Part 123 (1/2)

The king's att.i.tude at last led Parliament to a bold a.s.sertion of its authority. It now presented to Charles the celebrated Pet.i.tion of Right.

One of the most important clauses provided that forced loans without parliamentary sanction should be considered illegal. Another clause declared that no one should be arrested or imprisoned except according to the law of the land. The Pet.i.tion thus repeated and reinforced two of the leading principles of Magna Carta. [20] The people of England, speaking this time through their elected representatives, a.s.serted once more their right to limit the power of kings.

PERSONAL RULE OF CHARLES I, 1629-1640 A.D.

Charles signed the Pet.i.tion, as the only means of securing parliamentary consent to taxation; but he had no intention of observing it. For the next eleven years he managed to govern without calling Parliament in session.

The conduct of affairs during this period lay largely in the hands of Sir Thomas Wentworth, afterwards earl of Strafford, and William Laud, who later became archbishop of Canterbury. The king made these two men his princ.i.p.al advisers and through them carried on his despotic rule.

Arbitrary courts, which tried cases without a jury, punished those who resisted the royal will. A rigid censors.h.i.+p of the press prevented any expression of popular discontent. Public meetings were suppressed as seditious riots. Even private gatherings were dangerous, for the king had swarms of spies to report any disloyal acts or utterances.

JOHN HAMPDEN AND ”s.h.i.+P-MONEY”

Since Charles ruled without a Parliament, he had to adopt all sorts of devices to fill his treasury. One of these was the levying of ”s.h.i.+p- money.” According to an old custom, seaboard towns and counties had been required to provide s.h.i.+ps or money for the royal navy. Charles revived this custom and extended it to towns and counties lying inland. It seemed clear that the king meant to impose a permanent tax on all England without the a.s.sent of Parliament. The demand for ”s.h.i.+p-money” aroused much opposition, and John Hampden, a wealthy squire of Buckinghams.h.i.+re, refused to pay the twenty s.h.i.+llings levied on his estate. Hampden was tried before a court of the royal judges and was convicted by a bare majority. He became, however, the hero of the hour. The England people recognized in him one who had dared, for the sake of principle, to protest against the king's despotic rule.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHARLES I A painting by Daniel Mytens in the National Portrait Gallery. London]

LAUD'S ECCLESIASTICAL POLICY

Archbishop Laud, the king's chief agent in ecclesiastical matters, detested Puritanism and aimed to root it out from the Church of England.

He put no Puritans to death, but he sanctioned cruel punishments of those who would not conform to the established Church. All that the dungeon and the pillory, mutilation and loss of position, could do to break their will was done. While the restrictions on Puritans were increased, those affecting Roman Catholics were relaxed. Many people thought that Charles, through Laud and the bishops, was preparing to lead the Church of England back to Rome. They therefore opposed the king on religious grounds, as well as for political reasons.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EXECUTION OF THE EARL OF STRAFFORD After a contemporary print. The Tower of London is seen in the background.]

THE LONG PARLIAMENT, 1640 A.D.

But the personal rule of Charles was now drawing to an end. In 1637 A.D.

the king, supported by Archbishop Laud, tried The Long to introduce a modified form of the English prayer book into Scotland. The Scotch, Presbyterian [21] to the core, drew up a national oath, or Covenant, by which they bound themselves to resist any attempt to change their religion. Rebellion quickly pa.s.sed into open war, and the Covenanters invaded northern England. Charles, helpless, with a seditious army and an empty treasury, had to summon Parliament in session. It met in 1640 A.D.

and did not formally dissolve till twenty years later. Hence it has received the name of the Long Parliament.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Map, ENGLAND AND WALES--THE CIVIL WARS OF THE 17TH CENTURY]

REFORMS OF THE LONG PARLIAMENT

The Long Parliament no sooner a.s.sembled than it a.s.sumed the conduct of government. The leaders, including John Hampden, John Pym, and Oliver Cromwell, openly declared that the House of Commons, and not the king, possessed supreme authority in the state. Parliament began by executing Strafford and subsequently Laud, thus emphasizing the responsibility of ministers to Parliament. Next, it abolished Star Chamber and other special courts, which had become engines of royal oppression. It forbade the levying of ”s.h.i.+p-money” and other irregular taxes. It took away the king's right of dissolving Parliament at his pleasure and ordered that at least one parliamentary session should be held every three years. These measures stripped the crown of the despotic powers acquired by the Tudors and the Stuarts.

246. OLIVER CROMWELL AND THE CIVIL WAR, 1642-1649 A.D.

OUTBREAK OF THE GREAT REBELLION, 1642 A.D.

Thus far, the Long Parliament had acted along the line of reformation rather than revolution. Had Charles been content to accept the new arrangements, there would have been little more trouble. But the proud and imperious king was only watching his chance to strike a blow at Parliament. Taking advantage of some differences in opinion among its members, Charles summoned his soldiers, marched to Westminister, and demanded the surrender of five leaders, including Pym and Hampden. Warned in time, they made their escape, and Charles did not find them in the chamber of the Commons. ”Well, I see all the birds are flown,” he exclaimed, and walked out baffled. The king's attempt to intimidate the Commons was a great blunder. It showed beyond doubt that he would resort to force, rather than bend his neck to Parliament. Both Charles and Parliament now began to gather troops and prepare for the inevitable conflict.

”CAVALIERS” AND ”ROUND-HEADS”

The opposing parties seemed to be very evenly matched. Around the king rallied nearly all of the n.o.bles, the Anglican clergy, the Roman Catholics, a majority of the ”squires,” or country gentry, and the members of the universities. The royalists received the name of ”Cavaliers.” The parliamentarians, or ”Roundheads,” [22] were mostly recruited from the trading cla.s.ses in the towns and the small landowners in the country. The working people remained as a rule indifferent and took little part in the struggle.

[Ill.u.s.tration: OLIVER CROMWELL A painting by Robert Walker, in the National Portrait Gallery, London.]

OLIVER CROMWELL, 1599-1658 A.D.