Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/288

 280 CHARLES (ENGLAND) tion of Laud, to force episcopacy upon her contrary to the fundamental law of the king- dom, rose in anns, invaded England, and gained possession of Northumberland and Durham. The king made a fruitless attempt to raise funds to oppose the Scottish armies by summon- ing a parliament, but which, as it proceeded, like the last, first to consider grievances, he dissolved on May 5, 1G40, within 20 days after its assembling, before it had given any posi- tive reply to his demand for supplies. Tyranny in church and state was now at its worst. Tor- ture was inflicted for the last time in May, 1640. At this time Charles had a fleet of above 60 ships at sea, which he maintained by the illegal levy of ship money ; but he had no army on which he could depend, nor any means to raise one. Therefore, unless he would see the Scots march to York and take possession of the northern metropolis, there was no re- source but to convoke the great council of the peers at York, who immediately demanded the assembling of the parliament, and to treat with the Scottish rebels. On Nov. 3, 1640, assem- bled the body known in history as the long par- liament. Its first act was to impeach and then to proceed by attainder against both Laud and Stratford, the latter of whom was con- demned and executed, abandoned by the king, for whom he had made great sacrifices. Some just and salutary laws were passed by this parliament; some illegal practices, which had been usual with the later English monarchs, were repressed; some grievances redressed; some rights of the subject firmly established. It also passed a bill that it should not be dis- solved except with its own consent. This act was plainly unconstitutional, but was approved by the king. The star chamber and high com- mission were abolished, and on Dec. 31, 1641, the house voted to consider on Jan. 3 the question of the militia. On Jan. 2 the king sent his refusal to the commons to appoint a guard for their security, but promised solemnly, on his word as a king, that their security should be his sacred care ; but the next day his attorney general appeared at the bar of the house of lords, and in the king's name accused of high treason Lord Kimbolton and five mem- bers of the commons, Pym, Hollis, Hampden, Haslerig, and Strode. These were accused of endeavoring to subvert the fundamental law and deprive the king of his regal power, of alienating his subjects and army, of encoura- ging foreign invasion, and conspiring to levy war against him. These charges were for the most part aimed against their parliamentary conduct. The king demanded their arrest, and the next day came to the house in person to arrest them by armed force ; but the five members had absented themselves by permis- sion of the house. The excitement in parlia- ment and in the city was unparalleled. Some of the king's partisans wished to seize the six members, who were known to be in a house in Coleman street; but the king chose to de- mand them of the common council, and on the 8th he issued a proclamation for their arrest. The manifest unpopularity of his cause made his friends fear for his personal safety, and on Jan. 10 he left Whitehall for Hampton court. The next week the accused members were brought back with the enthusiasm of a popular triumph, and the rupture between the king and his parliament seemed complete. Parlia- ment passed a militia act, which amounted to an army act, and Charles sent his queen to Holland Feb. 16, 1642, with the crown jewels, to raise troops against the parliament. On April 23 the king virtually began the war by trying to force an entrance into the city of Hull. The military governor, Hotham, kept him out, and was approved by parliament. The royalist members of parliament vacated their seats, and repaired to the king. The rest no longer tried to pass acts for the king's approval, but passed " ordinances." On May 5 was passed an ordinance calling out the militia. Charles proclaimed this ordinance illegal and summoned the gentlemen of York to form his body guard. He made an address to an assembly of gentlemen in the town hall, which was received with applause ; but the attempt to form a body guard was a failure. Another great meeting, 40,000 strong, was held on the moor without the town, where a petition was presented to the king asking him to be reconciled to his parliament, which he received with undisguised displeasure. Parlia- ment now prepared for war. They proposed terms to the king which they knew he would refuse. On July 12 they voted to raise an army. On Aug. 22, Prince Rupert having joined the king, the royal standard was set up upon Nottingham castle. On Sept. 9 par- liament published a declaration of the causes of the war; and on the 19th the king issued his "protestation," promising to respect the freedom of parliament, and declaring his pur- poses. Unhappily his private letters to the queen show that his professions were insincere. On Oct. 23 was fought the first battle at Edgehill, with alternating success, and with- out decided advantage to either side. Essex, the commander of the parliamentarians, was the first to withdraw on the following morn- ing, unpnrsued by the enemy. On Feb. 22, 1643, the queen landed with an army. Prince Rupert carried many small places through the spring and summer. Hampden was shot in a skirmish. Bristol surrendered to Rupert, July 25, and the parliamentary cause seemed weak and discouraged. Had the royalists now been united and prompt, they might have triumphed and utterly overthrown the popular party. They feared, however, to trust the king, and the battle of Newbury, Sept. 20, was a stub- born fight, and took away all hope of a speedy peace. The remodelling of the parliamentary army followed. Cromwell and Fairfax be- came its generals ; and a discipline was in- troduced by the former as perfect as that of