Friends, though divided | Page 4

other evil counselors were not
wanting. King Charles, indeed, had an advantage over his father,
inasmuch as his person was stately and commanding, his manner grave
and dignified, and his private life irreproachable. The conflicts which
had continued throughout the reign of his father between king and
Parliament speedily broke out afresh. The Commons refused to grant
supplies, unless the king granted rights and privileges which he deemed
alike derogatory and dangerous. The shifty foreign policy of England
was continued, and soon the breach was as wide as it had been during
the previous reign.
After several Parliaments had been called and dissolved, some gaining
advantage from the necessities of the king, others meeting only to

separate after discussions which imbittered the already existing
relations, for ten years the king dispensed with a Parliament. The
murder of the Duke of Buckingham by Felton brought no alleviation to
the situation. In Ireland, Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, ruled with
tyrannical power. He was a man of clear mind and of great talent, and
his whole efforts were devoted to increasing the power of the king, and
so, as he considered, the benefit of the country. In Ireland he had a
submissive Parliament, and by the aid of this he raised moneys, and
ruled in a manner which, tyrannical as it was, was yet for the benefit of
that country. The king had absolute confidence in him, and his advice
was ever on the side of resistance to popular demands. In England the
chief power was given to Archbishop Land, a high church prelate, bent
upon restoring many of the forms of Catholic worship, and bitterly
opposed to the Puritan spirit which pervaded the great mass of the
English people.
So far the errors had been entirely upon the side of the king. The
demands of the Commons had been justified by precedent and
constitutional rule. The doings of the king were in equal opposition to
these. When at last the necessity of the situation compelled Charles to
summon a Parliament, he was met by them in a spirit of absolute
defiance. Before any vote of supply would he taken, the Commons
insisted upon the impeachment of Strafford, and Charles weakly
consented to this. The trial was illegally carried on, and the evidence
weak and doubtful. But the king's favorite was marked out for
destruction, and to the joy of the whole kingdom was condemned and
executed. A similar fate befell Laud, and encouraged by these
successes, the demands of the Commons became higher and higher.
The ultimatum which at last the Puritan party in Parliament delivered to
the king, was that no man should remain in the royal council who was
not agreeable to Parliament; that no deed of the king should have
validity unless it passed the council, and was attested under their hands;
that all the officers of the state and principal judges should be chosen
with consent of Parliament, and enjoy their offices for life; that none of
the royal family should marry without consent of Parliament or the
council; that the penal laws should be executed against Catholics; that

the votes of popish lords should not be received in the Peers, and that
bishops should be excluded from the House; that the reformation of the
liturgy and church government should be carried out according to the
advice of Parliament; that the ordinances which they had made with
regard to the militia should be submitted to; that the justice of
Parliament should pass upon all delinquents, that is, upon all officials
of the state and country who had assisted in carrying out the king's
ordinances for the raising of taxes; that a general pardon should he
granted, with such exceptions as should he advised by Parliament; that
the fort and castles should be disposed of by consent of Parliament; and
that no peers should be made but with the consent of both Houses.
They demanded also that they should have the power of appointing and
dismissing the royal ministers, of naming guardians for the royal
children, and of virtually controlling military, civil, and religious
affairs.
As it was clear that these demands went altogether beyond the rights of
the Commons, and that if the king submitted to them the power of the
country would be solely in their hands, while he himself would become
a cipher, he had no course open to him but to refuse assent, and to
appeal to the loyal nobility and gentry of the country.
It is true that many of these rights have since been obtained by the
Houses of Parliament; but it must be remembered that they were
altogether alien at the time to the position which the kings of England
had hitherto held, and that the body into whose hands they would be
intrusted