matter to a head. The Remonstrance finally passed the Commons, 22 November, and was shortly after presented to the King and printed. Although addressed to the Crown, the Grand Remonstrance was, in reality as well as in intention, an "appeal to the nation," a statement of the case of the Commons against the King. It consists of a preamble and 204 clauses, which trace in considerable detail the King's misgovernment, from his accession to the meeting of the Long Parliament; describe the abuses which the Commons had abolished since the opening of the session, the reforms which they had prepared and effected and the obstacles they had met with; explain and defend the scheme of the Church reform of the parliamentary leaders; and outline the other remedial measures demanded the establishment of safeguards against Roman Catholicism, of securities for the better administration of justice, and the choice of such Ministers as Parliament might have cause to confide in.

Its Significance. The document is of the deepest significance. It presents a condensed but adequate history of the reign from the standpoint of the parliamentary opposition, it is a clear, concise statement of the case of the popular party, and, finally, it caused a breach in the opposition ranks resulting in the formation of a party of constitutional royalists who encouraged the King to continue the struggle. The earlier clauses denouncing past misgovernment were not opposed. The fight began over the recommendation for Church reform and waxed bitter over the question of printing, which meant submitting the whole matter to the people. Members shouted, waved their hats, and even drew their swords. During the factional fights which followed the names" Cavalier" and "Roundhead " first came to be employed. The Attempted Arrest of the Five Members. Charles returned from Scotland late in November, 1641. Deceived by the splendor of his reception in the City and encouraged by the split in the parliamentary ranks, he not only returned an unsatisfactory answer to the petition, but sharpened the issue by various ill-advised acts. On 3 January, 1642, in order to rid himself of his most dangerous opponents, he ordered the Attorney-General to impeach five members of the House of Commons, including Pym and Hampden 1- charged with subverting the fundamental laws of England and inviting a foreign. power to invade the Kingdom. Egged on by his wife, Charles went the next day with an armed force to seize them in person. Warned of his intention, the accused members had fled by boat to the City, and, when Charles asked if they were in the House, the Speaker Lenthall This was a most irregular proceeding, for impeachment had hitherto never originated except in the Lower House. The name of one peer was afterward added.

1

humbly evaded the question with the memorable words: "May it please your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here.” Charles answered: "Well, I see all the birds are flown," and went away pursued by cries of "Privilege, privilege!" The incident was regarded as one of tremendous import. If the leaders of the party of reform were to be treated as traitors, and if the sacred precincts of the Commons could be invaded by the Sovereign with an armed force at his heels, there was little hope of any safeguarding the liberties of the subject in a peaceful parliamentary way.

The Struggle for the Control of the Kingdom. Five days after his failure to arrest the members, Charles withdrew with his family from London, never again to enter his capital except as a prisoner. The next six months were occupied in a struggle between Parliament and the Crown for the control of arsenals, fortresses, militia, and other military resources of the Kingdom. Parliament saw no other way to guarantee the political and religious liberties of the people, while the King realized that he could only maintain his sovereignty by frustrating their efforts.

The Opening of the War (22 August, 1642).—Parliament, 2 June, sent him nineteen Propositions embodying their final demands, which included: parliamentary control of the army and of appointments to important political and judicial offices, the suppression of Roman Catholicism, and the reform of the government and liturgy of the Church as Parliament should advise. Refusing to accept these terms, Charles hastened preparations for war. Parliament did the like: they chose a committee of both Houses to provide for the safety of the Kingdom, they voted an army, and appointed the Earl of Essex Captain-General. Further futile negotiations followed. Then Charles marched south toward London from York, where his headquarters On 22 August he raised his standard at Nottingham and the Civil War was begun.

were.

FOR ADDITIONAL READING

See chs. XXVII, XXVIII. Also H. L. Schoolcraft, The Genesis of the Grand Remonstrance (1902) an excellent study; John Forster, The Debates on the Grand Remonstrance (1860) and The Arrest of the Five Members (1860). J. A. R. Marriott, Life and Times of Lucius Cary, Viscount Falkland (1907). John Stoughton, History of Religion in England (6 vols., 1881) from the Nonconformist standpoint.

Selections from the sources. Adams and Stephens, nos. 195–206. Gardiner, Documents, nos. 26-56.

CHAPTER XXX

FROM THE OUTBREAK OF THE CIVIL WAR TO THE EXECUTION OF CHARLES I (1642-1649)

The Aim of the Popular Leaders in the Civil War. Even now that the issue was joined, the guiding aim of the parliamentary leaders was still merely so to restrict the powers of the Crown that the people they represented might be secure in their civil and religious liberties. The war which followed, and the resulting execution of the King, came from a final realization of the fact that Charles would not submit to any considerable loss of his powers, and that he was conspiring in every possible way to recover the ground which he had been forced to yield. The events of the past year had marked a decided advance in the parliamentary demands. Barring the settlement of the religious situation, the great mass of the members, in the autumn of 1641, had been satisfied with depriving the King of the extraordinary judicial powers acquired since the accession of the Tudors; with securing control of the supplies; with guaranteeing frequent sessions and the duration of the existing body until its work was done. By June, 1642, they found it necessary to demand safeguards against Episcopacy and Roman Catholicism, and control of the military, judicial, and administrative machinery of the Government. While, during the struggle, Episcopacy and Monarchy were temporarily overthrown, it was only as a means to an end to preserve Protestantism and the law.

The Numbers and Grouping of the Combatants. The zealous fighters on either side, however, were in a small minority. Many who had resisted the King in his encroachments against their liberties and property hesitated to draw their swords against him when the fatal moment of decision came. Fear of anarchy and dread of Puritan supremacy weighed heavily with numbers of them; another powerful check was a deep-rooted instinct of loyalty to Monarchy. The nobles generally took the King's side, though enough, like Essex and Manchester, fought against him "to make rebellion respectable.”

While the majority of the gentry also stood by the King, a considerable minority were to be found in the parliamentary ranks. Of the small freeholders or yeomen the greater part in the east and midlands were Parliament men; the royalist following among this class was strongest in the west. As a general rule, the trading classes in the towns were strong for Parliament. The laboring classes were mostly indifferent, only fighting when they were pressed, or when it was necessary to defend their poor homes and their goods and chattels. The Anglican clergy were stanch in their royalism, as were the Universities, more especially Oxford, which was, during the greater portion of the war, the King's headquarters. Most of the great Catholic families also threw in their lot with the Crown.

Territorial Distribution of Parliamentarians and Royalists. — The north, the west, and the extreme southwest, the stronghold of royalism, were largely agricultural and pastoral, economically backward and under the control of landed magnates. The most productive agricultural regions and the bulk of the commerce and manufactures were in the south and east, the centers of advanced religious and political sentiment. Roughly, a line from Hull to Southampton separated the royal from the parliamentary districts, though ports and marts of trade like Bristol, Gloucester, and Plymouth in the royalist country were for Parliament. Resources of men and money were very unequally distributed, the parliamentary territory containing more than three quarters of the wealth of the entire country. Here the rich and populous London, an incalculable source of strength, was situated. But, although there were general lines of cleavage socially and territorially, "the war was not one of classes or districts but of ideas." Outside England, Charles sought aid in various directions; but with ill-success. In attempting to ally himself with the Irish Catholics he lost more than he gained, because of the opposition which he excited among his English subjects. In Scotland the Earl of Montrose led the wild Highland clans valiantly but vainly in his cause. The Queen was tireless in her intrigues with Continental Powers: for one reason or another none could or would do much; but the Catholic powers were particularly reluctant to furnish assistance unless Charles changed his faith.

The Revenues of the Two Parties. Parliament collected the King's taxes and the rents from the royal estates in the districts which they controlled; also, since the navy took their side, they secured the customs duties. But they derived the bulk of their revenue from an excise, or inland revenue duty, and a direct assessment on lands and goods, apportioned in the various counties each month.