BRITAIN. 



589 



Scotch 

 to re- 



te the 

 on his 



cer- 



conJi- 



chhe 

 es to 

 at. 



After Charles's flight, Oxford speedily sun 

 cd to Fairf ix ; and the civil war was ended at the dis- 

 tanee of !- y. aix h-inii ihc king's stan- 



dard was hrst en cted at Nottingham. 



The surrender of Charles's person to the Scottish 

 army, was followed by negotiation! between the 

 Scotch and English, tor ;!ic payment of arrears due 

 to the farmer, which were settbd, after manydcdiic- 

 tions, at 400,001V., and for the delivery of the king 

 into the hamls of the English. These two agreements 

 have been perpetually identified by historians, but 

 they wi re, in fact, distinct. The amount of the ar- 

 rears was adjusted in August ; the disposal of the roy- 

 al person v as unsettled in. November. In that month, 

 the Scottish pniliair.cr.t, indignant at a vote passed 

 in September, (a month after the settlement of the 

 arrears,) by til!- English parliament claiming the sole 



:i c>f Charles's person, resolved to mamtfiin the 

 fre< di^ni ol their king, and his right to the English 

 throne ; but they retracted this vote, upon just con- 

 sideration, that it was abandoning their solemn league 

 and covenant, taken in concert with the English 

 Presbyterians, unless they obtained his consent to 

 their joint demands. They offered to reinstate him 

 on his throne, r.nd to obtain for hi:n a just settlement 

 with his English subjects, provided he would take 

 the covenant ; and commissioner* were appointed 

 from the estates in Scotland, to signify to his majes- 

 ty, that on no other terms could he expect a recep- 

 tion in Scotland, or a.isutar.ce from the Scottish peo- 

 ple. The Duke of Hamilton, one of his chief friends 

 in Scotland, concurred with his ministers in repre- 

 senting, that this alone would save him ; that if he 

 conceded the Presbyterian church to the two king- 

 doms, the demands respecting the militia would be 

 relaxed, that ail Scotland would declare in his favour, 

 and few in England would venture to oppose grant- 

 ing him a limited power, while the Presbyterians con- 

 tinued still numerous and powerful. The Jting was 

 inflexible to their propositions. On the eve of his 

 departure, the commissioners earnestly renewed their 

 oflers to conduct him to Berwick, and procure more 

 equitable terms from the English parliament, if he 

 would accede to the covenant ; and a large bribe was 

 offered to Montreville, * to obtain even a bare pro- 

 mise of his compliance with their religious demands. 

 Charles would grant no promise of the Presbyterian 

 church but for three years, and in giving this con- 



i. justified it to his own conscience before two 

 of his bishops, by his firm resolution to recover and 

 maintain Episcopacy. Lrt us respect the king's 

 conscience, but let some allowance also be made for 

 the coiucieiice and common sense of those who had 

 him in their power. He had thrown himself, indeed, 

 on their generosity, but not without designs of de- 

 taching them, by national prejudices, from their com- 



.use with the English, at the ha/ard of involv- 

 ing them in a bloody war. It had been urged, in- 

 etul circumstance against the Scotch, 

 that :!ie. English parliament still retained their arrears, 

 as a punishment in reserve had they broken terms 

 with them. If the case had so stood, that their re- 



fusal to surrender Charles would have been punished Britain, 

 only by defrauding them of the money, the charge ^"""" v ' '' 

 might have, been well alleged, that they sold Charles ,J* 

 for prompt payment. But the Scotch could justly 

 !, that the loss of the arrears was a trifle, in compa- 

 rison with v. lh' bloodshed, which mint have 

 ensued from drawing the sword in Charles's defence, 

 without securing the objects of the covenant. They 

 offered all tint could be offered, as the just terms on 

 which they were willing to retain th-. king, or, in 

 other words, to defy the hostilities of England. By 

 his refusal it was shewn, that if they had conquered 

 England in his cause, they were only sure to rivet 

 the chains of Episcopacy and tyranny on themselves. 



The king having been delivered over to the Eng- The king u 

 lish commissioners, was conducted under a strong dcl'vered 

 guard to Holdenby in Northamptonshire, and rigor- f, 



i , , , r ' , * r i r r r " s " COm- 



cusly debarred from the visiU of his friends and fa- missioner?. 

 mily. The Presbyterians in the English parliament 1617. 

 had now no enemy to fear but the army which had 

 fought for them ; who having shewn their power at 

 the secret instance of Cromwell in reiusing a purposed 

 expedition to Ireland, set up a military parliament of 

 their own, called the agitators ; while the principal 

 officers composed a council to represent the body of 

 peers. As the first token of mastery, the agitators The apits 

 obtained possession of the king's person ; Joyce, a tors se ' 7e 

 cornet of dragoons, having seized him at Holdenby "P on , tne 

 castle. Fairfax, who sent two regiments to restore S J"^ * ^ er 

 him to the parliamentary commissioners, could not get 

 him back ; and the king's speech to Fairfax on this 

 occasion leaves room to suspect, that he was privy to 



the arrest. Cromwell, who was secretly at the hot- ._, 



r . , , . , ' , , Cromwell 



torn 01 the design, came to the army next day, and re ceiveithe 



received from the agitators the chief command. The command 

 parliament tried alternately, but in vain, both sub- of the 

 missive and bold measures to diminish the power of tro P 3 > 

 the military ; who, after advancing to St Albans, at 

 last demanded the expulsion of Hollis, Stapleton, and 

 other leading Presbyterians to the number of eleven, 

 from the House of Commons, and a general right of ^^ s j ze 

 new modelling the government and settling the nation. ,,p on ,h e 

 It was to no purpose that the citizens of .London supreme 

 rose to defend their legislature, while the city militia authority, 

 were called out, and the works of the city manned. 

 A minority of 62 members in the interest of Crom- 

 well, escaped to the army at Blackheath, who brought 

 them back in triumph, expelled the eleven Presbyte- 

 rians whom they had formerly impeached, sent the 

 mayor of London and the leading aldermen and of- 

 ficers of the city militia to prison, razed the lines 

 about the city to the ground, and reduced every thing 

 to obedience. 



The change of the possession of his person was at New and 

 first favourable to the king's treatment, and might favour W* 

 have been useful to his interests, had he been faithful Ci j , J"|j, e 

 to them himself. Cromwell and Ireton offered him king, 

 terms, in which it was neither required that episcopacy 

 should be abolihed, nor the militia entirely detached 

 from the crown : the king objected to the want of 

 positive security respecting the church, and to the 

 exception of seven persons from amnesty, whom it k 



king's French confidant. 



