1647] The "Levellers."—The "Agreement of the People" 345

66

held the best cards and must win in the end rendered all these efforts fruitless. "Sir," said Ireton, " you have an intention to be the arbitrator between the Parliament and us; and we mean to be it between your Majesty and the Parliament." Nevertheless, he told Parliament that he preferred the "Heads," as well he might, to the Newcastle Propositions, urged upon him by Scottish and English Presbyterians. Parliament voted this answer a refusal. In vain Cromwell and Ireton pressed him to adopt their views. The failure of his allies in Ireland-Jones' victory at Dangan Hill (August), the storming of Cashel (September), the rout of Lord Taaffe at Mallow (November) - might have shown him the danger of delay. But nothing would induce him to take a decided line, for he was bent on playing off one party against another, until the dissensions between them should give him a chance of recovering power through a second civil war. Though Cromwell was, or pretended to be, blind to this design, many less responsible persons in the army appear to have seen through it. The temper of the soldiers grew more bitter; and an anti-monarchical feeling began to manifest itself.

It was now that the nickname "Levellers," a designation which explains itself, was first applied to the advanced section of the Independent party. Their tenets came to light in "The Case of the Army fully stated" (October 9) and "The Agreement of the People," which appeared three weeks later. The former of these documents put forward the theory that, since "all power is originally and essentially in the whole body of the people," and "their free choice and consent by their representators, the only original foundation of all just government," Parliament, i.e. the representative Commons, must be supreme. liaments were to be biennial, and elected by manhood suffrage. It was implied that the Crown and the House of Lords were superfluous, or at least should be entirely subordinate. So complete a transfer of Divine Right from King to people had not hitherto been suggested.

Par

The "Agreement," while in several respects repeating the "Heads of the Proposals," was peculiar in that it reserved, even from the otherwise omnipotent control of the representative Parliament, certain unalterable principles, the chief of which were: that all should enjoy complete religious liberty, that none should be forced to serve in the army, and that none should be exempt from the ordinary course of law. Here we find foreshadowed that principle of distinguishing certain inalienable rights of man, which was so marked a feature of both the American and the French Revolution. But such radical views as these were not endorsed by the leaders of the army. On the contrary, a committee appointed on Cromwell's initiative to consider these schemes drew up a fresh plan, which, while adopting the "Heads of the Proposals" in the main, with insignificant modifications, expressly preserved the monarchy and the House of Lords. This plan may be regarded as embodying the minimum demands of Cromwell and his more moderate allies.

346 Charles leaves Hampton Court.—“Engagement" [1647

Meanwhile, as the control of the militia became more and more the dominant consideration in Charles' mind, the Scottish Commissioners were gaining favour with him at the expense of their rivals. On their part, the Scots dreaded more and more the power and the radical doctrines of the army, and became more ready to make concessions to the King. They now urged him to escape. Acting on their advice, he secretly left Hampton Court, made his way to the south coast, and, hoping to find a vessel to convey him to France, crossed to the Isle of Wight. There he took refuge with Colonel Hammond, who lodged him in Carisbrooke Castle (November 14). On the same day, the exasperation of the army culminated in a dangerous mutiny at Ware, which was only suppressed by Cromwell at the risk of his own life. Discipline was restored, but it was significant that only one mutineer was punished. Cromwell's eyes seem to have been opened to the fact that further adhesion to the policy of mediation would destroy his hold upon the army. Thenceforward, though he did not abandon the hope of saving the monarchy, he ceased to be Charles' friend.

Charles' first step at Carisbrooke was to renew the negotiation with Parliament (November 16). He offered Presbyterianism for three years, with subsequent consideration of ecclesiastical reform, and the militia for life. There was to be a measure of toleration; and the demands of the army were to be fairly considered. Thereupon Parliament made a selection from the Newcastle Propositions, which they embodied in what were called the Four Bills. The chief of these proposed to enact that Parliament should control the militia for twenty years; that the Crown should never afterwards administer it without Parliamentary consent; and that the present Parliament might adjourn itself whither it pleased. The Bills were submitted to the King on December 24. But it can hardly be doubted that his previous offer must be regarded as a mere blind, put forward with the object of gaining time; for the intrigue with the Scots had now reached a head.

On December 26 Charles agreed with the Scottish Commissioners in what was afterwards known as the "Engagement." In this document it was arranged that the Covenant should be confirmed by Act of Parliament, though no one should be forced to take it; that Presbyterianism should be established for three years, after which a religious settlement should be made with the King's assent; and that the Sects, i.e. the Independents and other nonconformists, should be suppressed. The King was to control the militia; and a new Parliament was to be called. The Scots were to support the disbandment of the army; and, if this were refused, they were to issue a declaration asserting the King's rights over the militia, and to send an army into England in support of the claim. Other clauses were added, providing for the admission of Scotsmen to the Privy Council, and their employment in other places of trust. Of the perfidy of this transaction there can, unfortunately, be no doubt.

1647-8] The Four Bills and "Vote of No Addresses"

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In November Charles had offered toleration to one party. Next month he expressly repudiated it in his agreement with another. Having thus taken a step which could only lead to civil war, he formally rejected (December 28) the Four Bills.

These intrigues were of course unknown to the public. All that was apparent was that the conflicting parties could not agree, and that the King's position was at least no worse than it had been at any time in the last year and a half. The country was sick of incertitude; the Royalist reaction gained ground; and riots broke out in many places. Parliament knew nothing of the Engagement, but they surmised the cause which emboldened the King to his last step. They were probably not without an inkling of the fact that the Scottish Commissioners had for some time been engaged in concerting measures with the English Royalists for a general rising, to coincide with their own invasion. On January 2, 1648, the Commissioners left London.

Next day Parliament put an end to the Committee of Both Kingdoms, and placed executive power in the hands of its English members. The Commons also passed a vote that no further addresses should be sent to the King; in other words, they treated him as a hostile power. The Lords, after much hesitation, accepted this "Vote of No Addresses " on January 15. This action was justified in a "Declaration " (February 11), a sort of repetition of the Grand Remonstrance, in which the King's misdeeds were set forth, especially his efforts to bring in forces from Ireland, France, Holland, and elsewhere, to undo the results of the four years' struggle, and to kindle anew the flames of civil war throughout the land. The Declaration was warmly supported by Cromwell, who was now trying to get the Prince of Wales proclaimed King in the place of his father. A curious sidelight of humour is thrown upon these darkening clouds in the incident related by Ludlow, when, after he had vainly tried to get Cromwell to declare himself for a monarchy or a republic, the two generals took to pelting each other, like boys, with cushions, till Cromwell ran away.

Preparations for the war that was felt to be inevitable were now begun by both sides. Signs of the Royalist reaction multiplied; and arrangements for a combined rising were actively pushed forward. The sailors of the fleet, long dissatisfied with the action of the army, were annoyed by the appointment of Reinborow, a leading "Leveller," to command them in the place of the Presbyterian Batten. It was hoped that they would declare for the King. In the Scottish Parliament, which met in March, there was a decided majority for Hamilton and war; but Argyll, who clung to peace, had a strong party at his back, and was supported by the bulk of the ministers, who condemned the "Engagers for upholding a non-covenanted King. Cromwell still strove to put off the evil day, and vainly tried to bring the King to abdicate in favour of the Prince of Wales. Another project of the same fertile brain, to

348 Second Civil War. Risings in Wales and Kent [1648

put the Duke of York on the throne, was frustrated by the escape of the young Prince, disguised as a girl, to Flanders (April 21).

A few days later, news came to Westminster that the Scottish Parliament had resolved to raise an army. Their manifesto, issued on May 3, demanded that all Englishmen should take the Covenant, that all heresy should be suppressed, that the King should be brought near London for the purpose of negotiation, and that the Independent army should be disbanded. Royalism and the Covenant made an ill-assorted combination; the Scots were aiming at irreconcilable ends; and their host was divided in its aims. But the imminence of the danger brought the English Parliament and army nearer together than they had been for two years. Cromwell induced the House of Commons to consent, by a large majority, to a settlement under which government by King, Lords, and Commons would be retained, and toleration, under a Presbyterian system, would be secured. Who the King should be, was not declared. Then Cromwell hastened to Windsor, to meet the Agitators, in whom his continued efforts to win over the King had inspired a deep-seated distrust. After three days of anxious prayer and discussion, amid a tumult of emotion, the meeting agreed to prosecute the war with all their force, resolving, as one who was present has related, that "it was our duty, if ever the Lord brought us back in peace, to call Charles Stuart, that man of blood, to an account for the blood he had shed, and the mischief he had done to his utmost, against the Lord's cause and people in these poor nations." In such stern temper the second Civil War began.

The Royalist combination was formidable, but it was difficult to secure concert between its ill-assorted elements. The Scots wanted time for preparation, while the English Cavaliers feared that delay would enable Parliament to tie their hands. A premature explosion was brought about in South Wales by the disbandment of Laugharne's troops, which had won that country for Parliament in 1645, and by the dismissal of Poyer from the governorship of Pembroke Castle. By the beginning of May the insurrection had become so serious that Cromwell was sent to suppress it. Fairfax himself was to go north, for Berwick and Carlisle had been seized by Royalists. It became necessary to trust the City militia with the care of Parliament and the capital, though the riots which had lately occurred (April 9 and 10) gave good ground for uneasiness. The southern counties, fretted by the burdens they had to bear, were now as malcontent as those of the north. Essex, Kent, and Surrey petitioned for an arrangement with the King and the disbandment of the army. Towards the end of May there was an extensive rising in Kent; Dartford and Deptford were seized; while six ships lying in the Downs declared for the King, and helped to get possession of the castles on that part of the coast.

Fairfax had to postpone his march northward, and went to meet

1648]

Siege of Colchester.-Scottish invasion

349

the Kentish insurgents with 8000 men. He found them behind the Medway, between Maidstone and Rochester, numbering about 11,000, and under the command of the elder Goring, whom Charles had made Earl of Norwich. Crossing the Medway above Maidstone, Fairfax stormed that town on June 1 and dispersed the Royalist gathering. While he was restoring order in east Kent, Norwich made his way from Rochester to Blackheath and crossed the Thames, followed by a few hundreds. He hoped to be joined by the men of Essex, and to be welcomed by the Londoners; but Warner, the Lord Mayor, and Skippon, who commanded the militia, kept the City gates closed.

About 5000 Royalists mustered at Chelmsford, and Norwich, disappointed of London, decided to lead them northward; but Sir Charles Lucas, a Colchester man, persuaded him to take that town on his way, as a good recruiting ground. He arrived there on the 12th; Fairfax appeared before the place next day with 5000 men, having crossed the Thames at Gravesend. Its old Roman walls made Colchester a sort of fortress. The Royalists were quickly driven into the town from the position they had taken up outside; but an attempt to penetrate by one of the gates was repulsed; and the Parliamentarians found they had a siege before them, for which they were ill provided. Fairfax, anxious to employ his troops elsewhere, offered good conditions-passes for the officers to go abroad, and pardons for the men. These terms were refused, for, as Lord Capel wrote to Langdale, "We here conceive that our tying and obliging Fairfax to us is the best way of proceeding for His Majesty's service.'

While Fairfax was blockading Colchester, Cromwell, who found the rising in South Wales already half suppressed through Horton's victory at St Fagan's, was waiting for his siege-guns before Pembroke. His batteries opened fire on July 4, and a week later the town and castle surrendered. His work in South Wales was done, and he was badly needed in the north, for the Scots had crossed the border on the 8th. What caused more alarm at Westminster was the appearance of Lord Holland at Kingston on July 5, at the head of some 500 horsemen. He held a commission as the Royalist commander-in-chief, and hoped to gather an army from the southern counties. But he soon found that impatience of taxation was not the same thing as readiness to fight for the King. A few troops of Parliamentary horse proved more than a match for his men. He made his way with a small following to St Neots, and was taken prisoner there on July 10.

The Scottish army had been raised slowly and by compulsion. Royalism wore a Presbyterian mask in Scotland; and its programme was to set free Parliament as well as the King, and to settle religion. But many officers of experience, including the Leslies, kept aloof; the soldiers were raw; and the commander, the Duke of Hamilton, had neither military ability nor decision of character. At first only 10,000