1656. Inter-regnum. fame here. What was doing in Scotland many Gentlemen here, I doubt not, that rejoice to fee this. Day, can tell you large Stories of. January. Parliaments were set aside: How many had ye between 3° and 16° Car. in thirteen Years together? Not one; no, they had got a Way to govern without Parliaments; and the Laws in WestminsterHall began to be of little Ufe. The Judges, that were honeft and true to the People's Liberties, were either removed or discountenanced, that ad Placitum Regis fint Sententia Legis: Other Courts flourifhed; the Marches of Wales, the Prefidentship of York, the Star-Chamber, the Council-Board, the High-Commiffion, and, I am loth to name, the Chancery; but good Ufe was made of that too, for their Purposes that were arbitrary; and the Defign was to rack all Things fo, that a Man could not be met with there that would hear Reason. The Truth was, the Defign was to govern us by a Power that might be turned against us; and it was faid, quod placuit Principi Legis Vim habet. Things were almost become defperate; and all Men who loved their Country thought, all, either. of fuffering, or of flying. This, I fay, was the firft Defign. To do an arbitrary Act, out of Neceffity to fave the whole, that's another Thing; but this was Matter of Choice. In this Conjuncture of Affairs the Long Parliament comes; queftions the King's Counsellors; undertakes the Caufe of the Nation, and advises the King: Instead of listening to them, he takes the Advantage of raifing an Army in Prosecution of his former Defign, and to defend those who were the Inftruments thereof. A great Part of the Nation, whom he and his Counsellors had debauched, and, who were feasoned with the fame Principles, in Hatred to the Spirit of Reformation and Liberty, which appeared in the Parliament, adhered to him; took up Arms with him, and in his Caufe; and I believe Nobody here hath forgot how much Blood and Treasure this Course hath coft this Nation in a Tenyears War; for near fo long hath this Party of Men 1656. January. Men held up their Cause aforefaid, against the good Inter-regnum, These are the Men, Sir, this is the old Delinquent, that we have to do with in this Bill. In the Management of this War, we have had many Divifions and Subdivifions amongst ourselves: In the Church, Prefbyterians, Independents, Anabaptifts; in the State, bad Commonwealth'smen; fuch as mercenary Soldiers, Lawyers, Fifth Monarchy-men; every one labouring for their own Interests; but none of all these are now in Queftion. But 'tis the old Enemy; Men that would bring in the Hierarchy again, and with it Popery; Perfecution for Confcience Sake; bring in Tyranny over our Perfons and Eftates; who endeavoured to have made the Land defolate, rather than not have brought this to pafs; brought in all Manner of Profanenefs and Debauchery: I wish we do not forget what Manner of Men they were. We did all once agree against them, and I hope we fhall do fo again, so long as they retain their old Principles. I fay, the worst in this Bill is, to make these Men pay an extraordinary Tax for the Support of the public Charge. Aye, but 'tis faid they have compounded; many of them have, for their Delinquency; and they have had an Act of Oblivion; and are now, in Juftice, to be looked upon as the reft of the Nation? • That fure is not hard to answer. Their Compofition was but for what they had done: Sure it was not for all they fhould do. The Pardon was but of Offences paft; it was not like the Pope's Pardons, that are of all Sins committed, and to be committed; so that if they be guilty of new OffenD 2 ces, 1656. January. Inter-regnum. ces, it is just to subject them to new Penalties; and they to be dealt with, as if they had made no Compofition, nor had any fuch Pardon granted them. But then the greater Question is, What these Men have done, which may justly cancel their former Grants; and how this comes to be a common Cafe; if fome of them have offended, must all fuffer? In Answer to this, I would premise two Things: .The Queftion is not about Confifcation of Life and Eftate, which the former War fubjected them to; and which, without their Compofition or Pardon, might have been inflicted; that Offence was capital; but it is only, whether they fhall pay fomewhat more to the public Charge, than thofe that have been of the other Party? 2. Exception is propounded to those, who either have or fhall give Evidence of their having forfaken their former Interest. 'The Onus probandi is put on their Side, and many have had the Fruit of this: His Highness and the Council, having had good Satisfaction concerning many of them, have difcharged their Decimation; and I fuppofe this Bill is not, or ought to be, to reach to thefe; fo that the Queftion will not be of every individual Man, but of fuch only as have not nor can give any Teftimony of their having changed their Interefts and Principles; on the contrary, have given a juft Ground of Sufpicion that they do retain them. For those who have actually had a Hand in defigning, contriving, acting, or abetting in the late Infurrection, and can be convicted thereof by Teftimony, that is under another Confideration, and will not be pertinent to be spoke of under this Head. 6 Then to anfwer that Queftion, What have they done? It's true, there was an Infurrection, and of fome of the Party, Wagstaffe, Wilmott, &c. but are all therefore to be punished? What hath the 'whole Party done? This I would fay, in general, that the old Delinquent Party have not only the fame Intentions that they had, when they were in open January. open Arms, and notoriously manifefted it to the Inter-regnum Confciences of all Men who will confider it, but 1656. they do retain their old Principles, and ftill adhere to their former Intereft (what that is I have fpoke before); and have been all along hatching new Difturbances, to trouble the Peace of the State: And although the Teftimonies do not extend to such a Proof as is neceffary to a legal Conviction, yet fo much is known of the Actions and Conversation of the whole Party, as may fatisfy any indifferent Man, (especially a State, who ought rather to be too jealous than too fecure) that they were generally involved in the late Defign; and ought, in Reafon, to have the Charge laid upon them. To evince that, take a View of this Party ever fince the Battle of Worcester. There you know their Hopes were broken; and the Lives and Estates of that whole Party, in the Three Nations, fubjected to your Power. What, Doth the Parliament apply themselves to heal and cement, and to take away the Seeds of Divifion? Hence it is, that not only Juftice is done them all, but an Act of Grace is granted to them, and that by the Government. What do they meditate? The Overthrow of thole, whofe Favour they were, by the Providence of God, compelled to feek; for, from that very Day, untill the late Infurrection broke forth, they have been in Agitation of ill Designs.' Notwithstanding the Arguments alledged, by the Which Propofal Secretary of State, in favour of this Bill for levying is rejected by the a Tax upon the Royalifts; yet there being a ftrong Influence of Cromwell's owa Sufpicion in the Houfe, that the real Tendency Relations. thereof was to fupport and increase the Authority of the Major-Generals, it met with great Oppofition. Thefe Officers had Bafhaw'd it to fo high a Degree, as to give Offence to the whole Nation: Cromwell, fenfible of this, and having already ferved his own Ends by them, the principal of which was to influence the Elections for this Parliament; and beginning to be jealous of their growing Power, determined to gratify the Defires of the People by laying D 3 them Inter-regnum. them afide; and accordingly, foon after, the Of1656. fice and Jurifdiction of thefe Major-Generals were wholly abolished.-This accounts for the OppofiJanuary. tion made to the Bill by Cromwell's own Family. We find that his Son-in-Law, Cleypole, in the Debate thereupon, told the House, That he, being young in Business, could only start the Game; and muft leave thofe, who had more Experience, to follow the Chace: That therefore he should only fay, That he had, formerly, thought it neceffary, in refpect to the Condition in which the Nation had been, that the Major-Generals fhould be intrufted with the Authority which they had exercised; but, in the present State of Affairs, he conceived it inconsistent with the Laws of England, and Liberties of the People, to continue their Power any longer.' Boteler, one of the Major-Generals, having spoke in favour of himself and his Brethren, Col. Henry Cromwell, the Protector's Nephew, took him up very smartly; faying, 'He obferved that many Gentlemen, and particularly the laft, feem'd to think it just that, because fome of the Cavaliers had done amifs, therefore all should be punished.By the fame Argument, fays the Colonel, because some of the Major-Generals have acted unjustly and against Law, which I will undertake to prove, all of them deserve to be punished.'-Hereupon Major-General Kelsey call'd To Order; and defired that those who had done wrong might be named. Col. Cromwell, with great Spirit and Refolution, feconded the Motion; and begg'd Leave of the House, that he might name the Offenders; and was fupported, herein, by Mr. James Afbe. But this was overruled, as the Journals inform us, left it fhould interrupt the main Business of the House: However, on the 28th of this Month, the Debate was refumed; and there appearing a general Refentment against the Bill, the Major-Generals Party would have dropp'd the Debate for the prefent; but this was over-ruled, by a Majority of 128 against 50. And, the next Day, a Motion for the fecond Reading of the Bill having paffed in the Negative, by |