The children of the late king had suffered deeply from their fallen fortunes : one had died of grief at her father's execution, another had been sent out of' the kingdom by Cromwell, and Prince Charles, the heir to the crown, poor and neglected, Lad lived sometimes in Hol land, at other times either in Jersey or in France. At length ho was induced by the Scottish army to take shelter among them, a pro tection which he bought by subecriptiou to the covenant, and sub mission to restrictions ao severe as almost to render him a prisoner. Whatever might be the circumstances sunder which this junction was formed, the return of Charles to his kingdom could not fail to alarm the English. It was instantly resolved to march northward with all the troops that coal I be raised. Fairfax, himself it Presbyterian, refused to lead the forces, and Cromwell was therefore nominated to the command, and became the general of the Commonwealth. This vast accession to his power induced him to resign the lieutenancy of Ireland; the prospect of removing Ludlow to that post is said to have formed an additional reason for his withdrawal. Cromwell was thought to be jealous of the influence of Ludlow, who, though he did not receive this appointment, was ultimately set aside by his promotion to an official situation in that kingdom. After these and other preparations, he began his march with 16,000 men (1650). He reached the neighbourhood of Edinburgh unopposed, but at Mussel burgh the Scottish army under Leslie was encamped, and there the two armies continued for nearly a month watching each other. At length Cromwell withdrew, and his opponents followed him to Dunbar, where a battle became inevitable. The battle of Dunbar was gained by the English, and Edinburgh and Perth were taken. Upon this the king suddenly marched into England. Cromwell, who had not expected this movement, sent expresses to the parliament to inform them of what had taken place, and with forced marches pursuing the king, brought him to an engagement near Worcester, the result of which was a total defeat of the royalists (September 3, 1651). For this complete victory the parliament rewarded him with fresh honours mad an additional pension of 4000/. a year.
The battle of Worcester placed Cromwell avowedly at the head of public affairs. His views of the kind of government required by the state of the nation were, according to \Mitelock, now shadowed forth at a meeting of army officers and members of parliament, which he called together at the speaker's house immediately on his arrival in town. He told them that what the nation plainly needed was a settle ment with somewhat of monarchical power in it. He had made up his mind that there must be government by a single person whatever was the title ho took : perhaps he thought that he was that person. But it was not the right time yet. War broke out with Holland, and that fully occupied his attention and engrossed the thoughts of the nation. At length (1653), perceiving that the remnant of the parlia ment became daily more jealous of his power, he determined to put an end to their authority. He first sent them a remonstrance; his next movement was to enter the House (April 20, 1653) with an armed force, seize the mace, and to declare to them, "You are no longer a parliament : the Lord has done with you ; he has chosen other instruments for carrying on his work." Loading the members with abuse, be drove them before him out of the House. Thus was the memorable 'Long Parliament' dissolved : and with it disappeared all regularly constituted authority. Power, self-assumed, was wholly in the hands of Cromwell : but it was as captain-general that he wielded it. He now formed an interim council of state, composed chiefly of his priueipal officers, and their first step was to summon by name 139 persons, some gentry, some mechanics, all of them puri tans, and to constitute them a parliament. It was obvious that such an assembly could iu no way assist in the government of the realm.
They met for the first time on the 4th of July 1653. One measure only seemed to be expebted from them, and that they quickly deter mined upon ; it was to surrender (December 12, 1653) their power to Cromwell, who, after their voluntary resignation, was declared 'Pro. tector' by a council of the officers of his army, and solemnly installed into his dignity, February 16, 1654.
The first charter of the Commonwealth was drawn up by the same council of officers : it was called the Instrument of Government.' The second, called the 'Petition and Advice,' was framed in May, 1657, by the parliament which the Protector lisd assembled in the previnus year. Under the first charter, the English government may be ranged among republics, with a chief magistrate at its head. Under the second it became substantially a monarchy, and Oliver Cromwell, from 1657 to his death, was do facto king of England. (Hallam, 'Const. Hist.' ii. 421.) The difficulties of his administration were great, but they were surmounted by his vigorous abilities, which shone forth as much in wielding his power as in obtaining it. That he was both arbitrary and despotic cannot he denied. Such was the temper of the country, and, notwithstanding his general popularity, such the number of his open or secret enemies, that immediate and forcible action, though sometimes illegal and tyrannical, was absolutely required. There were opposed to him the royalists, who were still numerous ; the nobility, to whom he was hateful ; the whole body of Presby. tcriaus, who were jealous of having no share in the power which they had helped to gain; and in the army, the mutinous and disaffected ' Levellers.' Severe measures then were requisite, and at times they certainly were used,—not, however, without apparent reluctance. Tho point that seemed most to perplex him was the calling together of parliaments : be would neither reign with them nor without them. His first parliament met in September 1653; he found it as intract able as Charles lied found his parliaments, and ho abruptly dissolved it in the following. January, in direct contradiction to the advice of \Vhitelock and his friends generally, who recollected the abuse that had been poured upon King Charles under similar circumstances. In 1656 his successes at home and abroad encouraged him to assemble another parliament. Ireland, being in the hunch of the army, elected such officers as he nominated ; Scotland was nearly equally subservient to him ; still the majority was unfavourable to his policy. The next step was difficult. He ordered the doors of the House of Commons to bo guarded, and that no member should be admitted unless he produced all order from his council. Thus he nearly one hundred members who were obnoxious to him. Thus ' purified,' this assembly voted a renunciation of all title to the throne in the family of the Stuarts; and Colonel Jephson moved that the crown should be bestowed upon Cromwell. A conference was soon afterwards nppoluted (1657), at which the Protectors scruples respecting the assumption of the title of king were stated and argued. His mind was wavering whether he should accept or whether he ebould forbear. But his prudence ultimately prevailed ; he knew that the danger of acceding would be Imminent, while tho increase of power would be trifling; the odiuru in which the army had been taught to bold the regal title could never be overcome, and therefore he consented unwillingly to reject it. The proposition for a house of lords, which accompanied the offer of the crown to himself, he however adopted ; and an upper house of sixty-three persona was summoned, January 20th, 1658. But this experiment failed; the houses neither agreed with each other, nor supported him; and on the 4th of February, after a session of only a fortnight, they were unceremoniously dissolved.