540 



CROMWELL. 



have the force of laws if not ratified by him within 

 twenty days ; and, on the other iuuul, he had power 

 to enact Li\\s, with Uie consent of liis council. which 

 should be binding in the intervals ut' the Melons of 

 parliament. In case of liis death, the council were 

 immediately to choose a new protector ; but no pro- 

 tector after him was to command the army. Crom- 

 well, having concluded peace with IWiugal, turned 

 the resources of the state to the enlargement of its 

 na\ y and commerce. France and Spain courted the 

 friend-hip of the fortunate protector, who at length 

 united with cardinal Maiarin, in order to increase the 

 <-olonial power of England. To make a thorough re- 

 duct ion of Scotland, he cave orders to general Monk 

 to plunder every place that made resistance, and put 

 the garrison to the sword orders which were so 

 rigorously executed by Monk, Uiat terror insured the 

 most implicit submission. The nobles feared, the 

 clergy hated the protector ; while the people, whom 

 he treated with equity and kindness, loved him, be- 

 cause they enjoyed much more liberty under liim than 

 before. The protector treated Ireland with great 

 severity. His act of pardon was, in reality, a des- 

 perate remedy for a desperate evil. The surviving 

 inhabitants of an island wasted by fire, sword, and 

 jM-stilence, were compelled to remove, on penalty of 

 d.-ai h, to a barren tract of the province of Connaught, 

 which was divided among them ; the rest of the 

 island became the property of the conquerors. Such 

 was the bitter liatred occasioned by the unceasing 

 quarrels of the Protestants and Catholics. Here, 

 however, as in Scotland, the protector established an 

 equitable form of government, which, in the course 

 of a few generations, would have very much im- 

 proved the state of the island. But, in England, the 

 situation of the protector was far from being secure. 

 A member of parliament loudly declared, tliat he 

 could not brook, after the overtlirow of one tyrant, 

 to see the liberties of the nation shackled by another, 

 whose prerogative had no measure but the length of 

 liis sword ; and Cromwell met with so much opposi- 

 tion, that, after the first five months, he dissolved the 

 parliament. 



On the whole, his political administration was mas- 

 terly, and adapted to the circumstances of liis situa- 

 tion . He established large magazines of provisions ; 

 the pay of the soldiers was regularly delivered to them 

 a month in advance ; yet the public revenues were 

 strictly and economically managed, without any ad- 

 ditional imposts. He appointee! for judges the most 

 upright and distinguished men. Among these was 

 the famous Sir Matthew Hale. He never interfered 

 with the proceedings of the courts of justice. In re- 

 ligion, he acted on the principle of toleration. Every 

 man had liberty of conscience. In other things, too, 

 Cromwell, as his own correct judgment prompted 

 would have governed with mildness and justice, pro 

 moted the arts and sciences, and healed the wounds 

 of the nation ; but he was obliged to maintain his 

 power, as he had acquired it, against his better will 

 by a severity often amounting to tyranny. Equally 

 afraid of the royalists and the levellers, he could noi 

 rely upon the officers of the army ; he did not plac< 

 confidence even in the soldiers, and would have taken 

 a regiment of Swiss for his body-guard, had he no 

 been fearful of making himself unpopular, and be- 

 traying his suspicions, t>y so doing. With the hel] 

 of the fanatics, he kept the royalists in check ; an 

 the latter served as a counterpoise to the former 

 For this reason he rejected/as much from policy a 

 from principle, the proposition, which was repeatedl 

 made in the council of war to massacre all the royalists 

 They were obliged, however, to give up a tenth part 

 of their property, were always looked upon as ene 

 mies, and were denied the common privileges of 



ourt of justice. In order to collect the fines impos- 

 H! on Uie royalists, to prosecute those whom he sus- 

 ected, perliaps also to disunite Uie nrmy, the pro- 

 ector divided England into twelve military jurisdic- 

 lons, and placed over each a major-general with ab- 

 olute power, from whose decisions there was no 

 ppeal, except to the protector himself; but he 

 [icedily broke up this odious government of pachas. 

 On Uie other hand, he strengthened the British 

 lavy. The famous admiral Blake, and other naval 

 eroes, fought several well contested batUes with the 

 )utch fleets, under De Ruyter, Tromp, and others, 

 n the peace with Holland (April 16, 1654), Kng- 

 and maintained the honour of her flag, find the navi- 

 gation act gave a new impulse to the colonial trade. 

 .he skilful and fortunate conduct of Uie war with 

 pain, from 1655 to 1658, in which Jamaica and 

 )unkirk were taken, made the new parliament, 

 rom which Cromwell had carefully excluded all re- 

 ublicans, so obsequious, that they at last offered him 

 lie title of king. Some individuals, among whom 

 was Lambert, Uie second in command of the army, 

 who was in hopes of being protector after Cromwell, 

 nd the majority of the officers, opposed the mea- 

 ure so resolutely, that Cromwell, fearing the fate 

 if Cffisar, declined the title. His brother-in-law, 

 )esborough, and his son-in-law, Fleetwood, also dis- 

 uaded him from accepting it. For Uiis, the parlia- 

 ment, by an act entitled Humble Petition and Advice, 

 gave him the title of highness, and Uie right of ap- 

 )ointing his successor ; and he was a second time 

 solemnly invested by the speaker with the ensigns of 

 lis office a velvet mantle of purple colour, symboli- 

 cal of justice and mercy, the Bible, the staff, and the 

 sword. Cromwell received from all quarters marks 

 f tiie highest respect ; yet the incense of admiration 

 did not intoxicate his understanding : he saw things 

 in their true light, with a calm, clear, and care- 

 *ul eye. Sliakspeare himself has portrayed nositua- 

 ion more dramatic than that of Cromwell ; but, 

 unlike the stupified and despairing Macbeth, the 

 >rotector rose in spirit as he rose in fortune. He 

 enounced the principles with which he had set out, 

 as untenable. Gladly would he have repaired the 

 jast mischief ; bnt the men whom he had hitherto 

 ised as instruments were opposed to him, and the 

 jlood of the king was inexpiable. Charles Stuart 

 son of the late king, offered to allow him to make 

 lis own terms, if he would place him on the throne ; 

 and Cromwell's wife urged him to accept the propo- 

 sal : but he answered, " if Charles Stuart can forgive 

 me all that I have done against him and his family, 

 tie does not deserve to wear Uie crown of England.' 

 Cromwell, the lord of the three kingdoms, the 

 mightiest potentate in Europe, and worthier than 

 any other of his high station, had he risen by up- 

 right means, was unhappy in the last years of his 

 lire. In his heart, he wished to govern on mild and 

 constitutional principles ; but self-preservation com- 

 pelled him to be severe and suspicious. A usurper 

 must be a despot. He at last governed without a 

 parliament, since none was pliant enough for him ; 

 and the bigots, who once extolled him, now called 

 him a shameful tyrant. Their conspiracies against 

 his life kept him in continual alarm. He never went 

 out without a guard ; no one knew what route he 

 would take ; he usually turned back after starting, 

 and took another direction ; he wore a shirt of mail 

 under his dress, and seldom slept two nights succes- 

 sively hi the same room. According to Ludlow's 

 account, he expressed, on his death-bed, some fears 

 that his memory would be insulted, and his remains 

 trampled upon. He asked his preacher, whether it 

 was true that the elect could never finally fall ; 

 and, when assured that it was so, Cromwell rejoined. 



