XIV. 1654. he well knew both these people had too much credit BOOK in his army, and with some principal officers of it. Of these men he stood in more fear than of all the king's party; of which he had in truth very little apprehension, though he coloured many of the preparations he made against the other, as if provided against the dangers threatened from them. parliament But the time drew near now, when he was obliged He calls a by the instrument of government, and upon his after a new oath, to call a parliament; which seemed to him method. the only means left to compose the minds of the people to an entire submission to his government. In order to this meeting, though he did not observe the old course in sending writs out to all the little boroughs throughout England, which use to send burgesses, (by which method some single counties n send more members to the parliament, than six other counties do,) he thought he took a more equal way by appointing more knights for every shire to be chosen, and fewer burgesses; whereby the number of the whole was much lessened; and yet, the people being left to their own election, it was not by him thought an ill temperament, and was then generally looked upon as an alteration fit to be more warrantably made, and in a better time. And so, upon the receipt of his writs, elections were made accordingly in all places; and such persons, for the most part, chosen and returned, as were believed to be the best affected to the present government, and to those who had any authority in by which method some he thought he took] he single counties] in which there seemed to take is so great an inequality, that some single counties P by him] Not in MS. 4 best affected] least affected XIV. 1654. BOOK it; there being strict order given, " that no person "who had ever been against the parliament during "the time of the civil war, or the sons of any such "persons, should be capable of being chosen to sit "in that parliament;" nor were any such persons made choice of. His parlia ment meets 1654. stance of his speech to them. 66 The day of their meeting was the third of SepSeptemb. 3, tember in the year 1654, within less than a year after he had been declared protector; when, after they had been at a sermon in the abbey at Westminster, they all came into the painted chamber; where his highness made them a large discourse; and told The sub- them," that that parliament was such a congrega"tion of wise, prudent, and discreet persons, that England had scarce seen the like: that he should forbear relating to them the series of God's provi"dence all along to that time, because it was well "known to them; and only declare to them, that "the erection of his present power was a suitable "providence to the rest, by shewing what a condi"tion these nations were in at its erection: that "then every man's heart was against another's, every man's interest divided against another's, and "almost every thing grown arbitrary: that there 66 66 66 was grown up a general contempt of God and Christ, the grace of God turned into wantonness, " and his spirit made a cloak for all wickedness and "profaneness; nay, that the axe was even laid to "the root of the ministry, and swarms of Jesuits "were continually wafted over hither to consume "and destroy the welfare of England: that the na"tion was then likewise engaged in a deep war "with Portugal, Holland, and France; so that the "whole nation was one heap of confusion: but that 66 XIV. "this present government was calculated for the BOOK people's interest, let malignant spirits say what. they would; and that, with humbleness towards 66 66 66 66 1654. God, and modesty towards them, he would re"count somewhat in the behalf of the government. "First, it had endeavoured to reform the law; it "had put into the seat of justice men of known integrity and ability; it had settled a way for pro"bation of ministers to preach the gospel: and be"sides all this, it had called a free parliament: that, blessed be God, they that day saw a free parliament: then as to wars, that a peace was made "with Denmark, Sweden, the Dutch, and Portugal, "and was likewise near concluding with France: "that these things were but entrances, and doors "of hopes; but now he made no question to enable "them to lay the top stone of the work, recom"mending to them that maxim, that peace, though "it were made, was not to be trusted farther than "it consisted with interest: that the great work " which now lay upon this parliament, was, that the government of England might be settled upon "terms of honour: that they would avoid confu"sions, lest foreign states should take advantage of "them that, as for himself, he did not speak like "one that would be a lord over them, but as one "that would be a fellow-servant in that great af"fair:" and concluded, "that they should go to "their house, and there make choice of a speaker:" which they presently did, and seemed very unanimous in their first act, which was the making choice of William Lenthall to be their speaker; which William agreement was upon very disagreeing principles. chosen their Cromwell having designed him, for luck's sake, and speaker. 66 Lenthall 1654. BOOK being well acquainted with his temper, concluded, XIV. that he would be made a property in this, as well as he had been in the long parliament, when he always complied with that party that was most powerful. And the other persons who meant nothing that Cromwell did, were well pleased, out of hope that the same man's being in the chair might facilitate the renewing and reviving the former house; which they looked upon as the true legitimate parliament, strangled by the tyranny of Cromwell, and yet that it had life enough left in it. Their act ings. Lenthall was no sooner in his chair than it was proposed, "that they might in the first place con"sider by what authority they came thither, and "whether that which had convened them had a "lawful power to that purpose." From which subject the protector's creatures, and those of the army, endeavoured to divert them by all the arguments they could. Notwithstanding which, the current of the house insisted upon the first clearing that point, as the foundation, upon which all their counsels must be built: and as many of the members positively enough declared against that power, so one of them, more confident than the rest, said plainly, "that they might easily discern the snares which "were laid to entrap the privileges of the people; "and for his own part, as God had made him in"strumental in cutting down tyranny in one per 66 son, so now he could not endure to see the na"tion's liberties shackled by another, whose right to "the government could not be measured otherwise "than by the length of his sword, which alone had "emboldened him to command his commanders." This spirit prevailed so far, that, for eight days to XIV. 1654. gether, those of the council of officers, and others, BOOK (who were called the court party,) could not divert the question from being put, "whether the govern"ment should be by a protector and a parliament,” any other way than by lengthening the debate, and then adjourning the house when the question was ready to be put, because they plainly saw that it would be carried in the negative. speaks to The continuance of this warm debate in the house, in which the protector's own person was not treated with much reverence, exceedingly perplexed him; and obliged him once more to try, what respect his sovereign presence would produce towards a better composure. So he came again to the Cromwell painted chamber, and sent for his parliament to them in the come to him; and then told them, "that the great chamber. "God of heaven and earth knew what grief and "sorrow of heart it was to him, to find them falling "into heats and divisions; that he would have "them take notice of this, that the same govern-` "ment made him a protector, that made them a 66 65 66 66 parliament: that as they were intrusted in some things, so was he in others: that in the govern"ment were certain fundamentals, which could not "be altered, to wit, that the government should be "in a single person and a parliament; that parlia"ments should not be perpetual, and always sitting; that the militia should not be trusted into one hand, or power, but so as the parliament might have a check on the protector, and the pro"tector on the parliament; that in matters of religion there ought to be a liberty of conscience, and "that persecution in the church was not to be to"lerated. These, he said, were unalterable funda 66 66 painted |