Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 7.djvu/484

 4 6 4 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. five hours, and (a rare if not unprecedented occurrence) was adjourned. Elizabeth, more angry than ever, sent for the Speaker ; she insisted ' that there should be no further argument ; ' if any member of either House was dissatisfied he must give his opinion before the council. The Commons having gone so far had no intention of yielding ; and de Silva watched the crisis with a malicious hope of a collision between the two Houses and of both with the Queen. The Lower House, he said, was determined to name a successor, and was all but unanimous for Lady Catherine ; the Peers were as decided for the Queen of Scots. 1 A dissolution would leave the Treasury without a subsidy, and could not be thought of cave at the last extremity. On % the return of the Speaker the Commons named a committee to draw up an answer, which, though in form studiously courteous, was in substance as deliberately firm. 2 The finishing touch was given to it by Cecil, and the sentences added in his hand were those which insisted most on the liberty of Parliament, and most justified the attitude which the Commons had assumed. After thanking the Queen for her promise to marry, and assuring her that whatever she might think to the 1 'Ellos pretenden libertad de proceder a lo del nombramiento de la sucesion en la qual en la camara superior tendra mucha parte la de Escocia ; se tiene por cicrto y assi lo creo que Caterina tendra casi todos los de la Camara baja, y assi parece que inclina todo a emocion.' De Silva to Philip, November 13: MS. Simancas. 2 Draft of an Address to the Queen, submitted to the Committee of the Commons' House : Domestic MSS. t Elizabeth, vol. xli.