In the evening, the accused members flew to the city, which was their fortress. The citizens were the whole night in arms. Next morning about ten, Charles, at tended by a few lords, repaired to a meeting of the com mon council at Guildhall, to whom lie justified his inten tions respecting the fugitives, and hoped that they would not find protection in the city. This measure only pro duced new mortification. On his way back, the streets resounded with cries of privilege of parliament; and one of the populace called out, near his coach, " to your tents, 0 Israel!" the watch-word of mutiny among the Israelites, when they abandoned Rehoboam.
When the commons met, they either felt, or affected dismay, and adjourning for some days, ordered a com mittee to sit in Merchant Taylors Hall. They met again to confirm the resolution of that committee on the ille gality oRthe king's attempts to seize their members; and when the popular mind was wrought up to the high est pitch of passion in their cause, brought the accused members in military and triumphant procession to re sume their seats. The river was covered with vessels laden with small pieces of ordnance, and prepared to fight ; and Nippon, appointed by parliament'to be major general of the city militia, led a tumultuary army to Westminster-hall. The king, who, disconsolate and alarmed, had retired to Hampton Court from Whitehall, sent a message to the commons, proposing that they should agree upon a legal method, by which he might carry on his prosecution against the members. They desired him to lay the grounds of prosecution before the house, declaring that they would judge themselves whe ther it were proper to surrender their members for trial. By successive messages, lie offered every concession in his power, to pardon the members, and to make re paration for the breach of privilege. The commons would accept of no reparation without an acknowledg ment of his advisers—a cruel condition, to which lie could not submit without humiliation. The commons had already stript the king of almost all his privileges, the bishops were fled, the judges were intimidated ; it now only remained, that, after securing the church and the law, they should get possession of the sword also. The assumptions of the commons at this period, can be justified only by their firm belief, that the king still intended to revoke whatever concessions he had already made in favour of liberty. Unfortunately the earlier history of his reign betrays an insincerity in the character of Charles, which makes his treachery in the present crisis too credible. The late attempt to arrest the five members, connected as it must seem to be, with the incident in Scotland, justifies the strongest suspi cions of the king's willingness to break the amnesty, and peculiarly justifies the suspicions of men, whose lives were in imminent danger, and whose passions were swayed by the turbulence of the times. Since the par liament had just grounds to feel insecure from the king's intentions, since they knew, that by removing Balfour, a man of popular principles, from the government of the Tower, and substituting the Earl of Newport as governor in his place, and by preparations for securing Hull and Portsmouth, that he had premeditated reduc ing them by force of arms; and since they had seen him uniformly refuse the constitutional remedy of accepting a popular ministry, they certainly did not claim the com mand of the army without a strong plea for that other wise unconstitutional demand. But whatever were Charles's intentions, we cannot wonder that he should refuse this last concession. After obliging him to con
cede that the Tower, Hull, and Portsmouth, should be entrusted to persons appointed by parliament, the com mons demanded that the officers of the militia should be of their own nomination. He was at that time at Dover, attending the queen and the Princess of Orange, as the latter dreading the'popular clamour at her religion, as well as for the sake of raising resources for the antici pated civil war, was leaving the kingdom The king at first evaded the demand, by requesting leisure to consi der it. When the commons pressed their remonstrances for embodying and directing the militia under the ma nagement of both houses, and desired the command of the army even for a limited time, he exclaimed, in a burst of exasperation, " No, not for an hour." In this state of contention with the parliament, Lon don was evidently an unsafe residence for the king. Accordingly, taking the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York along with him, he arrived by slow journeys at York. Here he found the public spirit much more strongly in his favour than in the south ; and the nobi lity and gentry from all quarters, either personally, or by messages and letters, expressed their duty towards him. The queen, who was in Holland, was making successful levies of men and ammunition. But, before war was openly declared, the shadow of a negotiation was carried on, rather with a design to please the peo ple, than with any view of reconciliation. Mutual re monstrances passed ; in which those of the king, assisted by his secretary Lord Falkland, were eminent for ability and eloquence. The parliament sent to the king nine teen propositions as the basis of an agreement, which, by the king's friends, were considered as absolutely subversive of monarchy. They required, that no man should remain in the council, nor officer be chosen, with out their consent; that no deed of the king should be valid unless it passed the council, and be attested under their hand; that none of the royal family should marry without consent of parliament and council ; that the laws should be executed against Papists ; that Popish lords should not vote in parliament ; that the liturgy and church government should be constituted according to the advice of parliament ; that the militia should be sub ject to their controul ; that the justice of parliament should pass upon delinquents ; that a general pardon should be granted, with exceptions to be made by par liament; that the forts and castles should be disposed of by consent of parliament ; and that no peers should be made but with consent of both houses. " If I should submit to these terms," said Charles, " I may have my hand kissed, and may retain the title of Majesty, but I should remain but the outside, the picture, the sign of a king." In all the commands which the parliament issued, they bound the persons to whom they were directed, to obey the orders of his majesty signified by both houses of parliament; and, distinguishing between the office and person of the king, those forces which they employ ed against him they levied in his name, and by his au thority. To their ordinance respecting the militia, the king opposed his commissions of array. The counties obeyed the one or the other according as they stood af fected, and in many places skirmishes immediately en sued. The magazine of Hull contained the arms of all the forces levied against the Scots. Charles expected to overawe the governor, Hotham, into submission, if he could gain admission with his retinue; but the go vernor shut the gates against him.