Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 27.djvu/170

 disbanding of the army which followed it, the animosity between Holles and the independents increased. He was regarded as the leader of the party in the House of Commons which refused to concede the just claims of the soldiers, was opposed to toleration, and willing to make a treaty with the king without adequate security for its performance. Personally, he was held responsible for the severity with which the commons sometimes treated petitioners against its chosen policy. According to Ludlow, the declaration of the commons of 29 March 1647, in which the promoters of the army petition were declared enemies of the state, was drawn up by Holles (Memoirs, ed. 1751, p. 74). During these debates a challenge was exchanged between Holles and Ireton, but the intervention of Sir William Waller and the orders of the house prevented a duel (Clarendon MSS. 2478, 2495;, p. 94). On 15 June 1647 Holles and ten other members of parliament were impeached by the army. In addition to the charges already referred to, he was accused of holding secret correspondence with the queen and inviting the Scots to invade England (Old Parliamentary History, xv. 470, xvi. 70). The answer of the eleven accused members, which was delivered to the House of Commons on 19 July, is printed as ‘A Full Vindication and Answer of the Eleven Accused Members to a late Printed Pamphlet entitled “A Particular Charge or Impeachment in the Name of Sir Thomas Fairfax and the Army under his Command”’ (ib. xvi. 116). It is said to have been drawn up by Prynne. On 20 July the accused members asked and obtained leave of absence for six months, and passes to go beyond sea. Holles on taking leave of the house made a speech in his own vindication (‘A Grave and Learned Speech, or an Apology Delivered by Denzil Holles, Esq.,’ 4to, 1647). Ten days later a new vote recalled the eleven members, and that portion of the parliament which remained at Westminster prepared to fight the army, and appointed a new committee of safety, of which Holles was a member (, vi. 652). He asserts that he had no share in the tumults which produced this sudden revolution. ‘I was not in the city all the time those businesses were in agitation—knew nothing of the petitions nor actings in the common council’ (Memoirs, § 148). The army marched triumphantly into London on 6 Aug., and Holles was again obliged to fly. Several of the accused members were captured as they were crossing to Calais, of whom Holles was reported to be one; but the fact is contradicted in a statement published by the officers of the squadron in the Downs (, vii. 785; A Declaration of the Representations of the Officers of the Navy concerning the Impeached Members, 26 Aug. 1647). On 4 Sept. the commons ordered the fugitive members to return and stand their trials, and as they refused they were, on 27 Jan. 1648, disabled from sitting during the existing parliament (, vii. 800, 977). On 3 June 1648 these votes were annulled, and Holles took his seat again in the house on 14 Aug. (ib. pp. 1130, 1226).

Holles was one of the ten commissioners appointed by the commons to represent them at the Newport treaty; he presented their report to the house, and was thanked for his services (1 Dec. 1648) (ib. vii. 1248, 1360). ‘The Humble Proposals and Desires’ of the army, presented to parliament on 6 Dec., demanded the arrest and punishment of Holles and other impeached persons who had retaken their seats, but he succeeded in escaping again to France (ib. p. 1354; Old Parliamentary History, xviii. 458). In March 1651 Charles II summoned him to Scotland with the intention of making him secretary of state for England, but he seems to have refused the invitation (, Original Letters, ii. 448; Nicholas Papers, i. 227). However, when the Protector sent him a pass permitting him to return to England, Holles availed himself of it (Clarendon State Papers, iii. 223; Cal. Clarendon Papers, ii. 323). When, at Monck's instigation (21 Feb. 1660), the secluded members were readmitted to parliament, Holles took his seat again, and on 2 March 1660 the special votes against him and the sequestration of his estate were repealed. He was also appointed a member of the council of state which was to govern between the dissolving of the Long parliament and the meeting of the convention (Commons' Journals, vii. 849). Clarendon describes him as one of the presbyterian cabal which met at Northumberland House, and wished to make terms with Charles before restoring him (Rebellion, xvi. 160;, Own Time, ed. 1836, i. 156). In the convention he acted as chairman of the committee appointed to answer the king's letter, and was one of the commissioners sent to the Hague (Commons' Journals, viii. 4, 20). The speech made by Holles to Charles (16 May 1660) is a remarkable expression of loyalty and joy: ‘a king of so many vows and prayers cannot but crown the desires of his people’ (Somers Tracts, ed. Scott, vii. 415). In reward for these services Holles was admitted to the privy council, and created a peer by the title of Baron Holles of Ifield, Sussex (20 April 1661). From July 1663 to May 1666 he was English ambassador at Paris, and distinguished himself by the tenacity