racter, or cared not what they said about

it.

upon, together with the grounds and neceffity of their diffolving the parliament, which his excellency de<clared to be for the prefervation of this caufe, and the intereft of all honeft men who have been ingaged therein. Moreover he very amply held forth the clear• nefs of the call given to the prefent members, to take C upon them the fupream authority; and did from the • Scriptures exhort them to their duties, and encourage them therein; defiring that a tenderness might be used towards all godly and confcientious perfons, of what judgment, or under what form foever. Which being ended, his lordship produced an inftrument under his • own hand and feal, whereby he did, with the advice of his officers, devolve and intruft the fupream authority and government of this commonwealth, into the hands of the perfons then met, who, or any forty of them, are to be held and acknowledged the fupream autho<rity of the nation; unto whom all perfons within the fame, and the territories thereunto belonging, are to yield obedience and fubjection. And they are not to fit longer than the third of November, 1654. Three months before their diffolution, they are to make choice of other perfons to fucceed them, who are not to fit longer than a twelvemonth, but it is left to them to take care for a fucceffion in government. • Which inftrument being delivered to the perfons aforefaid, his lordship commended them to the grace of (i) MercuriGod (i).'-Mr. Rous was called to the chair in us Politicus, this affembly, and it was Refolved that fome members 2563. And of the house should be fent to the lord-general to defire him to afford his prefence and affiftance in the house, as a member thereof; viz. Sir Anthony Afhley Cooper, Sir Gilbert Pickering, Mr. Strickland, Colonel Sidenham, Mr. Mayer, Mr. Carew, Colonel Bennet, Colonel Jones. And the queftion being propounded, that Major-General Lambert, Major-General Harrison, Major-General Defbrow, and Colonel Thomlinfin, be, and are hereby,

No. 16o. p.

Thurloe, 338.

vol. i. p.

765.

it.But they foon refigned the power

back

called to fit as members of this houfe; it paffed in the (*) Journal. affirmative (k).So oddly were the members of this parliament chofen !-Mr. Maidstone, fpeaking concerning them, fays, The lord-general by his authority, (which was but military) fummons one hundred perfons out of all parts of the nation (with competent indifferency and equality) to represent the nation, and invests them with legiflative authority. They meet and accept it, affume the title of parliament, and fit in the house of commons, and enact fundry laws; but in a fhort time, made it appear to all confidering and unprejudiced men, that they were huic negotia impares, non obftante their godlinefs; of which the more judicious of them being fenfible, contrived the · matter fo as to diffolve themselves by an act of their c Thurloe, own, and refolve their authority, whence they first vol. i. p. • derived it, upon the general (4) Cromwell's own account of the proceedings of thefe men is fevere enough, though it be not expreffed in the clearest manner. It was thought then, fays he, that men of our judgment, that had fought in the wars, and were all of a piece upon that account, why furely these men will hit it, and them men will do it to the purpose whatever can be defired, truly we did think, and I did think fo, the more to blame of, and fuch a com< pany of men were chofe and did proceed in action, and truly this was the naked truth, that the iffue was not answerable to the fimplicity and honefty of the defign. What the iffue of that meeting would have been, and was feared, upon which the fober men of that meeting did withdraw, and came and returned my · power as far as they could, they did actually the greater part of them into my own hands, profeffing and believing that the iflue of that meeting would have ⚫ been the fubverfion of your laws, and of all the liberties of this nation, the deftruction of the minifters of this nation. In a w, the confufion of all things,

and

back into his hands, and thereby gave him

an

(m) Speech,

Ap. 21,

and instead of order, to fet up the judicial law of Mofes, in abrogation of all our adminiftrations, to have been adminiftred the judicial law of Mofes, pro hic & nunc, according to the wisdom of any man that would have interpreted the text, this way or that way (m).'Lord Clarendon affures us, That there 1657. were amongst them divers of the quality and degree of gentlemen, and who had eftates, and fuch a pro< portion of credit and reputation, as could confift with the guilt they had contracted. But much the major C part of them confifted of inferiour perfons, of no quality or name, artificers of the meaneft trades, known only by their gifts in praying and preaching, which was now practifed by all degrees of men, but scholars, throughout the kingdom. In which number, that there may a better judgment be made of the reft, it will not be amifs to name one, from whom that parliament itself was afterwards denominated, who was Praise-God (that was his chriftian name) Barebone, a leather-feller in Fleetftreet, from whom (he being an eminent fpeaker in it) it was afterwards called • Praife-God Barebone's parliament. In a word, they were generally a pack of weak fenfelefs fellows, fit

*

only to bring the name, and reputation of parliaments, (») Vol. vi. lower than it was yet (n).' Mr. Hume fpeaks with P. 482. like contempt of this affembly, and is as fevere as Clarendon himself in his account of their proceedings.His lordship afterwards adds,

And these men thus

* Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper was much more eminent and active; as appears from the journals. From his tranfactions in this and Cromwell's after parliaments, Dryden took occafion to characterize him in his early years as ----

an opportunity of affuming and exercising

the

brought together, continued in this capacity near fix months, to the amazement, and even mirth of the people. In which time they never entered into any grave and serious debate, that might tend to any fettlement, but generally expreffed great sharpness against all learning, out of which they thought the clergy had grown, and ftill would grow. There were now no bishops for them to be angry with; they had already reduced all that order to the loweft diftrefs. But their quarrel was against all who had called themfelves minifters, and who, by being called so, received tythes, and refpect from their neighbours. • They looked upon the function itself to be antichriftian, and the perfons to be burthenfome to the people, and the requiring and payment of tythes to be abfolute Judaifm, and they thought fit they fhould be abolished together; and that there might not for the time to come be any race of people who might revive those pretences, they propofed that all lands belonging to the univerfities, and colleges in thofe univerfities, might be fold, and the monies that should arife thereby, be difpofed for the publick fervice, and (0) Vol. vi. to ease the people from the payment of taxes and con

P. 484.

tributions (o).' This is very virulent as ufual; and as ufual has a great mixture of falfhood. Many of Cremwell's after councellors were in this affembly, fuch as Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, Mr. Strickland, Sir Charles Wolfely: many of the chief officers of the army and navy, as Blake, Moncke, Montagu, afterwards Earl of Sandwich, befides the general and other officers mentioned above. What mirth they afforded I know not. They were treated as the fupream authority of the nation, and had the moft humble applications made to them from the chief cavaliers, fuch as the Earl of Worcefter, the Earl and Countess of Derby, the Lord Manffield, the Earl of Shrewsbury, and many others, whose petitions are mentioned in the Journals; not to take

the fupream power of the nation, under the

title

notice of their being folemnly addreffed to by fovereign princes, and their fending ambaffadors abroad: whether they ever entered into any grave or ferious debate which might tend to a fettlement, the reader will be able to judge, when he is informed, that for the right ordering and fettling of the bufinefs of the houfe, they appointed committees for the affairs of Ireland and Scotland; for the law; the army; for infpecting the treasuries, and regulating of officers and falaries; for the business of trade and corporations; for the poor, and regulating commiflions of the peace; for confidering of public debts, and to receive accufations of bribery, public frauds, and breach of public trust ; and for the advancement (P) Journal, 20th July, of learning (p). And whoever will look into their jour- 1653. nals will find that they were employed about points of the highest national concernment, fuch as the abolishing the court of chancery on account of its expenfivenefs and delays; the forming a new body of the law; the uniting Scotland with England, regulating marriages, and vefting the folemnization and cognizance of them in the civil magiftrate; together with other things. of moment. It no way appears that they intended to fet up the judicial law of Mofes, or fell the lands belonging to the universities, and therefore the imputation of fuch intentions to them, must be deemed unjuft and abufive. Tythes from the beginning had engaged their attention; but that they had no defign to abolish them, is plain from the following report made by Mr. Sadler, a few days before their refignation, from the committee for tythes-Refolved, That it be

*

In the manufcript, belonging formerly to colonel Saunders, quoted in note (ss), it is propofed, That tythes be wholly taken away, the parifioners from whom they are due, paying in lieu thereof to the fate where they are not appropriate, and to the owners where they are, <moderate and certain rent-charge out of their lands: the minifters to be maintained, either by the voluntary contributions of fuch as defire to hear them, or elfe by fome fettled penfions out of the public treafury.'