The Rump

He lived on in retirement till his death at a good old age in 1712. 13. The soldiers had again shown their power, but they knew not how to govern; and, in their zeal for republicanism, they fell back upon the scanty remnant of the Restored, 1659. Long Parliament, whose deposition in 1653 had always been looked upon by the Commonwealth's men as the overthrow of liberty. Even before Richard's retirement, about forty members of the Rump again met together at the invitation of the army. The pedantic little oligarchy at once assumed all the dignity and importance of a regular Parliament, declaring all the acts of the Protectorate null and void, and loftily commanding the army to obey the orders of lawful authority. Disgusted alike at martial law and sham republicanism, the people rose in revolt, hoping to bring back the old king and constitution. But the risings were nipped in the bud save in Cheshire, where Sır George Booth of Dunham Massey, a Presbyterian of high rank and an excluded member of the Long Revolt, 1659. Parliament, gathered the royalist gentry around him, and seized upon Chester itself. Lambert soon marched against him, and on 19th Aug. scattered his untried followers at Winnington Bridge, over the Weaver near Northwich. The victorious army marched back to London and turned out the Rump in October.

The Royalist

The Failure of the Army Rule,

1659.

14. Again the army sought to govern themselves, but neither the ambitious Lambert, who had expelled the Rump, nor the weak and irresolute Fleetwood, the nominal General, had the strength to play the part of another Oliver. The council of officers was given up to fierce wrangles, while the people, growing less afraid as they saw that the army without Cromwell was but a rope of sand, began to refuse to pay taxes. To prevent mere anarchy setting in, the officers were forced, on 26th Dec., to allow the Rump again to resume power.

Monck declares

15. While the army leaders at London were paralysed by indecision, the general of the force that kept Scotland in submission made up his mind to take for a Free Parlia- decided action. This was George Monck, a ment, 1660. silent, hard-headed, far-seeing soldier, who was neither politician nor fanatic, and had of old served with the king's forces in Ireland, but, being taken prisoner at Nantwich in 1644, had entered into the service of the Parliament, and had won Cromwell's esteem by his high

military qualities. He now resolved to march upon London with his troops, and set up a regular government. On 2nd Jan. 1660, he crossed the Tweed into England. Lambert, the strongest of the army leaders, sought to oppose his progress, but his soldiers abandoned him or made terms with the invaders. Monck received a cordial welcome on his southward march, and at York was joined by Lord Fairfax. He reached London early in February. On his arrival the Presbyterian City refused to pay taxes to the Rump of sectaries, on the ground that as their members had been excluded from the House, there should be no taxation without representation. Amidst the wildest scenes of popular delight, Monck made common cause with the City. "I saw," wrote Pepys, the government clerk, "many people give his soldiers drink and money, and all along the streets cried, 'God bless them.' At night the common joy was everywhere to be seen. At Strand Bridge I could at one time tell thirty-one bonfires. The butchers at the May Pole in the Strand rang a peal with their knives when they were going to sacrifice their rump. At Ludgate Hill there was one turning of the spit that had a rump on it, and another basting of it. Indeed it was past imagination both the greatness and the suddenness of it." On 16th Feb., Monck formally declared for a free and full Parliament to settle the future destiny of the nation. He now forced the Rump to receive back the members excluded in 1648. This gave a majority to the moderate party, who at once voted a dissolution and ordered new elections to be held. One of the last acts of the Long Parliament was to appoint Monck general-in-chief of the army.

16. The King of Scots and his little court of exiles watched with joy the restoration of popular sovereignty in England, knowing well that it would bring The Declaration about the restoration of the king. To make of Breda, 1660. this easier, Charles issued, on 4th April, the Declaration of Breda.

By this he promised: 1. A general pardon to all, except such persons as shall be hereafter excepted by Parliament. 2. That all questions as to the lawfulness of the possession of the confiscated estates of royalists by new owners be determined by Parliament. 3. That he would consent to any Act of Parliament for the full satisfaction of the arrears of pay to Monck's soldiers, and receive them into his service on as good terms as they then enjoyed. 4. That "we do declare a liberty to tender consciences, and that no man shall be disquieted for

differences of opinion in matters of religion which do not disturb the peace of the realm," and that he was willing to accept any Act of Parliament passed for that object.

The Convention
Parliament and

the Restoration,

1660.

17. On 25th April the new Parliament met, the Commons from England only, and chosen after the old fashion, and the Lords temporal, according to the old constitution, but without the bishops, who had been lawfully excluded by Act of Parliament. As the Parliament was not summoned by royal writs, after the lawful fashion, it was called the Convention. Both Houses eagerly welcomed the Declaration of Breda, which, by its full acknowledgment of the dependence of the Crown on Parliament, had shown that the son was wiser than his father had been. It voted that "according to the ancient and fundamental laws of this kingdom, the government is, and ought to be, by Kings, Lords, and Commons," and invited Charles to come over and assume his birthright. Thus was the Restoration effected amidst universal goodwill. It had been made necessary and inevitable as the only alternative to military license. was, however, no mere reaction towards the bad old days. of personal government. Its earliest stage had been the restoration of Parliament and popular rule. The first use that Parliament made of its freedom was to bring back the Monarchy and the other parts of the ancient Constitution. The Restoration was not therefore the bringing back of the Monarchy alone. The wholesome laws of the Long Parliament, passed lawfully before the Civil War had begun the baleful troubles that culminated in the rule of military adventurers and fanatics, still remained the law of the land. The king returned to restore the traditional freedom of his country; and the one great break in the continuity of modern English history had been ended by the bringing back of the old Constitution.

It

CHAPTER V.

Charles II., and the Restoration, 1660-1685.

1. On his thirtieth birthday, 29th May 1660, Charles II. entered London. "He came," wrote John Evelyn in his The Restora- Diary, "with a triumph of 20,000 horse and tion, 1660. foot, brandishing their swords and shouting with inexpressible joy; the ways strewed with flowers, the bells ringing, the streets hung with tapestry, fountains running with wine; the mayor, aldermen, and companies in their liveries, gold chains, and banners; lords clad in cloth of silver, gold and velvet; the windows and balconies well set with ladies; trumpets, music, and myriads of people flocking, even so far as from Rochester." "I stood in the Strand," continued Evelyn, "and blessed God. And all this done without a drop of blood, and by that very army which rebelled against him. It was the Lord's doing. Such a restoration hath never been since the return of the Jews from Babylon, nor so joyful a day and so bright ever seen by this nation." But for the sullen discontent of the Puritan officers, and the despair of the sectaries, the new king was welcomed by all.

It was no easy matter to restore the old constitution or satisfy both the old Parliament's men, who had brought back the king, and the old Cavaliers, who now came home with him from banishment. Charles had been put on the throne by a combination between the Presbyterians and the old royalists, but the Presbyterians had taken the lead in bringing about his return. As the men in power they expected to be rewarded. But the ruined royalists called for vengeance on all rebels, and loudly demanded their lost estates. The Anglican bishops and clergy wanted the Presbyterians and sectaries alike to be turned out of their livings, and the property of the Church given back to its old owners. The army cried out for its arrears of pay. The king himself needed money badly.

2. The Convention was now turned into a Parliament. There were many Presbyterians in it who leant The work of the towards moderation, and the king was unConvention, willing to make enemies, and anxious to show his good faith by carrying out strictly the Declaration of Breda. The result was that the political conditions of the Declaration were very soon made into law.

1660.