Buckingham and his master might well Anble at the prospect of meeting a third parliament, after having squandered the money, illegally extorted from a nation already on the point of insurrection, in schemes of ambi tious folly and disaster : But, in such a state of men's minds, it was unsafe to attempt raising money without a parliament.
From the king's declaration at opening the session, that, if the parliament would not do their duty in contri buting to the necessities of the state, he must, in the discharge of his conscience, use the means which God had put into his hands : the commons foresaw, that, upon the first disagreement with his majesty, they might expect to dismissed. Their decency and dignity, however, rose with the advantageous ground which so imprudent a threat afforded them. At the same time, while cautious, they were vigorous ; and the most enlightened views of the rights of the people, the most definite ideas of civil liberty, and the most spirited remonstrances against the recent arbitrary measures of taxation and imprisonment, were held up in all the venerable and primitive simpli city of our language. The necessity of redress of griev ances being admitted by the whole house, even by the court members, a vote was passed against arbitrary im prisonments and forced loans. Five subsidies were voted to the king, which, though inferior to his wants, were gratefully received. When his majesty's thankful ness was announced, the Duke of Buckingham's appro bation was mentioned by a crown minister ; but the house treated the conjunction of his name with strong disap probation : a symptom that real respect for royalty was not yet extinguished, which, if Charles had been docile, might have taught him an important lesson.
The supply, though voted, was not immediately passed into a lass' ; the commons resolved to employ the interval in obtaining the sanction of the whole legislature to their petition of rights against forced loans, benevolences, taxes without consent of parliament, arbitrary imprison mcnts,.the billeting of soldiers, and martial law. The bill was called a Petition of Right ; because it was only a confirmation of the ancient contitution, not an assump tion of a new one. The peers Inning, in this question, to the side of royally, proposed to moderate the petition of right, by adding to a general declaration of the rights of property and person ; that, in case the sovereign be, from absolute necessity, obliged to imprison a subject, " he shall be petitioned to declare, that, within a conve nient time, he shall, and will express the cause of impri sonment ; and will, upon a cause so expressed, leave the prisoner to be tried by the common law of the land."
On a conference being held between the two houses, the commons refused taannihilate their petition, b) such a compromise. Th? king wished no less than the lords, to cheat the national spirit by some such general declaration. He did his utmost to evade the petition, by repeated messages to the house ; in which he offered his royal word, that there should be no more infringe ments on the liberty of the subject. These promises had no effect on the commons, who pressed their bill upon the upper house. At last it passed it also, and only waited the royal assent. That assent, the king had nei ther the courage to give nor to refuse decidedly. Com to the Douse of Peers, and being seated in his chair ate, instead of giving the expected concise assent, he made the following answer : "The king willeth, that right be done according to the laws and customs of the realm, and that the statutes be put into execution, that his subjects may have no cause to complain of any wrong or oppression, contrary to their just rights and liberties ; to the preservation whereof, he holds himself in con? science, as much obliged as of his own prerogative." The commons returned in the highest indignation at this answer. Their displeasure was first vented on the clergyman, Dr Mainwaring, who had preached, and, by special command from the king, had published a sermon containing doctrines subversive of all civil liberty. He was impeached by the commons, and sentenced by the peers, to be fined, imprisoned, and suspended. But the session was no sooner over, than Charles pardoned and promoted him to a considerable living; and, at the dis tance of a few years made him bishop of St Asaph. From Mainwaring, the commons proceeded to censure Buck ingham ; and the tempest of public hatred seemed ready to burst over his head, when it was diverted by the king's consenting to a joint application from both houses, that the Petition of Right should be sanctioned. When the words of royal assent had been pronounced, "Let it be law as is desired," the house resounded with acclama tions ; and the whole nation heard of them with joy.