even now." 1 Let us shoulder our Mace, then, and go.'Petition of certain Officers,' that Petition which Ludlow 2 in a vague erroneous manner represents to have been the turning-point of the business, is just at the door': we receive it, leave it on the table, and go. And now hear his

Highness.

'MR. SPEAKER,-I come hither to answer That that was ' in your last Paper to your Committee you sent to me "yesterday"; which was in relation to the Desires that were offered 'me by the House in That they called their Petition.

6

'I confess, that Business hath put the House, the Parlia'ment, to a great deal of trouble, and spent much time. I 6 am very sorry for that. It hath cost me some "too," and some thoughts and because I have been the unhappy occa'sion of the expense of so much time, I shall spend little of ' it now.

6

:

'I have, the best I can, revolved the whole Business in my thoughts and I have said so much already in testimony to 'the whole, I think I shall not need to repeat what I have 'said. I think it is an "Act of" Government which, in the 'aims of it, seeks the Settling of the Nation on a good foot, ' in relation to Civil Rights and Liberties, which are the 'Rights of the Nation. And I hope I shall never be found ' one of them that go about to rob the Nation of those Rights;-but "always" to serve it what I can to the attaining of them. It has also been exceedingly well pro'vided there for the safety and security of honest men in that great natural and religious liberty which is Liberty of Con'science.—These are the great Fundamentals; and I must 'bear my testimony to them; as I have done, and shall do 'still, so long as God lets me live in this world: That the

1 Report by Whitlocke and Committee: in Commons Journals (8th May 1657), viii. 531.

* ii. 588, etc., the vague passage always cited on this occasion.

23d Feb.-8th May: ten weeks and more.

'intentions and the things are very honourable and honest, and the product worthy of a Parliament.

'I have only had the unhappiness, both in my Conferences ' with your Committees, and in the best thoughts I could take 'to myself, not to be convinced of the necessity of that thing 'which hath been so often insisted on by you, to wit, the Title of King,-as in itself so necessary as it seems to be apprehended by you. And yet I do, with all honour and respect, testify that, cæteris paribus, no private judgment is 'to be in the balance with the judgment of Parliament. But in things that respect particular persons, every man 'who is to give an account to God of his actions, he must in some measure be able to prove his own work, and to have an 'approbation in his own conscience of that which he is to do or to forbear. And whilst you are granting others Liberties, 'surely you will not deny me this; it being not only a Liberty 'but a Duty, and such a Duty as I cannot without sinning forbear,―to examine my own heart and thoughts and judg'ment, in every work which I am to set my hand to, or to ' appear in or for.

'I must confess therefore, though I do acknowledge all the "other" points," I must be a little confident in this, That ' what with the circumstances which accompany human actions, -whether they be circumstances of time or persons [Straitlaced Republican Soldiers that have just been presenting you their Petition], whether circumstances that relate to the 'whole, or private and particular circumstances such as compass any person who is to render an account of his own ' actions,—I have truly thought, and I do still think, that, at 'the best, if I should do anything on this account to answer 'your expectation, at the best I should do it doubtingly. And certainly whatsoever is so is not of faith. And what'soever is not so, whatsoever is not of faith, is sin to him ⚫ that doth it,-whether it be with relation to the substance ' of the action about which that consideration is conversant, or ' whether to circumstances about it [Thinskinned Republicans,

or the like circumstances,'], which make all indifferent 'actions good or evil. I say Circumstances' [Yes!]; and 'truly I mean 'good or evil' to him that doth it. [Not to you Honourable Gentlemen, who have merely advised it in general.]

• I, lying under this consideration, think it my duty—Only I could have wished I had done it sooner, for the sake of the 'House, who have laid such infinite obligations on me [With a kind glance over those honourable faces; all silent as if 'dead, many of them with their mouths open]; I wish I had 'done it sooner for your sake, and for saving time and 'trouble; and for the Committee's sake, to whom I must acknowledge I have been unreasonably troublesome! But truly this is my Answer, That (although I think the Act of 'Government doth consist of very excellent parts, in all but 'that one thing, of the Title as to me) I should not be an 'honest man, if I did not tell you that I cannot accept of 'the Government, nor undertake the trouble and charge of 'it as to which I have a little more experimented than everybody what troubles and difficulties do befall men under 'such trusts and in such undertakings [Sentence irrecover'able]-I say I am persuaded to return this Answer to you, That I cannot undertake this Government with the Title of 'King. And that is mine Answer to this great and weighty 'Business.' *

And so exeunt Widdrington and Parliament: 'Buzz, buzz! Distinct at last!'—and the huge buzzing of the public mind falls silent, that of the Kingship being now ended;—and this Editor and his readers are delivered from a very considerable weariness of the flesh.

'The Protector,' says Bulstrode,' was satisfied in his private

Commons Journals, vii. 533; as reported by Speaker Widdrington, on Tuesday the 12th. Reported too in Somers (pp. 400-1), but in the form of coagulated nonsense there. The Commons Journals give it as here, with no variation worth noticing, in the shape of sense.

judgment that it was fit for him to accept this Title of King, and matters were prepared in order thereunto. But afterwards, by solicitation of the Commonwealth's-men,' by solicitation, representation and even denunciation from the Commonwealth's-men' and 'many Officers of the Army,' he decided 'to attend some better season and opportunity in the business, and refused at this time.'1 With which summary account let us rest satisfied. The secret details of the matter are dark, and are not momentous. The Lawyer-party, as we saw, were all in favour of the measure. Of the Soldier-party, Ex-MajorGenerals Whalley, Goffe, Berry are in a dim way understood to have been for it; Desborow and Fleetwood strong against it; to whom Lambert, much intriguing in the interim, had at last openly joined himself. Which line of conduct, so soon as it became manifest, procured him from his Highness a handsome dismissal. Dismissal from all employment; but with a retiring pension of 2,000l.: which mode of treatment passed into a kind of Proverb, that season; and men of wooden wit were wont to say to one another, 'I will lambertise you.' The 'great Lord Lambert,' hitherto a very important man, now cultivated flowers at Wimbledon '; attempted higher things, on his own footing, in a year or two, with the worst conceivable success; and in fact had at this point, to all reasonable intents, finished his public work in this world.

4

The rest of the Petition and Advice, so long discussed and conferenced upon, is of course accepted; a much improved Frame of Government; with a Second House of Parliament; with a Chief Magistrate who is to 'nominate his successor,' and be King in all points except the name. News of Blake's victory at Santa Cruz reach us in these same days," whereupon 2 Godwin, iv. 352, 367.

1 Whitlocke, p. 646.

3 Heath's Chronicle.

• Commons Journals, vii. 358 (25th May 1657); Whitlocke, p. 648.—See, in Appendix, No. 30, another Speech of Oliver's on the occasion; forgotten hitherto. (Note of 1857.)

28th May (Commons Journals, vii. 54; Burton, ii. 142).

is Public Thanksgiving, and voting of a Jewel to General Blake and so, in a general tide of triumphant accordance, and outward and inward prosperity, this Second Protectorate Parliament advances to the end of its First Session.

SPEECH XV, LETTERS CCXVIII-CCXXIV

THE Session of Parliament is prosperously reaching its close; and during the recess there will be business enough to do. Selection of our new House of Lords; carrying-on of the French League Offensive against Spain; and other weighty interests. Of which the following small documents, one short official Speech, and seven short, mostly official Letters, are all that remain to us.

SPEECH XV

PARLIAMENT has passed some Bills; among the rest, some needful Money-Bills, Assessment of 340,000l. a-month on England, 6,000l. on Scotland, 9,000l. on Ireland;1 to all which his Highness, with some word of thanks for the money, will now signify his assent. Unexceptionable word of thanks, accidentally preserved to us, which, with the circumstances attendant thereon, we have to make conscience of reporting.

Tuesday morning 9th June 1657, Message comes to the Honourable House, That his Highness, in the Painted Chamber, requires their presence. They gather-up their Bills; certain Money-Bills for an assessment towards the Spanish War'; and divers other Bills, some of public, some of more private concernment,' among which latter we notice one for settling Lands in the County of Dublin on Widow Bastwick and her 1 Parliamentary History, xxi. 151; Commons Journals, vii. 554-7. 2 Commons Journals, vii. 551-2.