 240. Leland's History of Ireland, iii. 247-296. Lingard, x. 319 -325. And note B.

were accepted by the supreme council of the catholics at Kilkenny, and an army of ten thousand men was at once promised, which might be employed by the earl in support of the royal cause in any part of Great Britain. Charles had kept this scheme a secret, not only August 25. from the parliament and council in Ireland, but from every person about him in this country-being well aware that the open concurrence of his usual advisers in either kingdom with such a project, if solicited, would be solicited in vain. This enterprise had nearly reached maturity when accident led to its discovery, and the papers relating to it were laid before the council in Dublin, and the two houses at Westminster.

The feeling of indignation produced by this disclosure was of the most violent description, and spread rapidly among all classes in adherence with the parliament. About eighteen months before, Charles had sworn openly, when receiving the sacrament at Oxford, that his power should be employed to the utmost for the preservation of protestantism, and the suppression of popery, and that declaration he had often repeated; but from these papers it appeared, that he had been secretly occupied, during a considerable period since, in forwarding negotiations which pledged him to a re-establishment of that system through a large portion of his dominions, and that he had been induced to make that pledge in order that the catholics of Ireland might be employed in the work of subduing his protestant subjects in these kingdoms. There is enough in the documents relating to this affair, and in the conduct of Charles on similar occasions, to justify the conclusion that he intended Glamorgan should proceed to the extent of the treaty which he formed, should his doing so be found necessary in order to obtain the required assistance. Could any doubt be entertained on this point, the confidential letters which the king subsequently wrote to Glamorgan are sufficient to remove it, even from the most incredulous.

In one of these letters Charles refers Glamorgan to the bearer as prepared to explain why he had not done everything which had been desired. "Want of confidence," he observes, "being so far from being the cause, that I am every day more confirmed in the trust I have in you, it not being in the power of any to make you suffer in my opinion by ill offices." This was written in February, immediately after his proceedings had been discovered; and in the following April the king writes to the same person in these terms :-" As I doubt not but you have too much courage to be dismayed at the usage you have had, so I assure you my estimation of you is nothing diminished by it, but that it rather begets in me a desire of revenge and reparation to us both." The usage" referred to in this extract was the arrest of Glamorgan in Dublin Castle, by an order of council, a proceeding which arose from the concern of Ormond to save the credit of the monarch by accusing his instrument. About three months later Charles wrote to the

earl again, expressing the love which he had always borne him, the pleasure which he had ever found in his conversation, his earnest wish to be with him and the nuncio in Ireland, where he might hope for the respect of which he found no share in England, declaring that there was not another man to whom he was "so much obliged," and adding, "your merits toward me exceed all expression." It was by producing his private authority from the king that Glamorgan had obtained his enlargement after his arrest in Dublin; and he subsequently appeared in the neighbourhood of Cork, conducting an army of five thousand men to join the royal standard in England.

The Scots regarded this unhappy exposure as precluding all hope of a reasonable settlement, and the duplicity of the monarch was felt by his best friends as much as by his enemies; for no man could credit his statement to the parliament, that he had given to Glamorgan a commission to raise men, and "to that purpose only," in opposition to the evidence furnished by so many circumstances and documents. The authority given to Glamorgan under the private signet of the monarch on the twelfth of January, 1645, and which was renewed, in substance, on the twelfth of March, is, of itself, sufficient to show that the earl did no more than it was intended he should do,—that is, exercise at his discretion the powers entrusted to him; and we have seen what the king's real judgment was with respect to the manner in which his servant had acquitted himself. Ormond, the lieutenant of Ireland, was the only person in the confidence of the king who was privy to this transaction previous to the accident which made it generally known, and the lieutenant was not to be officially connected with the more difficult points of the proceeding *.

*The following is a copy of the commission of the twelfth of January, as printed by Dr. Lingard from a manuscript with the signature of the earl attached to it :"Charles, by the grace of God, king of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith. To our right trusty and right well beloved cousin, Edward, earl of Glamorgan, greeting. Whereas we have had sufficient and ample testimony of your approved wisdom and fidelity. So great is the confidence we repose in you, as that whatsoever you shall perform as warranted only under our sign manual, pocket signet, or private mark, or even by word of mouth, without further ceremony, we do, on the word of a king and a Christian, promise to make good to all intents and purposes as effectually as if your authority from us had been under our great seal of England; with this advantage, that we shall esteem ourself far the more obliged to you for your gallantry in not standing upon such nice terms to do us service, which we shall, God willing, reward. And although you exceed what law can warrant, or any power of ours reach unto, as not knowing what you may have need of, yet, it being for our service, we oblige ourself not only to give you our pardon, but to maintain the same with all our might and power; and though, either by accident, you lose, or by any other occasion you shall deem necessary to deposit any of our warrants, and so want them at your return, and to supply anything wherein they shall be found defective, it not being convenient for us at this time to dispute upon them, for of what we have here set down you may rest confident, if there be faith or truth in man; proceed, therefore, cheerfully, speedily, and boldly, and for your so doing this shall be your sufficient warrant. Given at our court at Oxford, under our sign manual and private signet, this twelfth of January, 1644-5. Glamorgan." Indorsed, "The earl of Glamorgan's further authority."