MY LORD,

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I think you may well remember what the issue was of the last Conference I had with you 'yesterday,' and what the stick* then was. I confess I took liberty at that time,' from the Order of Parliament; whereby they gave me power to speak with you about those things that were in the body of that Instrument and Desire which you have been pleased to speak with me 'upon :' that I might confer with you about those particulars, and might receive satisfaction from you as to them. Whether there will a good issue be to all these affairs or no, is only in the hands of God. That is a great secret ;—and secrets belong to God. To us belong things revealed;-and such things are the subject-matter of this Instrument of yours: and the course is,' so far as they may have relation to me, That you and I shall consider what may be for the public good therein,' that so they may receive such an impression† as can humanly be given them.

I would be well understood in that I say, The former Debates and Conferences have been upon the Title; and that rests as it did. But seeing, as I said before, your Order of Commitment,' your Order to Committee,' doth as well reach to the particulars contained in the Instrument 'generally' as to that of the Title,-I did offer to you that I should desire to speak with you about them also. That so we may come to an understanding one with another, not What the things in their parts are, but What is in the whole conduceable to that end we ought all to aim at,—which is a general Settlement upon good foundations.

Truly, as I have often said to the Parliament itself when they did me the honor to meet me in the Banqueting-House, so I may now say to you who are a Committee, a very considerable representation of the Parliament: I am hugely taken with the word Settlement; with the thing, and with the notion of it.

And indeed' I think he is not worthy to live in England who is not! No; I will do my part, so far as I am able, to expel that man out of the Nation who desireth not that in the general we come to a Settlement. Because indeed it is the great misery and unhappiness of a Nation to be without such it is like a house (and so much worse than a "house") divided against itself; it "cannot stand" without Settlement !-And therefore I hope, so far, we are all at a good point; and the spirit of the Nation, I hope, in the generality of it, is so far at a good point: we are all contending for a Settlement. That is sure. But the question is, De modo, and Of those things and conditions' that will make it a good Settlement if possible. It's no fault to aim at perfection in Settlement! And truly I have said, † impulse and decision.

*

stop.

and I say it again: That I think this 'present proposed Form of Settlement' doth tend to the making of the Nation enjoy the things we have 'all along ' declared for; and I would come upon that issue with all men, or with any man. The things we have declared for, which have been the ground of our quarrelling and fighting all along, the securing of these is what will accomplish the general work. Settlement is the

general work. That which will give to the Nation to enjoy their civil and religious liberties: that which will conserve the liberties of every man, and not rob any man of what is justly his! I think these two things make up Settlement. I am sure they acquit us before God and man: having endeavored, as we have done, through some streamings of blood, to attain that end.

I may tell you my 'own' experience in this business, and offend no good man who loves the Public before what is personal. Truly I shall, a little, shortly recapitulate to you what my observations and endeavors and interest have been to this end. And I hope no man that hath been interested in transactions all along* will blame me. And he shall have no cause to blame me; because I will take myself into the number of the Culpable Persons (if there be any such),-though perhaps apt enough, from the self-love I have, to be willing to be reckoned innocent where I am so! And yet as willing withal to take my reproach, if anybody will lay it upon me, where I am culpable! And truly I have, through the Providence of God, endeavored to discharge a poor duty: having had, as I conceive, a clear call to the stations I have acted in through all these affairs;—and I believe very many are sufficiently satisfied in that. I shall not go about saying anything to clear it to you; [No, your Highness, let it stand on its own feet.]—but must exercise myself in a little short Chronology. To come to that issue' [Not the “Chronology,” but what the Chronology will help to teach us !], I say, is really all our business at present; and the business of this Nation: To come upon clear grounds; To consider the Providence of God, how He hath led us hitherunto.

After it pleased God to put an end to the War of this Nation; a final end; which was done at Worcester, in the determination and decision that was there by the hand of God,-for other War we have had none that deserves the name of War, since that time, which is now six years gone September 'last;'-I came up to the Parliament that then was. And truly I found the Parliament, as I thought, very well' disposed to put a good issue to all those Transactions which had been in the Na

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* Not polite to add, "as I have been."

tion; and I rejoiced at it. And though I had not been well skilled in Parliamentary affairs, having been near ten years in the Field; yet, in my poor measure, my desires did tend to the same issue; believing verily that all the blood which had been shed, and all the distemper which God had suffered to be among us, which in some sense God had raised among us, believing I say,' that surely Fighting was not the end, but the means, which had an end, and was in order to somewhat! Truly the end, then, was, I thought, Settlement; that is, that men might come to some consistences. And to that end I did endeavor to add my mite,which was no more than the interest any one member there might have, -after I was returned again to that capacity. And I did,—I shall tell you no fable, but things'of' which divers persons here can tell whether they be true or no [Threatening to blaze up again!]—I did endeavor it. I would make the best interpretation of all that: but yet it is a truth, and nothing of a discovery on my part, but a fact which everybody knows to be true, That the Parliament, having done those memorable things— [Sentence explodes; and even launches off into panegyric of the Long Parliament, preparatory to EXECUTION]-They had done things of honor, and things of necessity; things which, if at this day you have any judgment that there lieth a possibility upon you to do any good, and to bring this Nation to any foot of Settlement, I may say you are all along, in a good manner, beholden to that Parliament 'for.' But yet truly as men who contend for the Public Interest are not like to have the applause of all men, nor justification from all hands, so it was with them. And truly, when they had made preparations which might have led to the issuing in some good for the Settlement of these Nations, in point of liberty, in point of freedom from tyranny and oppression and from hazard of our religion,-To throw it all away upon men who designed by innovations to introduce Popery, and by complying with some notions introduce Arbitrariness upon a Civil account-[“ Royalist Malignants, in 1647, 1648, and Crypto-Royalists; with their 'notions' that of all things indispensable, a Stuart King was indispensablest? That would never have done! The Long Parliament did need a Pride's Purge; could not"—— But the Sentence here, in its hasty impatience, as is usual, bursts]—Why they had more enemies than friends, that Long Parliament had;' they had so all along! And this made them careful [In 1648, trying to bargain with Charles, they were "full of care;" and even afterwards they could not decide all at once on granting a new Free Parliament and General Election ; no!]—upon principles of Nature, which do sometimes suggest the best. And upon the most undeniable grounds, they did think that it was not fit for them presently to go and throw themselves, and all this Cause, into hands that perhaps had no heart nor principle 'in

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common' with them to accomplish the end they had aimed at. [In short, they, very properly, decided on sitting still for a while.]

I grant, perhaps through infirmity they did desire to have continued themselves; to have perpetrated themselves upon that act.* An Act which was justly enough obtained, and necessarily enough obtained, when they did get it from the King. But though truly it was good in the first obtaining of it; yet it was, by men who had ventured their lives in this Cause, judged not fit to be perpetuated, but rather a thing that was to have an end when it had finished its course! Which was certainly the true way of doing,-in subserviency to the bringing-in of what might be a good and honest settlement to the Nation. I must say to you that I found them very willing to perpetuate themselves! And truly this is not a thing of reflection upon all, for perhaps some were not so;-I can say it of some. The sober men whom I had converse with, were not for continuing; but the major part, I think, did overrule in-that they would have continued. This is true that I say to you: I was entreated to comply with the plan, and advised to it; and it was to have been accomplished by this medium, 'They were' to have sent into the country to have got their number reinforced, and the Parliament filled up by new elections. And it had this excuse, That it would not be against the Liberty of the People, nor against a succession of men coming into rule and government; because as men died out of the House, so they should be supplied again. [Like Sir John Cockle's silk hose; which always, after infinite darnings, could remain the same hose, though not a thread of the original silk was now left in them: a perennial pair of stockings. Such was the plan of the Rump.] And this was the best answer they could give to all objections, this,' "That the proper way to govern is to have successive men in such great bodies as Parliaments; to have men learning to know how to obey as well as how to govern.Ӡ And truly the expedient they then offered was what I tell you.

The truth of it is, this did not satisfy a company of poor men [Certain insignificant individuals,——mentioned elsewhere by the same name!] who thought they had ventured their lives, and had some interest to inquire after these things! And the rather, because really they had been invited out,first of all, into this War,' upon principles of honesty, conscience and religion; "for Spiritual Liberties;" as many as would come.

* Act, 10 May, 1641, That we are not to be dissolved without our own consent. Necessary in all ways; the City would not lend money otherwise, not even money could be had otherwise (Antea, vol. i., 117).

†The Rota Club' (see Wood, iv., 1119, 1120, § Harrington) had not started in 1653, but this doctrine, it would seem, was already afloat;-not much patronized by his Highness at any time.

'Yes;' when the Cause was a little doubtful, there had issued forth a Declaration of that purport,' which was very inviting; and men did come in 'and enlist' upon that invitation ;-and did thereby think themselves not to be mercenary men, but men who had wives and children in the Nation, and 'who' therefore might a little look after satisfaction in what would be the Issue of the Business! [They told us always, We were Soldiers, sworn as our first duty to obey; but we answered (and it was intrinsically a fact), We were the most peculiar Soldiers that had ever handled steel in England; whereby our first, and also our second and third, duties had become modified a good deal!]

And when this thing was thus pressed, and perhaps overpressed by us,' That a period might be put, and some ascertainment made, and a time fixed,-why then truly the extreme ran another way. 'Parliament would not go at all, that had been the one extreme; Parliament shall go straightway, that was now the other.' This is very true that I tell you; although it shames me. 'Extremes give rise to their opposite extremes; and are honorable to nobody!' I do not say it shames all that were of the House, for I know all were not of that mind; but truly when this was urged, they on their side did fall into another extreme. And what was that? Why truly then it was: Seeing this Parliament could not be perpetual, yet a Parliament might always be sitting. And to that end there was a Bill framed, That Parliaments might always be sitting; that as soon as one Parliament went out of place, another might leap in.* When we saw this, truly we thought it did but make a change in pretence; and did not remedy the thing!-However, it was pursued with such heat' in the House,' I dare say there was more progress in it in a month than had ever been with the like business in four; 'so eager were they' to hasten it to an issue, to get such a Parliament brought in ;-to bring the state of the Nation into this, A continual sitting of Parlia

ment.

We did think, who were plain men, and I do think it still, That that had been, according to the old foolish Proverb, "out of the fryingpan into

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* This arrangement, of a Parliament constantly sitting, his Highness and the company of poor men did by no means consider a good Issue of the Business.' It leads almost infallibly to arbitrariness,' argues his Highness (Antea, Speech III., p. 113), leads to, &c., &c.—in fact, as in those days of ours is everywhere becoming too apparent, leads to Nothing,' to selfcancelment (like that of the Kilkenny cats) and peaceable Zero. Which in very few epochs of the world's history is the desirable thing! His Highness's logic-arguments, here and in his other Speech, are none of the best; but instincts and inarticulate insights much deeper than logic taught him well that a Parliament always sitting' was not the Balm of Gilead we had all been fighting for.