THE COMMONWEALTH.

1649-1660.

Oliver Cromwell, b. 1599, d. 1658. = Elizabeth Bourchier.

Richard. Henry. Bridget Ireton. Eliza-Mr. Clay- Mary=Lord Frances=Mr.

=

=Fleet-
wood.

beth.

pole.

Fauconberg.

Rich

HE death of the King was followed immediately by the declara

Ttion of the Commonwealth. In February both Kingship and

Establishment

of the Republi

can Government.

the House of Lords were abolished, and the House of Commons was declared the supreme power of the nation, the executive power being placed in a Council of State of forty-one members, who were to hold their office for a year. Of these, three-fourths were members of the House of Commons. Although the House of Lords was abolished, some of the Peers still clung to the popular party. There were five among the number of the Council of State, and two at least got themselves elected members of the House of Commons. The administration went on without much apparent change. The Houses of Parliament had indeed sc long exercised the supreme power that the formal assumption of it by one of them made but little difference. A new Great Seal was made, and six of the judges resigned, but the rest consented to keep their places on a pledge that the fundamental laws of England should be unaltered; and in other respects the administration continued as before. In some degree, to lessen the glaring absurdity of calling the few members who were left in Parliament the national representation,

1649]

THE LEVELLERS

689

their numbers were increased. All excluded members, except those who had been the victims of Pride's Purge, were readmitted, a certain number of vacancies filled up, and by these means the number of the House was raised to about 150. The punishment of some of the leaders of the second civil war completed the work of the establishment of the Government. The Lords Hamilton, Holland, Norwich, Capel, Goring, and Sir John Owen, were tried and found guilty, and although they had been admitted to quarter upon the field of battle, it was held that this did not extend to their civil guilt. The two last were alone spared.

Having set themselves firmly in the seat of power, the new rulers of England had to turn their thoughts towards the com- Cromwell conpletion of their work in the other two kingdoms. The tinues Irish war. Royalist party being entirely suppressed in England, an opportunity was at length afforded of prosecuting with vigour the war against the Irish rebels, which domestic difficulties and the constant intrigues of the King had hitherto enfeebled. It was determined that Cromwell, whom all now recognized as the ablest soldier of the time, should be intrusted with the management of this war, and he took upon him, not without some hesitation, the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, and the duty of modelling or organizing the army for that purpose. He was met at the threshold with very considerable difficulties.

Levellers.

The Levelling tendencies already mentioned had been suppressed for a time at a rendezvous held at Ware by the summary His difficulties execution of Arnold, one of the ringleaders, but they with the had not ceased to spread. They had been kept in abeyance by the active work afforded to the troops; but now that the war was over, they again showed themselves in a more alarming form. Originally the fruit of mistaken religious views, they now acquired a more practical shape. Sometimes they were exhibited in a way that was harmless enough, as when certain men proceeded to dig and plant the waste lands in Surrey, declaring their expectation that England would shortly accept their view of community of goods. But in the army the effect was more dangerous. John Lilburne, always an open-mouthed upholder of individual liberty, became the leader of the movement. He, and those who thought with him, had expected as the fruit of their work some sort of millennium, and were disappointed when it seemed that a change of masters was all that they had gained. He published two famous pamphlets, one entitled "England's New Chains Discovered," and the other "The Hunting of the Foxes from

Triploe Heath to Whitehall by five Small Beagles," the foxes being the army grandees, the five small beagles certain troopers who had been punished for insubordination. Filled with these views, the troops refused to serve against Ireland. The regiments selected had been chosen perfectly fairly, but the idea got abroad that those were to be sent upon the service who were most opposed to the new order of things. The first actual mutiny, however, broke out in Colonel Whalley's regiment, which was not one of the Irish regiments. When ordered to quit London they refused, and at "The Bull," in Bishopsgate, an open mutiny showed itself, which was rapidly suppressed by Fairfax and Cromwell in person, and one of the ringleaders, Lockyer, was shot in St. Paul's Churchyard. He was a man of good character and religious life, and his death excited the strongest sympathy. His funeral was made a public demonstration : "a hundred went before the corpse, five or six in file, the corpse was then brought, with six trumpets sounding a soldier's knell, then the trooper's horse came, clad in mourning and led by a footman; the corpse was adorned with bundles of rosemary, one half stained in blood, and the sword of the deceased along with them; some thousands followed in rank and file, all had sea-green and black ribbon tied on their hats and to their breasts; the women brought up the rear." Immediately after this demonstration, the Levellers produced their programme in a petition against the new Constitution, which was known as the Agreement of the People. The petition suggested sweeping measures, such as annual Parliaments, the abolition of tithes and of the Court of Chancery, and the continued close adherence to the Self-denying Ordinance. At a review in Hyde Park many sea-green badges were seen, and though the influence of Cromwell suppressed disorder, the men's temper was not good; and news reached London that both in Oxfordshire and in Salisbury open mutiny had begun. In Oxfordshire, Captain Thompson broke from his quarters with about 200 followers, while Cornet Thompson, his brother, marched from Salisbury with the intention of joining him, or of getting to Gloucestershire, where there were other disaffected troops. Fairfax and Cromwell started rapidly in pursuit, and after an extraordinary march of nearly fifty miles, came upon the mutineers at Burford, broke in upon them when they were asleep, and took all the chief of them prisoners. Those who were selected for punishment were placed upon the leads of Burford Church, overlooking the place of execution. Thompson and two corporals were shot. This was considered vengeance enough;

They are suppressed.

1649]

MOVEMENTS OF CHARLES II.

691

the rest were pardoned. Captain Thompson in the meanwhile had been killed in arms in Northamptonshire.

It was un

This was in May. On the 10th of July, Cromwell, as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, set out with much pomp for Bristol. certain what enemies he would there ineet; for the death of the King, accepted in England, had had the effect of Charles II.'s re-establishing the Royalist party both in Scotland and

Uncertainty of

movements.

in Ireland, and the young King Charles II., who had taken refuge with his relative, the Prince of Orange, in Holland, pressed by both countries, was uncertain as yet to which he would betake himself. The Scotch universally recognised the King as an integral part of the Government, and in that country all parties were almost equally shocked with the turn affairs had taken in England. The professed Royalists were in exile with the young King, but the Presbyterian Estates and Church also at once determined to send Commissioners, offering to acknowledge him if he would but accept the Covenant. Proposals of He hesitated on two grounds; on the one hand, Ormond, the Scotch, who had returned as his Lieutenant to Ireland, had gone far towards harmonizing all parties in opposition to the Parliament, and urged his presence there; on the other, Montrose and the Royalists were eager to try their fortunes again in Scotland, and Charles preferred to await the issue of their enterprise before purchasing the general national assistance at the price of acknowledging his father's faults and of accepting the Covenant, which he heartily disliked. The murder of Dr. Dorislaus, who had assisted at the late King's trial, and was put to death by some of Montrose's Royalist friends, compelled him to withdraw from the Hague. He sent an unsatisfactory answer to the Scotch, and withdrew to St. Germains, having resolved to try his fortune in Ireland.

and of the Irish.

Things there meanwhile promised well for him. Michael Jones had been with difficulty making head against the various rebel armies. He had defeated Preston at Dungan Hill, while Lord Inchiquin had beaten Taafe with the Munster troops at Clontarf. Disputes had as usual run high among the Irish. The Papal Nuncio had fallen out with the Council of Kilkenny, and had first fled to his friend Owen Roe in Ulster, and subsequently had withdrawn from the Island. But the King's death had for a moment healed all differences. Lord Inchiquin had himself changed sides. Even the Scotch Presbyterians, true to the letter of their Covenant, had declared against Parliament, and with the exception of Owen O'Neil, who was attempting negotiations with Monk in Ulster, the

whole country seemed combined under Ormond; while that part of the fleet which had revolted rode triumphantly on the coast under the command of Prince Rupert. Dublin and Londonderry were the only strongholds which still held out for Parliament. Even the quarrel with O'Neil was before long healed. The Parliament refused to acknowledge any negotiations with the instigator of the Irish massacre, his own soldiers refused to obey Monk's orders, and O'Neil's Irish, after his death, which occurred shortly after these events, joined the great mass of Royalists. It was therefore to Ireland that Prince Charles first intended to go.

Cromwell goes to Ireland.

His campaign there.

The difficulty of organizing his army kept Cromwell some time at Milford. His first intention was to land in Munster, but a great success won by Jones induced him to change his plan. Ormond bringing his army to Dublin, in the hope of triumphantly closing the war, was completely defeated, and his army destroyed by Jones at Rathmines (Aug. 2). An opening was thus afforded to Cromwell in the capital, whither, in company with Ireton, his son-in-law, as third in command (Jones ranking as second), he betook himself on the 15th of August. The arrival of Cromwell with his troops entirely changed the aspect of affairs. The army, which had become lax, was brought under the most rigorous discipline. All plundering and injury to the inhabitants was forbidden under pain of death, and with the determination to make a final end of the disturbances in the Island, Cromwell set sternly to work. From Dublin he advanced northwards towards Drogheda, waited some days in hopes of bringing on a pitched battle, then breached the walls and stormed the town. Thither the best of the English troops in the island had been sent under the command of Sir Arthur Ashton, an officer of known courage, who had declared his ability to hold the town. The defence of the breaches, as was to be expected, was obstinate, but ultimately (Sept. 11) the Parliamentary troops, led by Cromwell in person, forced them, and bursting into the town, refused quarter, putting to death all those who were found in arms. Some isolated strong points were surrendered at discretion, the officers and priests alone were killed, the common men taken prisoners and sent to the Barbadoes. Much has been said of the cruelty of this storm, but there seems no proof that any were put to death except the garrison, who were between 3000 or 4000 in number; and the hope which Cromwell himself expressed in the words "The enemy upon this were filled with much terror, and truly I believe this bitterness will save much effusion of blood, through the goodness of God "--was fully realized.