THE COMMONWEALTH. State of England formed Executed. Worcester CHAP. LXI. Of Scotland. -Tredah -Of Scotland-Of Ireland-Le- Dutch war-Diffolution of the Parliament. T Of LXI. HE confufions, which overfpread England after the CHA P. murder of Charles the first, proceeded as well from the spirit of refinement and innovation, which agitated the ruling party, as from the diffolution of all that authority, 1649. both civil and ecclefiaftical, by which the nation had ever State of been accustomed to be governed. Every man had framed the England. model of a republic; and, however new it was, or fantaftical, he was eager in recommending it to his fellow citizens, or even impofing it by force upon them. Every man had adjusted a system of religion, which, being derived from no traditional authority, was peculiar to himself; and being founded on fuppofed infpiration, not on any principles of human reafoning, had no means, befides cant and low rhetoric, by which it could recommend itself to others. The Levellers infifted on an equal diftribution of property. and power, and difclaimed all dependence and fubordination. The Millenarians or Fifth. Monarchy-men required, that government itself fhould be abolished, and all human powers be laid in the dust, in order to pave the way for the dominion of Chrift, whofe fecond coming on earth they fuddenly expected. The Antinomians even insisted, that the obligations of morality and natural law were fufpended, and that the elect, guided by an internal principle, more perfect and divine, were fuperior to the beggarly. elements of justice and humanity. A confiderable party declaimed against tythes and a hireling priesthood, and were refolved, that the magiftrate fhould not fupport by power or revenue any ecclefiaftical establishment. Another party inveighed against the law and its profeffors; and on pretence of rendering more fimple the diftribution of justice, were defirous of abolishing the whole fyftem of English jurifprudence, which feemed interwoven with mo narchical CHAP. narchical government. Even those among the republicans, LXI. who adopted not fuch extravagancies, were fo intoxicated with their faintly character, that they fuppofed themfelves 1649. poffeffed of peculiar privileges; and all profeffions, oaths, laws, and engagements had, in a great measure, lost their influence over them. The bands of fociety were every · where loofened; and the irregular paffions of men were encouraged by fpeculative principles, still more unfocial and irregular. THE Royalifts, confifting of the nobles and more confiderable gentry, being degraded from their authority and plundered of their property, were inflamed with the higheft refentment and indignation against those ignoble ad verfaries, who had reduced them to fubjection. The prefbyterians, whofe credit had firft fupported the arms of the parliament, were enraged to find, that, by the treachery or fuperior cunning of their affociates, the fruits of all their fuccessful labours were ravished from them. 'The former party, from inclination and principle, zealously attached themselves to the fon of their unfortunate monarch, whofe memory they refpected, and whofe tragical death they deplored. The latter caft their eye towards the fame object; but they had ftill many prejudices to overcome, many fears and jealoufies to be allayed, ere they could cordially entertain thoughts of reftoring that family, whom they had fo grievously offended, and whofe principles they regarded with fuch violent, abhorrence. But THE only folid fupport of the republican independent faction, which, tho' it formed fo fmall a part of the nation, had violently ufurped the government of the whole, was a numerous army of about fifty thousand men. this army, formidable from its difcipline and courage, as well as its numbers, was actuated by a spirit, that rendered it dangerous to the affembly, which had affumed the command over it. Accustomed to indulge every chimera in politics, every frenzy in religion, the foldiers knew little of the fubordination of citizens, and had only learned, from apparent neceffity, fome maxims of military obedience. And while they ftill maintained, that all thofe enormous violations of law and equity, of which they had been guilty, were juftified by the fuccefs, with which providence had bleffed them; they were ready to break out into any new diforder, wherever they had the prospect of a like fan&tion and authority. 1649. WHAT alone gave fome ftability to all these unfettled C H A P. humours, was the great influence, both civil and military, LXI. acquired by Oliver Cromwel. This man, fuited to the age in which he lived, and to that alone, was equally qualified to gain the affection and confidence of men, by what was mean, vulgar, and ridiculous in his character; as to command their obedience by what was great, daring, and enterprizing. Familiar even to buffoonery with the meaneft centinel, he never loft his authority: Transported to a degree of madness with religious extafies, he never forgot the political purposes, to which they might ferve. Hating monarchy, while a subject; defpifing liberty, while a citizen; tho' he retained for a time all orders of men under a feeming obedience to the parliament; he was fecretly paving the way, by artifice and courage, to his own unlimited authority. THE parliament, for fo we must henceforth call a small and inconfiderable part of the house of commons, having murdered their fovereign with fo many appearing circumstances of folemnity and justice, and fo much real violence and even fury, began to affume more the air of a civil, legal power, and to enlarge a little the narrow bottom, upon which they stood. A few of the excluded and absent members, such as were liable to leaft exception, were admitted; but on condition, that they should fign an approbation of whatever had been done in their absence with regard to the king's trial: And fome of them were willing to acquire a fhare of power on fuch terms: The greatest part difdained to lend their authority to fuch apparent ufurpations. They iffued fome writs for new elections, in places where they hoped to have interest enough to bring in their own friends and dependants. They named a council of state, thirty-eight in number, to whom all addreffes were made, who gave orders to all generals and admirals, who executed the laws, and who digested all business before it was introduced into parliament A. They pretended to employ themselves entirely in adjusting the laws, A Their names were, the earls of Denbigh, Mulgrave, Pembroke, Salisbury, lords Grey, Fairfax, lord Grey of Groby, lord Lifle, Rolles, St. John, Wilde, Bradshaw, Cromwel, Skippon, Pickering, Maffam, Haffelrig, Harrington, Vane jun. Danvers, Armine, Mildmay, Constable, Pennington, LXI. CHA P. laws, forms, and plan of a new reprefentative; and as foon as they fhould have fettled the nation, they profeffed their intention of reftoring the power to the peo1649. ple, from whom, they acknowledged, they had entirely derived it. Of ScotLund. THE Commonwealth found every thing in England compofed into a feeming tranquillity by the terror of their arms. Foreign powers, occupied in wars among themfelves, had no leifure nor inclination to interpofe in the domeftic diffenfions of this island. The young king, poor and neglected, living fometimes in Holland, fometimes in France, fometimes in Jersey, comforted himself, amidft his present diftreffes, with the hopes of better fortune. The fituation alone of Scotland and Ireland gave any immediate inquietude to the new Republic. AFTER the fucceffive defeats of Montrofe and Hamilton, and the ruin of their parties, the whole authority in Scotland fell into the hands of Argyle and the rigid churchmen, that party which was moft averfe to the interefts of the royal family. Their enmity, however, against the independents, who had prevented the fettlement of prefbyterian difcipline in England, carried them to embrace oppofite maxims in their political conduct. Tho' invited by the English parliament to model their government into a republican form, they refolved ftill to adhere to monarchy, which had ever prevailed in their country, and which, by the exprefs terms of their covenant, they had engaged to defend. They confidered befides, that as the property of the kingdom lay moftly in the hands of great families, it would be difficult to eftablith a Commonwealth, or, without fome chief magiftrate, invested with royal authority, to preferve peace or juftice in the community. The execution, therefore, of the king, against which they had always protefted, having occafioned a vacancy of the throne, they immediately proclaimed his fon and fucceffor, Charles the fecond; but upon condition" of his good behaviour and strict obfer"vance of the Covenant, and his entertaining no other "perfons about him but fuch as were godly men and "faithful to that obligation." Thefe unufual claufes, in ferted Pennington, Wilfon, Whitlocke, Martin, Ludlow, Stapleton, Hevingham, Wallop, Hutchinfon, Bond, Popham, Valentine, Walton, Scot, Purefoy, Jones. ferted in the very firft acknowledgement of their prince, CHA P. no pretence to interpofe in the affairs of that kingdom, al- 1649. THE dominion, which England claimed over Ireland, of Iredemanded more immediately their efforts for fubduing that land. country. In order to convey a juft notion of Irish affairs, it will be neceffary to look backwards fome years, and to relate briefly those transactions, which had paffed during the memorable revolutions in England. When the late king agreed to that ceffation of arms with the popifh rebels, which was become fo requifite, as well for the fecurity of the Irish proteftants as for promoting his interefts in England, the parliament, in order to blacken his conduct, reproached him with favouring that odious rebellion, and exclaimed loudly against the terms of the ceffation. They even went fo far as to declare it entirely null and invalid, because finished without their confent; and to this declaration the Scots in Ulfter, and the earl of Inchiquin, a nobleman of great authority in Munster, profeffed to adhere. By their means, the war was ftill kept alive; but as the dangerous diftractions in England hindered the parliament from fending any confiderable asfiftance to their allies in Ireland, Inchiquin concluded an accommodation with Ormond, whom the king had created lord-lieutenant of that kingdom. This latter nobleman, being a native of Ireland, and a perfon endowed with great prudence and virtue, formed a scheme for compofing the diforders of his country, and for engaging the rebel Irish to support the cause of his royal mafter. There were many circumftances which trongly invited the natives of Ireland to embrace the king's party. The maxims of that Prince had always led him to give a reasonable indulgence to the catholies throughout all his dominions; and one principal ground of that enmity, which the puritans profeffed against him, was this tacit toleration. The parliament, on the contrary, even when unprovoked, had ever menaced the papists with the most rigid restraint, if not a total extirpation; and immediately after the commencement of the Irish rebellion, they put to fale all the estates of the rebels, and had engaged the VOL. VII. K public |