The History of England from the First Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of King George the Fi | Page 9

Mea were
anxious to free themselves from the forced contribution of
one-twentieth part of their estates for the support of the parliamentary
army[2] and the citizens could not forget the alarm which had been
created by the late approach of the royal forces. Petitions for peace,
though they were ungraciously received, continued to load the tables of
both houses; and, as the king himself had proposed a cessation of
hostilities, prudence taught the most sanguine advocates for war to
accede to the wishes of the people, A negotiation was opened at Oxford.
The demands of[b] the parliament amounted to fourteen articles; those
of Charles were confined to six. But two only, the[c] first in each class,
came into discussion. No argument[d] could induce the houses to
consent that the king should name to the government of the forts and
castles without their previous approbation of the persons to be
appointed; and he demurred to their proposal that both armies should
be disbanded, until he knew on what conditions he was to return to his
capital. They had limited the duration of the conference to twenty days;
he proposed a prolongation of[e]
[Footnote 1: Journals, 535. Rushworth, v. 100. Clarendon, ii, 136, 139.]
[Footnote 2: Journals, 463, 491, 594, Commons' Journals, Dec. 13. It
was imposed Nov. 29, 1642.]
[Sidenote a: A.D. 1643. Jan. 7.] [Sidenote b: A.D. 1643. Jan. 30.]
[Sidenote c: A.D. 1643. Feb. 3.] [Sidenote d: A.D. 1643. March 20.]
[Sidenote e: A.D. 1643. March 30.]
the term; they refused; and he offered, as his ultimatum, that, whenever
he should be reinstated in the possession of his revenues, magazines,
ships, and[a] forts, according to law; when all the members of
parliament, with the exception of the bishops, should be restored to
their seats, as they held them on the 1st of January, 1641; and when the
two houses should be secure from the influence of tumultuary
assemblies, which could only be effected by an adjournment to some
place twenty miles distant from London, he would consent to the

immediate disbanding of both armies, and would meet his parliament in
person. The Commons instantly passed a vote to recall the[b]
commissioners from Oxford; the Lords, though at first they dissented,
were compelled to signify their concurrence; and an end was put to the
treaty, and to[c] the hopes which it had inspired.[1]
During this negotiation the houses left nothing to the discretion of their
commissioners, the earl of Northumberland, Pierrepoint, Armyn,
Holland, and Whitelock. They were permitted to propose and argue;
they had no power to concede.[2] Yet, while they acted in public
according to the tenour of their instructions, they privately gave the
king to understand that he might probably purchase the preservation, of
the church by surrendering the command of the militia,--a concession
which his opponents deemed
[Footnote 1: See the whole proceedings relative to the treaty in the
king's works, 325-397; the Journals of the Lords, v. 659-718; and
Rushworth, v. 164-261.]
[Footnote 2: This was a most dilatory and inconvenient arrangement.
Every proposal, or demand, or suggestion front the king was sent to the
parliament, and its expediency debated. The houses generally disagreed.
Conferences were therefore held, and amendments proposed; new
discussions followed, and a week was perhaps consumed before a point
of small importance could be settled.]
[Sidenote a: A.D. 1643. April 12.] [Sidenote b: A.D. 1643. April 14.]
[Sidenote c: A.D. 1643. April 17.]
essential to their own security. At one period they indulged a strong
hope of success. At parting, Charles had promised to give them
satisfaction, on the following day; but during the night he was
dissuaded from his purpose; and his answer in the morning proved little
short of an absolute denial. Northumberland also made a secret offer of
his influence to mollify the obstinacy of the patriots; but Charles, who
called that nobleman the most ungrateful of men, received the proposal
with displeasure, and to the importunity of his advisers coldly replied,
that the service must come first and the reward might follow afterwards.

Whether the parliament began to suspect the fidelity of the
commissioners, and on that account recalled them, is unknown. Hyde
maintains that the king protracted the negotiation to give time for the
arrival of the queen, without whom he would come to no determination;
but of this not a vestige appears in the private correspondence between
Charles and his consort; and a sufficient reason for the failure of the
treaty may be found in the high pretensions of each party, neither of
whom had been sufficiently humbled to purchase peace with the
sacrifice of honour or safety.[1]
It was owing to the indefatigable exertions of Henrietta, that the king
had been enabled to meet his opponents in the field. During her
residence in
[Footnote 1: See Clarendon's