The commons, however, had not yet doe with reme dying public grievances. They called Or the abolition of a commission, which had been lately granted to 33 crown officers, for levying money by impositions or otherwise, in which form and circumstance (as it was ex pressed in the commission) were to be dispensed with, rather than the substance be lost or hazarded. They no ticed another commission for bringing 1000 German horse to England, supposed to be levied for enforcing impositions. They inveighed against the conduct of Buckingham ; and asserted, that tne levying of tonnage and poundage was a violation of the constitthion. To prevent the finishing, and presenting this remonstrance, the king came suddenly to parliament, and ended the session by prorogation. All the subsidies voted by par liament were spent in equipping a 11...et and army, with a view to repair an ineffectual attempt, made by the earl of Denbigh, to relieve Rochelle. While Buckingham was superintending the intended expedition at Ports mouth, a fanatical, and vindictive man of the name of Felton, who had lately served as lieutenant in the duke's army, avenged his own and the nation's quarrel, by plunging a knife into the favourite's breast as he turned from speaking with Soubise, and some Hugonot officers, to Sir Thomas Fryar, over whose shoulder the murderer struck his blow. Buckingham cried out "the villain has killed me;" and, pulling out the knife, breathed his last. As the Frenchmen had been remonstrating with the duke, the first suspicion fell upon them ; but a hat was found near the door, with a paper, disclosing the motives of the deed, and a man, without a hat, was seen walking composedly before the door, who, being seized as the murderer, answered, " I am he." Charles urged, that Felton should be tortured, to discover his accom plices ; but the judges declared, that the practice, though formerly usual, was altogether illegal.
After Buckingham's death, the command of the fleet and army was conferred on the earl of Lindsay, who at tempted to relieve Rochelle, but without success. That city, hopeless of relief, submitted to their Catholic coun trymen, even in sight of the English fleet. By the death of Buckingham, neither pretexts nor real causes for complaint were removed from the commons. The roy al Favour shewn to Mainwaring and other clergymen, obnoxious for similar reasons ; the inhuman and arbitrary punishments of the Star Chamber ; and, above all, the subject of tonnage and poundage, afforded uncxhausted sources of controversy and remonstrance. When Charles opened the session of 1629, he had foreseen, that the declarations of the commons would be renewed on this last topic ; and absolutely conceded, that he never considered the duties of tonnage and poundage as any other than a gift from his people. But the commons were not satisfied with a verbal confession, they insist ed, that he should entirely desist from levying these du ties; a practicalaconsequence which, it must be allowed, most naturally followed from such a concession ; and which, it is not surprising, that the assentors of liberty were anxious to follow out, in treating with a monarch who was evasive in confirming all concessions, and the munificent patron of the preachers of passive obedience. Amidst political fermentation, the zeal of religion was not dormant. While the current of public belief was
running towards Puritanism, the favourers of the estab lished church were strongly tinctured with Arminian ism ; a creed now generally adopted in the Church of England, but, at that time, held in detestation almost equally with Popery. Among the Puritans, indeed, there were many who were distinguished, not by reli gious, but by political sternness of principle ; and, un fortunately for the Arminian, it was generally coupled with slavish principles in politics, because Laud, Neil, and the other bishops, supposed to be tainted with that faith, were the strenuous supporters of passive obedi ence.
Sir John Elliot having framed a remonstrance in the commons against tonnage and poundage, the speaker, Sir John Finch, said, that he hacl a command from the king to adjourn, and put no question. The whole house was in an uproar; the speaker was forcibly held in his chair by Hollis and Valentine, till a remonstrance was passed by acclamation. Papists and Arminians, and those who should levy tonnage and poundage, were de clared capital enemies to the commonwealth. The doors being locked, the gentleman usher of the House of Lords, who came from the king, was shut out till the remonstrance was finished. By the king's order, he took the mace from the table ; and parliament was dissolved in a few days. By an act of ill-timed severity, the king commanded some of the leading members of the housed to be thrown into prison for sedition ; and three others were fined, and imprisoned by the court of King's Bench, at the instance of the crown.t It seemed, at last, to Charles, to be high time to con clude a war, begun without necessity, and conducted without glory. A treaty was accordingly signed with France ; and the Hugonots, as might be expected, were abandoned. Peace was afterwards concluded with Spain, without any stipulation in behalf of the palatine ; but a general promise of good offices for his restoration from the court of Madrid. Charles, at this time, joined his good offices to those of France, in mediating between Sweden and Poland, in hopes of gaining the former to the cause of his brother-in-law. Gustavus did, indeed, adopt the cause of the German Protestants, and accept ed of several thousand men, raised at Charles's expence, chiefly in Scotland, under the command of the Marquis of Hamilton ; but, when he had overrun Germany, he re fused to restore Frederic, except on conditions of de pendence on himself.
By an expedient often adopted by princes, to weaken popular power, Charles adopted his ministers from the opposing party, that he might convert patriots into sup porters of prerogative, by sharing it with them. Sir Thomas Wentworth, now created lord Strafford, was made president of the council of York ; deputy of Ire land ; and was, in fact, the king's chief counsellor. Sir Dudley Diggs was created master of the rolls ; Noy, attorney general ; Littleton, solicitor general. Unfor tunately, in religion, the same change of advisers was not introduced. Laud, who had become odious for load ing the church with ceremonies most disgusting to the people, who was suspected of being more than half a Catholic in his heart ; and who, in zeal, intolerance, and arbitrary principles, was as bigotted as any Catho lic, had the chief influence over the king in ecclesiasti cal affairs.