1649-1685. maintain the splendour and grandeur of his kingly office, and CHARLES II. preserve the crown from want, and from being undervalued by his neighbours. The committee reported, that the revenue of Charles I., from 1637 to 1641, averaged 900,000l., 200,000. of which had arisen from illegal expedients; upon which the House raised the yearly revenue of Charles II. to 1,200,000%.1 Although, from their oppressive nature, the landed proprietors had unceasingly sought to destroy tenures in capite and by knight service, yet the crown still possessed the patronage and emoluments of marriages, reliefs, and wardships but the commons availing themselves of the conciliatory disposition of the king, proposed that the crown should receive an annual income of 100,000l. in lieu of the profits of the Court of Wards, &c. Revenues of Partial relief from feudal tenures. revenue con This is the first precedent in which a parliamentary revenue Parliamentary was conferred upon the crown, for surrendering a portion of ferred on the its prerogative; and, at the same time, there are few statutes crown. which secured national independence or abridged the royal prerogative in so extensive a manner, as that of 12 Charles II. c. 24, by which the Court of Wards was abolished, with all wardships and forfeitures for marriage by reason of tenure, all primer seisins, and fines for alienation, aids, escuages, homages, and tenures by chivalry without exception, save the honorary services of grand sergeanty; converting all such tenures into common socage, and abolishing the rights of purveyance and pre-emption. II. c. 24, did not extend to inferior But this statute did not extend to inferior tenures, and Stat. 12 Charles although it relieved the lords of manors from the services which they owed to the crown, confirmed to them the services which tenures. they claimed from those who held by tenure of copyhold2. Neither would these landed proprietors, who composed the Politicians selmajority, in parliament, pay the commutation for their exclusive relief from the feudal services, but voted the produce of one ambition. 1 Com. Journ. Sept. 4, 1660. Pepys' Diary, March 1, 1664. Ralph, 20, 88. * This act is said to have been drawn by L. C. J. Hale (3 Peere Williams, 125); and it provided inter alia, that all tenures to be thereafter created by the king, of an estate of inheritance at common law, should be in free and common socage. But there is a proviso, that the act should not extend to prejudice the customs of the city of London, nor of any other city or town; nor Berwick; nor to discharge any apprentice from his apprenticeship: and it has been held, that it does not affect burgage tenure. (Co. Lit. H. & B. 106 (a.) M. and S. Hist. of Boroughs, 1691. dom actuated but by selfish 1649-1685. CHARLES II. moiety of the excise, thus perpetrating an act of gross injustice, by compelling the poor to pay for the relief of the rich; but this is only an additional illustration of the proposition, that politicians are seldom actuated but by "selfish ambition." Introduction of the excise. Declaration from Origin of the army. The excise had been introduced by parliament, to liquidate the charges of the war against the king; but was regarded as an unjust tax, and only tolerated under the plea of necessity, and upon a tacit understanding that it should terminate with that necessity. Parliament had, however, by this commutation for the feudal tenures, voted one moiety to the king, in perpetuity; and, in order to raise the royal revenue to the amount which it had voted, passed three bills, to improve the receipt on wine licenses, to regulate the post-office, and to grant to the king the second moiety of the excise, for his natural life, in full of the yearly settlement of 1,200,0007.* 4. Disbanding the Army. Charles, in his declaration from Breda', promised to liquidate the arrears of the army under General Monk, and to retain the officers and men in the royal service, upon the same pay and conditions which they then actually enjoyed. The nation could not regard but with distrust the existence of the army, which they were still supporting, by monthly assessments of 70,0007. Statutes were accordingly passed, liquidating all their arrears, and the corps disbanded, but in a manner so conciliatory as not to excite mutiny, or public dissatisfaction". But Charles, in order to have a ready instrument to effecregular standing tuate his objects, retained in his service, under the name of "Guards," General Monk's regiment, called the Coldstream, one other of horse, and another was formed out of troops brought from Dunkirk, which was the origin of our regular standing army3. 3 Stat. 12 Charles II. c. 24. Com. Journ. May 25, Nov. 8, 19, 21, Dec. 15, 21, 1660. 6 Parl. Hist. 146. Although the Excise now produces 18,000,000l. per annum, it only then produced 300,000%. 111 Lords' Journ. 7, 10. * Stat. 12 Charles II. cc. 9, 15, 16, 21. Clarendon, 10, 11. 1 Burnet, 274. 7 Lingard, 352. Ralph, 35. Life of James, 447. 1 Grose's Military Antiquities, 61. 2 Hallam's Const. Hist. 427. 5. Titles to Property. It had been the policy of Cromwell to confiscate the estates of the royalists, and bestow them upon his adherents, in order to create a party that would possess a positive interest in opposing the restoration of the Stuarts. CHARLES II. 1649-1685. Charles, in his declaration from Breda', in alluding to this Declaration from subject, stated" He was willing that all controversies in rela- Breda. tion to grants, sales, and purchases, should be determined in parliament, which could best provide for the just satisfaction of all who were concerned. Parliament, however, made no such provision, and the royalists conceived they were unjustly treated. situation of the properties. At the commencement of the rebellion, many royalists Unfortunate effected sales of their estates, and applied the produce towards royalists, in realleviating the pecuniary necessities of the king, and raising spect of their troops for his defence, and they, in consequence, had been reduced to utter penury; but it was now held they had no right to compensation, because their property had been voluntarily disposed of. &c. The crown lands, and those which belonged to the church, Disputes respectand lay proprietors, had been disposed of in gifts, and by sales. ing crown lands, The original proprietors reclaimed their properties, forcible entries were made, and the possessors ejected, who had no legal claim to regain their possession, because they could not plead a title derived from an usurped authority. The crown, at the united request of both Houses, issued a commission to arbitrate between the revolutionary purchasers and the royalists, and, by proclamation, recommended the latter to exercise lenity and conciliation; but which advice was not generally adopted. 6. The Parliament of 1661. the convention parliament. The royalists, with a view of strengthening their party, cir- Dissolution of culated the doctrine, that the convention parliament, not having been called together by royal writ, was an assembly illegally constituted, and that its proceedings were liable to be 1649-1685. CHARLES II. questioned by the courts of law, unless confirmed by a parliament legally constituted, and the king, not expecting to derive any additional benefit from its continuance, commanded a dissolution'. Impolitic mea ment. The first proofs which the new parliament gave of its imsures of parlia- politic spirit, was by ordering the solemn league and covenant; with the acts for erecting a high court of justice for the trial of Charles Stuart; for subscribing the engagement; for establishing a commonwealth; for renouncing the title of the present king; and for the security of the protector's person; to be burned by the common hangman: and although they passed, in consequence of the royal interposition, the late Act of Indemnity, without new exceptions, it was in direct opposition to their expressed inclinations3. The negative voice, and the command of the rights in the crown. It was affirmed that the negative voice, and the command of the army, were rights inherent in the crown: to devise any army, inherent bodily harm to the king, and to distinguish between his person and his office, were made treason; to call the king a heretic, or a papist, was declared to incapacitate the offender from holding any office in church or state; and the penalties of præmunire were enacted against all who should assert that the parliament of 1641 was not dissolved, or that both Houses or either House, possessed legislative authority, independently of the sovereign*. Severe restrictions on the press. Restoration of the bishops. At the same time, severe restrictions were imposed upon the press, to prevent the publication of books maintaining opinions contrary to the Christian faith, or the doctrine or discipline of the Church of England, or tending to the defamation of church or state, or of the governors thereof, or of any person whomsoever. The bishops were restored to their legislative seats, in the House of Lords, and the treasonable proceedings which had attended their exclusion, were productive of a statute which, after reciting that it had been found, by sad experience, that remonstrances and declarations, and other addresses to the king, or to both or either Houses of Parliament, for alterations of matters established by law, for the redress of pretended 1 Life of Clarendon, 74; vide etiam 6 Parl. Hist. 145, 147. 2 Com. Journ. May 17, 1661. 3 Life of Clarendon, 71. Com. Journ. June 14, 1661. 6 Parl. Hist. 209. 2 Hallam's Const. Hist. 439. Stat. 13 Charles II. cc. 1 and 6. 5 Clarendon, 181. 7 Lingard, 368. 6 Stat. 13 Charles II. c. 2. 1649-1685. Petition for re dress of griev ances. grievances in church or state, had been made use of to serve CHARLES II. the ends of factious and seditious persons, gotten into power, to the violation of the public peace, provided that no petition or address should be presented to the king, or either House of Parliament, by more than ten persons; nor that any one should procure above twenty persons to consent or set their hands to any petition for alteration of matters established by law, in church or state, unless with the previous order of three justices of the county, or the major part of the grand jury7, under the liability of being fined 1007. and imprisoned for three months. 7. Punishment of the Regicides. The political parties still regarded each other with suspicion, reports of treasonable conspiracies were circulated against the nonconformists, and the denounced were arrested, convicted, and executed; and parliament, "eager for prey," directed their attention to those surviving regicides who were confined in prison. The Lord Monson, Sir Henry Mildmay, and Robert Wallop, Execution of the were pinioned upon hurdles, and drawn through the streets regicides. with halters round their necks, to the gallows at Tyburn'; and those who had been excepted from the penalty of death, enjoying titles of honour, were degraded. A bill for the execution of those regicides who had surrendered themselves in consequence of the royal proclamation, was passed by the commons, and carried to the lords, who, after having had it once read, and examined the prisoners at their bar, refrained, by the secret commands of the king, from pursuing any ultimate proceedings. The regicides who had surselves under the rendered them royal proclama tion. ing government. Allusion has been made to that statute which gave indem- Duty of alleginity to all persons obeying a king for the time being, however ance to the exist defective his title: and, as a constitutional principle, established the duty of allegiance to the existing government. The commons, in order to wreak their vengeance, disregarded the inclinations of the king3, by instituting a criminal 7 Stat. 13 Charles II. c. 5. 17 Lingard, 370. 2 Clarendon's Notes in Clar. Pap. iii. App. xlvi. 3 Com. Journ. July 1, 1661; Jan. 27, Feb. 1, 3, 1662. 11 Lords' Journ. 375, 380. 1 Pepys, 243. Vide ante, 154, 155. 5 Com. Journ. July 1, Nov. 22, 1661; Jan. 10, Feb. 19, 1662. |