Church was frequently connived at. Jews and Quakers were treated tenderly, but stern measure was dealt out to blasphemers and the like. The wars of the Protectorate were costly, and so Cromwell, vIII. Humble Petition and Advice. who ever desired the people's co-operation, determined to (Firth 422; Gardiner summon another Parliament. Affairs were still so unsettled 345.) that again chosen men were picked as representatives, and a, 3rd Parliament. even of these 100 were not allowed to enter the House. This purged Assembly worked well. It granted money and Cromwell withdrew the Majors-General. But it went still further. Petition & Advice 1687. It brought forward another constitution, in the Humble b, The Humble The new constitution really seemed to place the Government on a satisfactory basis : (1) Cromwell refused the title of King which was offered him (owing to the protest of the army) but was empowered to name his successor; (2) A second House was established, the members of which were nominated by the Protector. It was to be a barrier between Cromwell and the Commons, and "had the power to prevent tumultuary and popular spirits.' (3) Parliament had control over its own elections. Parliament, 1657. (Firth 419.). The new Parliament met in 1658. Almost at once quarrels c, 4th Protectorate broke out. Those members who had been shut out of the Third Parliament refused to allow that its proceedings were legal, and they would not acknowledge the Other House," composed as it was of Cromwellians. The deadlock was only ended by dissolution. His character. Before another Parliament could be called, Cromwell had IX. D. of Cromwell 1658. passed away on the very anniversary of Dunbar and Worcester. However much men may deplore his intolerance of the Church, and his great share in Charles I.'s death, it must at least be conceded to him that as a successful soldier and an effective statesman he has few parallels in English history. Beginning his military career at the age of forty-three, he became a better leader of cavalry than Rupert, a strategic general of the first class, and the founder of an unconquerable His work. army. As a statesman he failed, not because his aims were wrong, but because they were too much in advance of his age. He tried to force them upon a generation which was not ready for them. Yet in half a century's time his three leading aims were in a fair way of being realised: Religious toleration; the Union of England and Scotland; and the perception that England's true mission was a maritime one and her proper sphere was colonial. His private life has been assailed, and his (cf. Carlyle, Cromreligion has been called hypocrisy. To these charges his letters and speeches give the best answer. There can be no well's Letters.) 1. Continuance of the Protectorate. a, Richard Cromwell doubt of his honesty of purpose and his belief in his mission. It was this purpose and this belief which gave him his success. 3. DISORDER LEADING TO THE RESTORATION, 1658—1660. i. Continuance of the Protectorate a. Richard Cromwell b. Revival of rivalry between Parliament and Army ii. Monk's action a. Restores the Long Parliament b. Parliament receives the Declaration of Breda iii. Causes of the Restoration With Cromwell's death came speedily the end of the Revolution. His son, Richard, was proclaimed Protector; but he possessed none of the great qualities of his father. He was merely a retiring English gentleman, entirely unfitted for the post which he was called upon to fill. The lawyers and b, Revival of rivalry statesmen rallied round him but the Army would have none of him. They bitterly resented the return of the civil power to a chief place, and refused to have themselves thrust into the background. The old struggle between Parliament and Army recommenced. between Parlia ment and Army. II. Monk's action. (Corbet's Monk ch. 10-13; Macaulay i., 72.) The new Parliament which met after the Protector's death, at once flung down the challenge by denying the right of the soldiers to appoint their own officers, and by refusing to recognize Fleetwood as the general of the Army. The Army promptly dissolved Parliament and abolished the Protectorate. The Rump was recalled. This Parliament also required the obedience of the military, and, further, declared the acts of the Protectorate illegal. A royalist rising which was easily suppressed at Winnington Bridge, gave the soldiers a good excuse for dissolving this Parliament also, though almost immediately they restored it. The people viewed these proceedings with dismay. It was evident neither of their masters, the army or the parliament, would tolerate the other, and neither had a Cromwell to make its rule effective. It was General Monk who first realised the true state of affairs. He brought his army from Scotland, determined to give effect to whatever he might find to be the wish of the people. It was evident the country would not tolerate military rule. It was certain the Army would not submit to the dominion of the Rump; and a rising'in London showed that the country would not submit to it either. He accordingly replaced the expelled Presbyterian members, and thus secured a. Restores the Long a majority which declared for the dissolution of the Long Parliament, and for fresh elections to a free Parliament. Parliament. Breda (Gardiner 351.) No attempt was made to give effect to the laws which for- b, Declaration of bade Royalists to vote, and when the new Parliament (or Convention) met it received from Charles the Declaration of Breda. In this was promised (1) pardon to all except those exempted by Parliament, (2) liberty of conscience; and (3) retention of estates by their present holders. The Convention c, The Convention at once recalled the King. He landed in England on May 29th, 1660. Parlt. recalls ch. ii. Restoration. The causes of the Restoration are obvious, and by them iii. Causes of the it can be clearly seen why so great a re-action took place throughout England. (1) The rule of the Puritans was by force. The tyranny of the Army was deeply resented and never forgotten. (2) There was a real attachment to the monarchy and the Church, which had given a stable Government, political and ecclesiastical, to all classes. (3) On the other hand Puritanism had brought a gloom over the social life of the nation, and (4) it had persistently tried to enforce its opinions by means of the secular power. It had made the same mistake as Laud had done, and with the same result. .(5) The death of Cromwell left the Puritans without a leader. (6) The Army which had been so long irrepressible was divided, and the nation saw in the dissensions no hope of peace. (7) The country would not accept representative government or religious toleration when either was forced upon it from above. If they were to be permanent in character they must be the results of natural growth, not measures enforced by Government. I. The Restoration (Drake's Monk, 191-4, Airy 155, Macaulay i. 74.) a, Charles II's Character. (Green 631; Airy 5, 6, 163, 164.) a. Causes I. Growth of Erastianism 2. Natural Reaction 3. Unreasonableness of Dissenters: Savoy Conference 1661 4. Political danger from Dissenters: Venner's Rising 1661 b. Clarendon Code 1. Corporation Act 1661 2. Act of Uniformity 1662 c. Church feeling in Charles II.'s reign “The Restoration" apparently brought back the monarchy free and unfettered. Charles II., the eldest son of Charles I., seemed the most popular King the country had had for a long time. His progress from Dover to London was accompanied by the ringing of joy bells, the blaze of innumerable bonfires, and addresses of welcome couched in the most extravagant terms. Charles himself little deserved his good fortune. Though not absolutely vicious he was quite devoid of principle. Genial, with much ability, and with unfailing wit and good Macaulay 1.83-4 temper, he was entirely selfish, and was indifferent to higher things. His one guiding principle was a resolve "not to go on his travels again." So long as he could enjoy his good fortune he was not particularly anxious about privileges or anything else: His marriage with Catharine of Braganza (1662) was popular and valuable, for she brought the splendid dowry of Bombay, freedom of trade with Brazil and the East Indies, and half a million sterling in money. Charles was welcomed far less for his own sake than for the relief which the country felt that the late rule had come to an end. Everybody agreed that the government of England by a Dictator maintained by a godly' army had failed; and they were not particular either as to the man or the means by which relief was brought about. 6 But after the first excesses of welcome were spent it appeared that all that was worth preserving in the late struggle against 4 The Restoration.' (Green 616.) absolutism was safe, and we may shortly describe the Restora- b, The meaning of tion as a restoration of the state of things which had been secured in the earlier days of the Long Parliament. England was to be governed by a Monarchy ruling by the help of Parliament, and with Ministers of State responsible to Parliament. The Church of England was to remain the old Church 2. Church of England of the Nation as reformed at the Reformation. 1. Constitutional Govt. c, Periods of the Reign. The history of the reign falls into four sections: ii. In the second it came to be perceived that the real ii. 1665-73. iii. In the third period the opposition which Louis' iii. 1673-81. against Roman Catholics, and this in turn into ex- iv. The result was that the opposition over-reached itself, iv. 1681-85. a period of considerable power, which has indeed -65. Retaliation on Puritans. The events of recent years could not but leave effects II. 1st Period, 1660 behind them, some temporary and some permanent. The restoration of the monarchy implied, in everyone's mind, the restoration of the Church. It was natural that in gratitude the Clergy should exalt the office of the Crown. Much of Charles I.'s unpopularity had been due to his support of Church tendencies which the Puritans disliked, but Charles II. was a, Its causes: quite indifferent to all religious impulses, and this, falling in well with his natural indolence, led him to let Parliament have its own way in religious matters. The royal supremacy was 1. Growth of accordingly exercised by Parliament, and the Church fell more and more into the position of a mere department of the State, which made its laws and appointed its officers. This is called "Erastianism.' The surrender in 1664 of the right of the clergy to vote their own taxes in Convocation was not unwise in itself, but it paved the way for the gradual depriving of the Church of all powers of self-government. All sorts of evil sprang from this Erastianism. Erastianism. Moreover the late persecution of the Church by the victori- 2. Natural reaction. ous Puritans naturally gave rise to some feelings of retaliation now that the pendulum had swung the other way. At the 3. Unreasonableness Savoy Conference between Bishops and Puritans the latter still demanded not equality for all but ascendancy for them of Dissenters. Savoy Conf. 1661. |