1649-1685. greatest; whereas a little before, the greatest stood proscribed CHARLES II. by the least. Roundhead and Cavalier were, in effect, no more. Whig and Tory were not yet in being. The only two apparent parties were those of churchmen and dissenters; and religious differences alone, at this time, maintained the distinction". NITY. In order to terminate existing controversies, and to bury all ACT OF INDEMseeds of future discord, Charles II., in his declaration from Breda, had promised a general pardon to those who had been guilty of the recent rebellion, saving only such as should be excepted by parliament; and a few days after the king had landed, he published a proclamation, commanding his father's judges to surrender themselves within fourteen days, on pain of being excepted from any pardon or indemnity, either as to their lives or estates; of which concessions some availed themselves". One of the first acts of the convention parliament, was to discuss this question, and upon which a diversity of opinion pervaded that assembly:-" every member having some friend whom he wished to shield from punishment, or some enemy whom he sought to involve in it: considerations of interest or relationship, of friendship or revenge, weighed more than the respective merits of the parties: but the lords, who had suffered greater injuries than the commons, entertained no other feelings, but those of a most sanguinary and revengeful character." Parliament insiderations of friendship or fluenced by con revenge. existing contro After considerable discussions, parliament enacted', that all Termination of injuries and offences against the crown or individuals, arising versies. out of quarrels between political parties since the first of June, 1637, should be pardoned, except as to fifty-one individuals actually concerned in the death of Charles I.:-of Vane and Lambert;-of Lord Monson, Hazlerig, and five others, as far as regarded liberty and property;-of all judges in any high court of justice;-and of Hutchinson, Lenthall, St. John, and sixteen others by name, as to eligibility to hold office, civil, military, or ecclesiastical. With respect to the nineteen regicides who had voluntarily surrendered, it was yielded to the lords that they should be 2 Bolingbroke's Dissert, on Parties, 61, 62, Edin. 1773. 3 5 State Trials, 959. 7 Somers' Tracts, 437. 2 Hallam's Const. Hist. 413-416. Stat. 12 Charles II. c. 11. Clarendon, 69. 7 Lingard, 353. 7 Hume, 343, 354. 1649-1685. CHARLES II. tried for their lives; and, in return, it was conceded to the commons, that they should not be executed without a subsequent act of parliament to be passed expressly for that purpose. Execution of the regicides. ADMINISTRATION Committee ap Five-and-twenty of the original regicides had died previous to the Act of Indemnity, nineteen had absconded from England', and twenty-nine were in custody. The fugitives were attainted by act of parliament', and the prisoners were brought to trial before a special commission, under which they were sentenced to death. The ten selected to suffer in the first instance were Harrison, Scott, Carew, Jones, Clement, and Scrope, all of whom had signed the royal death warrant; Cook, who had acted as solicitor at the "High Court of Justice;" Axtell and Hacker, who commanded the guard at the royal execution; and Peters, the clergyman: and, in two years afterwards, Barkstead, Corbet, and Okey, who had been delivered up by "the States," where they had absconded for safety, were also executed':—all of whom suffered death with firmness, considering their punishment as "martyrdom." Notwithstanding the protracted suspension of regular government, the common law and judicial proceedings had, as between man and man in their private relations, experienced no essential change, and the only alteration needed, was the ancient style of process. 3. Grant of Royal Revenues. The parliament having ascribed the recent national calamipointed to settle ties to the parsimonious provision which had been made for the necessities of the crown, appointed a committee to consider of settling such a revenue on his majesty as might a revenue for the crown. 5 3 Ludlow, 113-134. Hutchinson's Hist. of Massachusetts Bay. Ezra Styles' Hist. of these "Most Illustrious and Heroic Defenders of Liberty," U. S. 1794. 6 7 Lingard, 352, et seq. 2 Hallam's Const. Hist. 44-444. 7 In the Statute of Attainder, the lords and commons protested against the murder of the king; and declared, "that by the undoubted and fundamental laws of this kingdom, neither the peers of this realm, nor the commons, nor both together, in parliament or out of parliament, nor the people collectively or representatively, nor any other persons whatsover, ever had, have, hath, or ought to have, any coercive power over the persons of the kings of this realm." 8 3 Ludlow, 82. 5 State Trials, 1301-35. 1 Pepys, 252, 8. 9 5 Howell's State Trials, 947-1301, 1362. 2 Hallam's Const. Hist. 417. 1649-1685. maintain the splendour and grandeur of his kingly office, and CHARLES II. preserve the crown from want, and from being undervalued by his neighbours. Charles I. and II. Partial relief from feudal tenures. The committee reported, that the revenue of Charles I., Revenues of from 1637 to 1641, averaged 900,000l., 200,000l. of which had arisen from illegal expedients; upon which the House raised the yearly revenue of Charles II. to 1,200,0007.1 Although, from their oppressive nature, the landed proprietors had unceasingly sought to destroy tenures in capite and by knight service, yet the crown still possessed the patronage and emoluments of marriages, reliefs, and wardships but the commons availing themselves of the conciliatory disposition of the king, proposed that the crown should receive an annual income of 100,000l. in lieu of the profits of the Court of Wards, &c. revenue con This is the first precedent in which a parliamentary revenue Parliamentary was conferred upon the crown, for surrendering a portion of ferred on the its prerogative; and, at the same time, there are few statutes crown. which secured national independence or abridged the royal prerogative in so extensive a manner, as that of 12 Charles II. c. 24, by which the Court of Wards was abolished, with all wardships and forfeitures for marriage by reason of tenure, all primer seisins, and fines for alienation, aids, escuages, homages, and tenures by chivalry without exception, save the honorary services of grand sergeanty; converting all such tenures into common socage, and abolishing the rights of purveyance and pre-emption. But this statute did not extend to inferior tenures, and although it relieved the lords of manors from the services which they owed to the crown, confirmed to them the services which they claimed from those who held by tenure of copyhold2. Neither would these landed proprietors, who composed the majority in parliament, pay the commutation for their exclusive relief from the feudal services, but voted the produce of one 1 Com. Journ. Sept. 4, 1660. Pepys' Diary, March 1, 1664. Ralph, 20, 88. 2 This act is said to have been drawn by L. C. J. Hale (3 Peere Williams, 125); and it provided inter alia, that all tenures to be thereafter created by the king, of an estate of inheritance at common law, should be in free and common socage. But there is a proviso, that the act should not extend to prejudice the customs of the city of London, nor of any other city or town; nor Berwick; nor to discharge any apprentice from his apprenticeship: and it has been held, that it does not affect burgage tenure. (Co. Lit. H. & B. 106 (a.) M. and S. Hist. of Boroughs, 1691. Stat. 12 Charles II. c. 24, did not tenures. extend to inferior Politicians selbut by selfish ambition. dom actuated 1649-1685. CHARLES II. moiety of the excise,-thus perpetrating an act of gross injustice, by compelling the poor to pay for the relief of the rich; but this is only an additional illustration of the proposition, that politicians are seldom actuated but by "selfish ambition." Introduction of the excise. Declaration from Origin of the army. The excise had been introduced by parliament, to liquidate the charges of the war against the king; but was regarded as an unjust tax, and only tolerated under the plea of necessity, and upon a tacit understanding that it should terminate with that necessity. Parliament had, however, by this commutation for the feudal tenures, voted one moiety to the king, in perpetuity; and, in order to raise the royal revenue to the amount which it had voted, passed three bills, to improve the receipt on wine licenses, to regulate the post-office, and to grant to the king the second moiety of the excise, for his natural life, in full of the yearly settlement of 1,200,000%.* 4. Disbanding the Army. Charles, in his declaration from Breda', promised to liquidate the arrears of the army under General Monk, and to retain the officers and men in the royal service, upon the same pay and conditions which they then actually enjoyed. The nation could not regard but with distrust the existence of the army, which they were still supporting, by monthly assessments of 70,000l. Statutes were accordingly passed, liquidating all their arrears, and the corps disbanded, but in a manner so conciliatory as not to excite mutiny, or public dissatisfaction". But Charles, in order to have a ready instrument to effecregular standing tuate his objects, retained in his service, under the name of "Guards," General Monk's regiment, called the Coldstream, one other of horse, and another was formed out of troops brought from Dunkirk, which was the origin of our regular standing army3. 3 Stat. 12 Charles II. c. 24. Com. Journ. May 25, Nov. 8, 19, 21, Dec. 15, 21, 1660. 6 Parl. Hist. 146. Although the Excise now produces 18,000,000l. per annum, it only then produced 300,000%. 111 Lords' Journ. 7, 10. 2 Stat. 12 Charles II. cc. 9, 15, 16, 21. Clarendon, 10, 11. 1 Burnet, 274. 7 Lingard, 352. Ralph, 35. Life of James, 447. 1 Grose's Military Antiquities, 61. 2 Hallam's Const. Hist. 427. 5. Titles to Property. It had been the policy of Cromwell to confiscate the estates of the royalists, and bestow them upon his adherents, in order to create a party that would possess a positive interest in opposing the restoration of the Stuarts. CHARLES II. 1649-1685. Charles, in his declaration from Breda', in alluding to this Declaration from subject, stated" He was willing that all controversies in rela- Breda. tion to grants, sales, and purchases, should be determined in parliament, which could best provide for the just satisfaction of all who were concerned. Parliament, however, made no such provision, and the royalists conceived they were unjustly treated. situation of the properties. At the commencement of the rebellion, many royalists Unfortunate effected sales of their estates, and applied the produce towards royalists, in realleviating the pecuniary necessities of the king, and raising spect of their troops for his defence, and they, in consequence, had been reduced to utter penury2; but it was now held they had no right to compensation, because their property had been voluntarily disposed of. &c. The crown lands, and those which belonged to the church, Disputes respectand lay proprietors, had been disposed of in gifts, and by sales. ing crown lands, The original proprietors reclaimed their properties, forcible entries were made, and the possessors ejected, who had no legal claim to regain their possession, because they could not plead a title derived from an usurped authority. The crown, at the united request of both Houses, issued a commission to arbitrate between the revolutionary purchasers and the royalists, and, by proclamation, recommended the latter to exercise lenity and conciliation; but which advice was not generally adopted3. 6. The Parliament of 1661. the convention parliament. The royalists, with a view of strengthening their party, cir- Dissolution of culated the doctrine, that the convention parliament, not having been called together by royal writ, was an assembly illegally constituted, and that its proceedings were liable to be 111 Lords' Journ. 7, 10. 2 Kennet's Register, 233. 7 Somers' Tracts, 517, 557. don, 99. 3 Stat. 12 Charles II. c. 17. 2 Kennet's Register, 312. 4 Harris, 345. 7 Lingard, 360. Life of Claren Clarendon, 183. |