Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 38.djvu/160

 General Monck to the Speaker, 13 Oct. 4to, 1659).

The army leaders had not anticipated Monck's opposition. They invited him to sign their petition to parliament, to which he returned an emphatic refusal, and sent Colonel Gobbet to him to explain the causes of their conduct. Monck received the news of the expulsion of the parliament on 17 Oct., concerted his measures the same night, and in the next two days secured Edinburgh, Leith, Berwick, and other fortresses, placed officers whom he could trust in command of his regiments, and arrested those whose defection he feared. On 20 Oct. he despatched a letter to Lenthall announcing his resolve 'to assert the liberty and authority of parliament,' and with it expostulations addressed to Lambert and Fleetwood, telling the one that England would not endure any arbitrary power, and the other not to be deluded by the specious pretences of ambitious persons (Old Parliamentary History, xxii. 4 ;, p. 685). These were followed by a series of declarations to the army, the churches, and the nation (True Narrative of the Proceedings in Parliament, Council of State, General Council of the Army, etc., from Sept. 22 to this present, 4to, 1659). All were conciliatory in tone, and as would-be mediators were many, Monck agreed to send three commissioners to negotiate with the leaders of the English army. The commissioners came to an agreement on 15 Nov., but he refused to ratify it, on the ground that they had gone beyond their instructions (, pp. 693-5). Further negotiations to take place at Newcastle were accordingly agreed to. Delay strengthened Monck's position, for he had 70,000l. in hand, while the troops opposed to him under the leadership of Lambert were ill-paid and afterwards unpaid. He was also enabled thereby to complete his communications with the 'opponents of military rule in England and Ireland, and to give them time to come to his aid. Nine of the old council of state met together in London, and sent him a letter of thanks (19 Nov.), followed by a commission constituting him absolute commander-in-chief of all the forces in England and Scotland (24 Nov. ;, p. 695). At their instigation the garrison of Portsmouth declared for the restoration of the parliament (3 Dec.) ; then the fleet in the Downs followed Portsmouth's example (13 Dec.), and finally a revolution in the Irish army, headed by Sir Charles Coote and Lord Broghill, placed the government of that country in the hands of Monck's supporters (14 Dec.) The troops in London abandoned the struggle and submitted to the parliament, which again resumed its place at Westminster on 26 Dec.

Monck was now able to advance into England. His forces were inferior in number to Lambert's, and he was especially weak in horse. To remedy this he had increased the number of pikemen in each regiment, and turned his dragoons into regular cavalry. His determination to maintain English authority in Scotland obliged him to leave four regiments of foot to hold the Scottish fortresses and to reject suggestions that he should summon the Scots to his assistance. A certain number of Scotsmen were enlisted to fill the vacancies in his foot regiments. Monck also persuaded the Convention of Estates to facilitate his march by guaranteeing the early payment of the assessments due from the country. More than a benevolent neutrality he knew he could not expect, unless he were to declare openly for the king.

Monck had established his headquarters at Coldstream on the Tweed, about nine miles from Berwick, a position which would enable him either to bar Lambert's advance if he marched by the east coast, or to march directly on London if Lambert invaded Scotland by way of Carlisle (8 Dec.) On 24 Dec. he broke off the negotiations with Lambert, and on 2 Jan. 1660 crossed the Tweed into England. His forces amounted to about five thousand foot and two thousand horse. Lambert's army broke up as Monck's advanced. Monck marched slowly towards London, disbanding or purging the rebellious regiments of Lambert's army on his way. An opportune riot among some of the soldiers in London supplied him with a plausible reason for requiring that Fleetwood's forces should leave London to make room for the troops which he brought with him. He felt strong enough to send part of his forces back to Scotland, and entered London on 3 Feb. with four thousand foot and eighteen hundred horse.

Throughout this journey Monck was besieged by addresses from all parts of England, asking for the readmission of the excluded members of parliament. The city, with which he had long been in correspondence, sent messengers to demand a full and free parliament (Old Parliamentary History, xxii. 46). Parliament itself had sent two commissioners to congratulate Monck, and to watch his movements. He frequently left them the task of answering the petitioners, his own return ' consisting in a nod, a frown, or the rubbing of his forehead if the speech were long' (, p. 755). In a letter answering the petition of the gentlemen of Devonshire, he urged submission to the existing parliament, and argued that the read-