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verence in the nation . Striving to establish the doctrine of divine right id of royal infallibility , James succeeded in proving that bis own accession is a misfortune , and his wisdom arrant folly . Unchecked by fear or pernal respect , the Puritans withdrew themselves more completely from the iglican Church , and as their opinions became more pronounced , their imbers and importance , increased . James I * was pusillanimous , but he was honest for a prince of that period , is son and successor , Charles I ., was neither pusillanimous nor honest . Of rsonal courage he had a kingly portion , but he was utterly faithless , and 3 princely word could only be valued by the exact reverse of what it proised to indicate . Inheriting from his father an absurd and exaggerated tion about royal prerogatives , lie believed that it was his supreme and Linden duty , at all hazards and at every cost , to transmit to his successor i sovereign power without diminution or flaw . And as his most stubborn ponents were among the Puritans , he came to consider that body as pecu-: ly obnoxious to kingly authority , and accordingly lent a ready ear to their ter enemy , his Papistical consort , Henrietta of France . He was unforlate , too , in his counsellors . Thomas Wentworth , Earl of Stratford , was lan of a stern and uncompromising disposition , whose panacea for political 1 social evils was a standing army . It Was probably through his repre-Ltations that the Star Chamber was directed to the violent persecution of itical offenders . Archbishop Laud was equally imperious , but cared less the royal prerogative than for the establishment of a pompous and cerenial Church . It was probably owing to his influence that the Court of ; h Commission exercised its inquisitorial functions with such unrelenting erity . Lfter breaking faith with his subjects relative to the Petition of Right , arles next endeavoured to levy ship-money throughout the realm , although vas notoriously a tax peculiar to the sea-hoard . It was patent to all men t his object was not to provide a fleet , but to raise and maintain an army , i permanent menace to the liberties of his own people . The deceit was transparent as the illegality of the impost . It was , therefore , firmly sted by Hampden and a large body of patriots . The next step to ruin i the forcible introduction of the Liturgy of the Anglican Church into itland . Here also he encountered a violent opposition and alienated his st loyal subjects . 'he Long Parliament met in November , 1640—a Parliament destined to aess and sanction the most stirring events of English history . Now , for first time , was formed the nucleus of the two great parties which , under erent denominations , have ever since maintained the balance betweenwild piricism and stolid inertness . The Parliament proving refractory , the ig was sufficiently ill-advised , or self-willed , to attempt to arrest five of its nbers by armed soldiers under his own immediate command . An immense ation pervaded London , and Charles was constrained to consult his peral safety by a hasty flight from his capital . In August , 1642 , the Civil j i r fairly commenced , and the soil of England was stained with the blood | < ier most gallant sons slain by their own kinsmen . At first the Royalists ' » e generally successful ; but after a time the terrible earnestness of Crom- j } t infused a rigid discipline into his followers , against which the tumultuous ; j laught of the Cavaliers was as the spray dashing upon a rock . The history j ' his picturesque but mournful period is too well known to need repetition , j ^ irles perished on the scaffold , dying like a martyr after living more like a ' ¦ t ured usurper , than a lawful prince . } J [ is death placed the supreme power at the disposal of the victorious and < . tical army . The Scots and tje Irish murmured against this military des- < sm . Scotland and Ireland were subjugated as completely as England < he Normans . The Lord General became Lord Protector . But for the y he would have been king , and have founded a new dynasty . As it was , i < uled with equity and firmness at home , and made the name of England 1 ected and dreaded abroad . He was the protector of the Protestants ] , 11 lands . No man dared to raise a hand or wag a tongue against them , i le Cromwell lived . Even the Pope enjoined tolerance and Christian < earance , for Cromwell had threatened that English guns should be heard ( be Castle of St . Angelo . And Cromwell was a hero , not a mere king— < word never returned unfulfilled . ^ hen Cromwell was gathered to his fathers , his son Richard for a brief ) e assumed the guidance of affairs . But he lacked individuality and cha- 1 2 r , and at such a crisis none but a genuine man can hold his own . He t ignominiously deposed , and a swarm of puny dwarfs strove to bend the t of Cromwell : the rebound dashed them to the ground . The nation « prepared to submit to an usurper , but not to a series of experimental- o George Monk and the army of Scotland gave utterance to the voice of n nation . A free Parliament was elected , and Charles II . ascended the h ne of his ancestors . _ ^ iie lessons of adversity , it was thought , would teach him to reign with h om and dignity . The thought was not sagacious , the expectation was landed . One who has suffered adversity for only a brief space may learn r < h . that is good and expedient for him to know . But he who lias been a acquainted with exile and poverty loses his self-respect , becomes callous } le opinion of his fellow-men , is rendered cynical by disappointments of n y kind , and recklessly seizes on every passing opportunity for immediate d ification . It was thus with Charles ll . u lolised at the commencement of his reign as a being of a superior order , « before its conclusion he was despised and execrated . This nation was J leased at the injustice exercised towards the Nonconformists : it was tl ked by the frightful profligacy of the Court . The King ' s leaning to the a lan Catholic religion was also an early object of suspicion , which his w iage with Catherine of Hraganza did not tend to dissipate . The sur- v \ er of Dunkirk , again , deeply wounded the national vanity ; and afforded ci unfavourable contrast to the incorruptible rule of the Protector . Then C Dutch fleet swept up the Thames with impunity . Ships of war were t led at Chatham . The report of hostile guns echoed through the streets t ) iOndon . Scarcely had this danger been averted by a disgraceful treaty , o a fearful pestilence broke out , which , in six months , curried off u tl ired thousand persons . The plague wub followed by a fire , which con- vv ed all London between the Temple and the Tower , the Thames and the n ieus of Smithneld . t a . e r .. f J - 1 I t- i . i , I | , ' i 1 ! I ! i ! op
! Weary of the restraints of constitutional government , and chafing under the patriotic spirit of the country party , Charles now sold himself and his kingdom to Louis XIV . By the treaty of Dover , he pledged himself to » public profession of the Roman Catholic faith , and to join his arms with those of the French monarch , in supporting his designs on the Spanish Crown , and against the liberties of the United Provinces . But who knows not the sad story of this ignominious reign ? For a quarter of a century England was virtually effaced from the political map of Europe . At home ; public affairs were for some time the sport of the infamous Cabal . On their downfal there was little reason for congratulation . The Popish plot , or fable , of Titus Oates poured forth much innocent blood . It was then the pure spirit of the noble Howard , Viscount Stafford , was emancipated on the scaffold * from the pollutions of such a Court . Somewhat later , the Rye House Plot furnished pretext for the judicial murder of men , whose lives were a rebuke to the King and his wretched associates . Then perished Russell and Sidney —then fell Essex by his own hand . And yet , one bright spot illumines that gloomy period . The Habeas Corpus Act received the royal assent on the 26 th of May , 1679 , and the personal liberty of the subject was placed beyond the reach of a tyrant ' s caprice . Charles II . died in 1685 . Nothing but the terrible memories of the civil wars maintained him so long upon a throne he prostituted and disgraced . During the twenty-five years of his misrule , he had succeeded in rendering the name of Englishman a byeword and a reproach . As in Imperial Rome , so now , everything was venal except a good reputation , and that only wasnot offered for sale , because no one could have been found to bid for it . Disgusted with Presbyterian harshness in bis youth , Charles turned with complacency to the Roman Catholic religion , which seemed so tolerant of the frailties of the rich and powerful . At least , such must have been hia impression during his forced sojourn on the Continent , particularly at Bruges , where superstition and profligacy have ever gone hand in band . 1 here is no doubt he died in the profession of that faith ; and his last moments were soothed by the belief that his sins would be remitted , for he had been judged worthy to partake of the body of his Redeemer and his God . At the accession of James II ., the condition of the country was such as to demand the utmost tact and forbearance , combined with firmness in emergencies . But James was only obstinate , overbearing , and implacable . In the course of his brief , but disastrous reign , he contrived to disgust and alienate all parties and to render his warmest friends distrustful , if not indifferent . The British Government was just then in a transition state . It was neither an absolute despotism like that of France , nor a limited monarchy according to our present acceptation of the term . A constant and unceasing struggle was going on between the sovereign and the legislature : the former striving to raise himself above all law , the latter to make the law paramount and without appeal . The imperious character and despotic tendencies of the new monarch were well known to the new Parliament , who therefore sparingly doled out the supplies necessary for the maintenance of Ins regal splendour . Could they have relied on his sincerity they would cheerfully have tendered the most ample grants to enable him to become the umpire of Europe . And James was really ambitious to undertake that high missionbut he was still more ambitious to be the master of his own subjects . He was quite ready to employ the Parliamentary supplies in checking the overgrown power of France—but he was equally prompt to accept a subsidy from Louis for the purpose of corrupting that Parliament , and of enslaving his own people . The result of this double policy might have been easily predicated . He onlysucceeded in becoming an object of contempt and suspicion to all Europe . . . . But the real and most active mainspring of Ins conduct was a proselytising devotion to the Komish Church . To her he was prepared to sacrifice las kingdom , his family , and himself . With an indiscretion allied to infatuation he commenced his reign by a solemn celebration of the mass on faster feunuay , in Westminster Abbey . On all occasions he openly avowed Ins abhorrence of the Anglican heresy . His treatment of the Nonconformistsland Scotch Covenanters was not only severe , but sanguinary . Charles , indeed , Had chastised them with whips , but James scourged them with scorpions . A general feeling of disaffection was thus created throug hout the kingdom , and in the West a formidable insurrection broke out in favour of the Duke of Monmouth , a putative son of Charles II . This enterprise , however , failed through the misconduct of the leaders , and the misguided adventurer paid the penalty of unsuccessful treason . The rout of ScdKemoor , the execution of Monmouth and Argyle , the butcheries of Kirke ' s " Lambs , and ^ the bloodv assizes of the monster Jeffreys , struck such a terror into the hearts of men that for a time James was virtually absolute . As a tyrant he might have been content to hold in his hand the lives and properties of hia subjects . As a bigot he must needs control their consciences also . On this rock 10 Awarc that a strenuous opposition vvould be offered to his fixed design of restoring the Roman Catholic Church , James gradually formed a standing army such us no King of En-land had ever before possessed in time of peace . Thus supported , he endeavoured to awe the Law Court and High Parliament into abject submission , and the judges who resisted him were summarily dismissed . Abusing his dispensing power , be introduced his fellow-re igionist * into spiritual , as well as into civil and military offices . Important benefice * were conferred on Papists . The Papal Nuncio was consecrjite « l in tot . James ' s Palace , nnd the sovereign of Protestant England kneeled *» «* ° »™ the blessing of a Catholic prelate . Not even the »™™ **™ ASlSSS and Cambridge were respected . After a stout resistance , Mnguak . » c ^ oucge was convcrteS into a PopUh seminary . Not long ^™ £ j ?^ * $ 2 £ l were committed to the Tower and put upon their trial bcfoi c , an acornPaeni court , because they refused to lend their ad to the « ibvoiwon o « J £° g Church . Hitherto ^ the Protestant ^ m . ^^^ X in danger the doctrine of non-reuntance , but now tb rtheir c previous they began to entertain grave doubts * . t » tl e so urn ^{ . ^ inions . No doubt they were co »; ' ^ "SJJ ^ rllkmc , I b y the peril the Protestant re , gH , n , but lh ;« ' ^ K ^ m / elMnioter failed to comwhich menaced their livings . If oven t io i- ¦» 1 im : umbei » t 8 expect ? mttnd respect , what sort ot treatment mignt not
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December 8 , 1855 . ] THE LEADER . H 8 I —^ . ^^^^—^^^^»^—^»^ ' " ^^ ^ " * '' ^^^^^^^^""^^ "j ^^ r ^^^^^^^^^^ ^ M ^^ a ^^^^ M ^^ M ^^ jMM ^^^ ajBaaa ^^^^^^^^^^ M ^^ j ^^^^^^^^^^ M ^^ M ^^ Ma ^^^^^ B ^ Mii ^ M ^^ Ma ^^ MMM ^^^^^^ B ^^ MMM ^ WiMBW ^^ MB ^^^^ WHBf ^ WWMMMB ^^^^^^^^ B ^^ B ^ B ^^ MMfcMMMMMMM ^ M ^ MMMM ^^^^^^ B ^ M ^^^^^ MBM ^ M ^^ i ^ WM ^^^ B ^^ M
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 8, 1855, page 1181, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2118/page/17/
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