No More Learning

rowly watched and looked to, that such melancholic
thoughts 6 might not long possess him, the conse-
quence and effect whereof was like to be more griev-
ous than that of the fire itself; of which that loose
company that was too much cherished, even before
it was extinguished, discoursed as of an argument
for mirth and wit to describe the wildness of the
confusion all people were in ; in which the scripture
itself was used with equal liberty, when they could
apply it to their profane purposes. And Mr. May
presumed to assure the king, " that this was the Measles

taken to

" greatest blessing that God had ever conferred upon efface such

" him, his restoration only excepted: for the walls passions in.

" and gates being now burned and thrown down of him;

" that rebellious city, which was always an enemy

" to the crown, his majesty would never suffer them

" to repair and build them up again, to be a bit in

" his mouth and a bridle upon his neck ; but would

" keep all open, that his troops might enter upon

" them whenever he thought necessary for his ser-

" vice, there being no other way to govern that rude

" multitude but by force. "

This kind of discourse did not please the king,
but was highly approved by the company ; and for

e thoughts] Not in MS.
H 3



102 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1666. the wit and pleasantness of it was repeated in all
""companies, infinitely to the king's disservice, and
corrupted the affections of the citizens and of the
country, who used and assumed the same liberty to
publish the profaneness and atheism of the court.
And as nothing was done there in private, so it was
made more public in pasquils and libels, which were
as bold with reflections of the broadest nature upon
the king himself, and upon those in whose company
he was most delighted, as upon the meanest person.

All men of virtue and sobriety, of which there
were very many in the king's family, were grieved
and heartbroken with hearing what they could not
choose but hear, and seeing many things which they
could not avoid the seeing. There were few of the
council that did not to one another lament the ex-
cesses, which must in time be attended with fatal
consequences, and for the present did apparently
lessen the reverence to the king, that is the best
support of his royalty : but few of them had the
courage to say that to his majesty, which was not
so fit to be said to any body else. Nor can it be de-
nied, that his majesty did, upon all occasions, re-
ceive those advertisements from those who presented
them to him, with patience and benignity, and
without the least show of displeasure ; though the
persons concerned endeavoured no one thing more



And to th an to persuade him, " that it was the highest pre-

Imen his

esteem of sumption imaginable in the privy-council to be-
coun P ci'j7 " lieve, that they had any jurisdiction in the court,
" or ought to censure the manners of it. "

Nor were all those endeavours without making
some impression upon his majesty, who rather
esteemed some particular members of it, than was



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 103

inclined to believe that the body of it ought to re- 1666.
ceive a reverence from the people, or lie looked upon ~"
as a vital part of the government : in which his ma-
jesty (as hath been often said before) by the ill prin-
ciples he had received in France, and the accustomed
liberty of his bedchamber, was exceedingly and un-
happily mistaken. For by the constitution of the
kingdom, and the very laws and customs of the na-
tion, as the privy-council and every member of it is
of the king's sole choice and election of him to that
trust, (for the greatest office in the state, though
conferred likewise by the king himself, doth not
qualify the officer to be of the privy-council, or to be
present in it, before by a new assignation that ho-
nour is bestowed on him, and that he be sworn of
the council ;) so the body of it is the most sacred,
and hath the greatest authority in the government
of the state, next the person of the king himself, to
whom all other powers are equally subject : and no
king of England can so well secure his own just
prerogative, or preserve it from violation, as by a
strict defending and supporting the dignity of his
privy-council.

When it was too much taken notice of, that the
king himself had not that esteem or consideration of
the council that was due to it, what they did or or-
dered to be done was less valued by the people;
and that disrespect every day improved by the want
of gravity and justice arid constancy in the proceed-
ings there, the resolutions of one day being reversed
or altered the next, either upon some whispers in
the king's ear, or some new fancy in some of those
counsellors, who were always of one mind against
all former orders and precedents ; the pride and in-

H 4



104 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1666. solent humour of sir William Coventry taking not so
~ much delight in any thing, as to cross and oppose
whatsoever the chancellor or the treasurer advised,
and to reverse what had been ordered upon that
ground. And though he had sucked his milk at the
charge of the law, no man was so professed an enemy
to it and to the professors of it, and shewed so
little f respect to any thing passed and granted under
the great seal of England, but spake against it with
the same confidence as if it had been a common
scroll of no signification ; which kind of behaviour
in a person unqualified by any office to speak much
in such an assembly, as it had never been accus-
tomed, so it would have found much reprehension
there, if it had not been for respect to the duke,
and if the king himself had not very often declared
himself to be of his opinion, even in particulars
which himself had caused to be proposed to a con-
trary purpose.

One day his majesty called the chancellor to him,
and complained very much of the license that was
assumed in the coffeehouses, which were the places
where the boldest calumnies and scandals were
raised, and discoursed amongst a people who knew
not each other, and came together only for that
communication, and from thence were propagated
over the kingdom ; and mentioned some particular
rumours which had been lately dispersed from those
fountains, which on his own behalf he was enough
displeased with, and asked him what was to be done
in it.

The chancellor concurred with him in the sense

' so little] no more



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 105

of the scandal, and the mischief that must attend ] 666.
the impunity of such places, where the foulest im-~
putations were laid upon the government, which
were held lawful to be reported and divulged to
every body but to the magistrates, who might ex-
amine and punish them ; of which there having yet
been no precedent, people generally believed that
those houses had a charter of privilege to speak
what they would, without being in danger to be
called in question : and " that it was high time for
" his majesty to apply some remedy to such a grow-
" ing disease, and to reform the understanding of
" those who believed that no remedy could be ap-
" plied to it. That it would be fit, either by a pro-
" clamation to forbid all persons to resort to those
" houses, and so totally to suppress them ; or to em-
" ploy some spies, who, being present in the conver-
" sation, might be ready to charge and accuse the
" persons who had talked with most license in a
" subject that would bear a complaint ; upon which
" the proceedings might be in such a manner, as
" would put an end to the confidence that was only
" mischievous in those meetings. " The king liked
both the expedients, and thought that the last could
not justly be made use of till the former should give
fair warning; and commanded him to propose it
that same day in council, that some order might be
given in it.

The chancellor proposed it, as he was required,
with such arguments as were like to move with
men who knew the inconveniences which arose from
those places ; and the king himself mentioned it
with passion, as derogatory to the government, and
directed that the attorney might prepare a procla-



106 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1666. mat inn for the suppression of those houses, in which
~ the hoard seemed to agree : when sir William Co-
ventry, who had been heard within few days before
to inveigh with much fierceness against the permis-
sion of so much seditious prattle in the impunity of
those houses, stood up and said, " that coffee was a
" commodity that yielded the king a good revenue,
" and therefore it would not be just to receive the
" duties and inhibit the sale of it, which many men
" found to be very good for their health," as if it
might not be bought and drank but in those licen-
tious meetings. " That it had been permitted in
" Cromwell's time, and that the king's friends had
" used more liberty of speech in those places than
" they durst do in any other ; and that he thought
" it would be better to leave them as they were,
" without running the hazard of ill being continued,
" notwithstanding his command to the contrary. "
And upon these reasons his majesty was converted,
and declined any further debate; which put the
chancellor very much out of countenance, nor knew
he how to behave himself.

The chau- The truth is, he had a very hard province, and
terest de- found his credit every day to decay with the king ;
whilst the whilst they who prevailed against him used all the
affect'to s kiU anc ^ cunning they had to make it believed,
represent that his power with his majesty was as great as it
highest. " had ever been, and that all those things which he
" most opposed were acted by his advice. " And
whilst they procured all those for whom he had
kindness, or who professed any respect towards him,
to be discountenanced and undervalued, and pre-
ferred none but such who were known to have an
aversion for him upon somewhat that he had, or



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 107

they had been told that he had, obstructed their \C)66.
pretences in ; they persuaded men, " that nobody
" had any credit with the king to dispose of any
" place but he. "

Those very men would often profess to him, " that
" they were so much afflicted at the king's course of
" life, that they even despaired that he would be
" able to master those difficulties which would still
" press him ;" and would then tell him some parti-
culars which he himself had said or done, or had
been said or done lately in his own presence, and of
which he had never heard before ; which gave him
occasion often to blame them, " that they, who had
" the opportunity to see and know many things
" which he had no notice of or could not take any,
" and foresaw the consequence that did attend them,
" did yet forbear to use the credit they had with his
" majesty, in advertising him what they thought
" and heard all others say ;" and he offered " to go
" with them to his majesty, and make a lively repre-
" sentation to him of the great decay of his reputa-
" tion with the people upon his exorbitant excesses,
" which God could never bless :" to all which they
were not ashamed to confess, " that they never had
" nor durst speak to his majesty to that purpose, or
" in such a dialect. " Indeed they were the honester
men in not doing it, for it had been gross hypocrisy
to have found fault with those actions, upon the pur-
suing whereof they most depended; and the re-
formation which they would have been glad to have
seen, had no relation to those inordinate and unlaw-
ful appetites, which were the root from whence all

4 s who had] having



108 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF



1666.



Arlington
laments to
the chan-
cellor the
king's
course of
life: the
king enters
the room.



To whom
the chan-
cellor re-
peats the
discourse.



the other mischiefs had their birth. They did not
wish that the lady's authority and power should he
lessened, much less extinguished ; and that which
would have been the most universal blessing to the
whole kingdom, would have been received by them
as the greatest curse that could befall them.

One day the chancellor and the lord Arlington
were together alone, and the secretary, according to
his custom, was speaking soberly of many great mis-
carriages by the license of the court, and how much
his majesty suffered thereby; when the king sud-
denly came into the room to them, and after he was
sat asked them what they were talking of: to which
the chancellor answered, " that he would tell him
" honestly and truly, and was not sorry for the op-
" portunity. " And the other looking with a very
troubled countenance, he proceeded and said, " that
" they were speaking of his majesty, and, as they
"did frequently, were bewailing the unhappy life he
" lived, botli with respect to himself, who, by the
" excess of pleasures which he indulged to himself,
" was indeed without the true delight and relish of
" any ; and in respect to his government, which he
*' totally neglected, and of which the kingdom was
" so sensible, that it could not be long before he felt
" the ill effects of it. That the people were well
" prepared and well inclined to obey ; but if they
" found that he either would not or could not com-
" mand, their temper would quickly be changed, and
" he would find less obedience in all places, than
" was necessary for his affairs : and that it was too
" evident and visible, that he had already lost very
" much of the affection and reverence the nation
" had for him. "



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 109
He said, " that this was the subject they two

^

" were discoursing upon when his majesty entered ;
" and that it is the argument, upon which all those
" of his council with whom he had any conversation
" did every day enlarge, when they were together,
" with grief of heart, and even with tears ; and that
" he hoped that some of them did, with that duty
" that became them, represent to his majesty their
" own sense, and the sense his good subjects had, of
" his condition of living, both with reference to God,
" who had wrought such miracles for him, and ex-
" pected some proportionable return ; and with re-
" ference to his people, who were in the highest dis-
" content. He doubted all men did not discharge
" their duty this way ; and some had confessed to
" him that they durst not do it, lest they might
" offend him, which he had assured them often that
" they would not do, having had so often experience
" himself of his goodness in that respect h ; and that
" he had the rather taken this opportunity to make
" this representation to him in the presence of an-
" other, which he had never used to do :" and con-
cluded " with beseeching his majesty to believe that
" which he had often said to him, that no prince
" could be more miserable, nor could have more rea-
" son to fear his own ruin, than he who hath no
" servants who dare contradict him in his opinions,
" or advise him against his inclinations, how natural
" soever. "

The king heard all this and more to the same ef-
fect with his usual temper, (for he was a patient
hearer,) and spake sensibly, as if he thought that

h in that respect] Not in MS.



110 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 666. much that had been said was with too much reason ;
"~ when the other, who wished not such an effect from
the discourse, instead of seconding any thing that
Arlington had been said, made use of the warmth the chan-
wuh'rati- cellor was in, and of some expressions he had used,
to fall into raillery, which was his best faculty ;
with which he diverted the king from any further
serious reflections ; and both of them grew very
merry with the other, and reproached his overmuch
severity, now he grew old, and considered not the
infirmities of younger men : which increased the
passion he was in, and provoked him to say, "that it
" was observed abroad, that it was a faculty very
" mnch improved of late in the court, to laugh at
" those arguments they could not answer, and
" which would always be requited with the same
" mirth amongst those who were enemies to it, and
" therefore it was pity that it should be so much
" embraced by those who pretended to be friends;"
and to use some other, too plain, expressions, which
it may be were not warily enough used, and which
the good lord forgot not to put the king in mind of,
and to descant upon the presumption, in a season
that was more ripe for such reflections, which at the
present he forbore to do, and for some time after re-
membered only in merry occasions.

Though the king did not yet, nor in a good time
after, appear to dislike the liberty the chancellor
presumed to take with him, (who often told him,
" that he knew he made himself grievous to him,
" and gave his enemies too great advantages against
" him ; but that the conscience of having done his
" duty, and having never failed to inform his ma-
" jesty of any thing that was fit for him to know



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. Ill
" and to believe, was the only support he had to 1GGG.



" bear the present trouble of his mind, and to pre-
" pare him for those distresses which he foresaw he
" was to undergo :" which his majesty heard with
great goodness and condescension, and vouchsafed
still to tell him, " that it was in nobody's power to
" divert his kindness from him :") yet he found
every day that some arguments grew less acceptable
to him, and that the constant conversation with
men of great profaneness, whose wit consisted in
abusing scripture, and in repeating and acting what
the preachers said in their sermons, and turning it
into ridicule, (a faculty in which the duke of Buck-
ingham excelled,) did much lessen the natural es-
teem and reverence he had for the clergy ; and in-
clined him to consider them i as a rank of men that
compounded a religion for their own advantage, and
to serve their own turns. Nor was all he could say
to him of weight enough to make impression to the
contrary.

And then he seemed to think, " that men were The king
" bolder in the examining his actions and censuring toThV*'' 1
" them than they ought to be :" and once he told ^Xlu'
him, " that he thought he was more k severe against be , rties .

taken with

" common infirmities than he should be ; and that ! s charac-
ter.
" his wife was not courteous in returning visits and

" civilities to those who paid her respect ; and that
" he expected that all his friends should be very
" kind to those who they knew were much loved by
" him, and that he thought so much justice was due
" to him. "

The chancellor, who had never dissembled with

1 and inclined him to con- k more] too
sider them] Not in MS.



112 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1666. him, but on the contrary had always endeavoured

""to persuade him to believe, that dissimulation was

the most dishonest and ungentlemanly quality that

Tbc chan- CO uld be affected, answered him very roundly, ". that

cllor se-
riously re- " he might seem not to understand his meaning,

with him. " and so make no reply to the discourse he had
" made : but that he understood it all, and the
" meaning of every word of it ; and therefore that
" it would not become him to suffer his majesty to
" depart with an opinion, that what he had said
*' would produce any alteration in his behaviour to-
" wards him, or reformation of his manners towards
" any other persons.

" That for the first part, the liberty men took to
" speak of him and to censure his actions, he was of
" the opinion that it was a very great presumption,
" and a crime very fit to be punished : for let it be
" true or false, men had been always severely chas-
" Used for that license, because it tended to sedition.
" However, he put his majesty in mind of the ex-
" ample of Philip of Macedon, who, when one of his
" servants accused a person of condition to him of
" having spoken ill of him, and offered to go him-
" self to the magistrate and make proof of it, an-
" swered him ; that the person he accused was a
" man of the greatest reputation of wisdom and in-
" tegrity in the kingdom, and therefore it would be
" fit in the first place to examine, whether himself,
" the king, had not done somewhat by which he
" had deserved to be so spoken of: indeed this way
" the best men would often receive benefit from
" their worst enemies. For the matter itself," he
said, " he need make no apology : for that it was
" notoriously known, that lie had constantly given



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 113

" it in charge to all the judges, to make diligent in- 166G.

" quiry into misdemeanours and transgrassions of ~

" that magnitude, and to punish those who were

" guilty in the most exemplary manner ; and that

" he took not more pains any way, than to preserve

" in the hearts of the people that veneration for his

" person that is due to his dignity, and to persuade

" many who appeared afflicted with the reports they

" heard, that they heard more than was true ; and

" that the suppressing all reports of that kind was

" the duty of every good subject, and would contri-

" bute more towards the reforming any thing that

" in truth is amiss, than the propagating the scandal

" by spreading it in discourses could do. However,

" that all this, which was his duty, and but his duty,

" did not make it unfit for him, or any other under

" his obligations, in fit seasons to make a lively re-

" presentation to his majesty of what is done, and

** how secretly soever, that cannot be justified or ex-

" cused ; and of the untruths and scandals which

" spring from thence to his irreparable dishonour

" and prejudice.

" For the other part, of want of ceremony and
" respect to those who were loved and esteemed by
" his majesty, he might likewise avoid enlarging
" upon that subject, by putting his majesty in mind,
" that he had the honour to serve him in a province
" that excused him from making visits, and exempt-
" ed him from all ceremonies of that kind. But he
" would not shelter himself under such a general de-
" fence, when he perceived that his majesty had in
" the reprehension a particular intention : and there-
" fore he confessed ingenuously to his majesty, that
:{ he did deny himself many liberties, which in

VOL. in. j



114 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 666. " themselves might be innocent enough and agree-
~" " able to his person, because they would not be de-
" cent or agreeable to the office he held, which
" obliged him, for his majesty's honour, and to pre-
" serve him from the reproach of having put a light
" person into a grave place, to have the more care
" of his own carriage and behaviour. And that, as
" it would reflect upon his majesty himself, if his
" chancellor was known or thought to be of disso-
" lute and debauched manners, which would make
" him as uncapable as unworthy to do him service ;
" so it would be a blemish and taint upon him to
" give any countenance, or to pay more than or-
" dinary, cursory, and unavoidable civilities, to per-
" sons infamous for any vice, for which by the laws
" of God and man they ought to be odious, and to
" be exposed to the judgment of the church and
" state. And that he would not for his own sake
" and for his own dignity, to how low a condition
" soever he might be reduced, stoop to such a con-
" descension as to have the least commerce, or to
" make the application of a visit, to any such person,
" for any benefit or advantage that it might bring
" to him. He did beseech his majesty not to be-
** lieve, that he hath a prerogative to declare vice
** virtue ; or to qualify any person who lives in a sin
" and avows it, against which God himself hath pro-
" nounced damnation, for the company and conver-
" sation of innocent and worthy persons. And that
" whatever low obedience, which was in truth gross
" flattery, some people might pay to what they Ix? -
" lieved would be grateful to his majesty, they had
'* in their hearts a perfect detestation of the persons
" they made address to : and that for his part he



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 115

" was long resolved that his wife should not be one I6GG.
" of those courtiers ; and that he would himself
" much less like her company, if she put herself
" into theirs who had not the same innocence. "

The king was not the more pleased for the de-
fence he made, and did not dissemble his dislike of
it, without any other sharpness, than by telling him
" that he was in the wrong, and had an understand-
" ing different from all other men who had ex-
" perience in the world. " And it is most certain, it
was an avowed doctrine, and with great address
daily insinuated to the king, "that princes had
" many liberties which private persons have not ;
" and that a lady of honour who dedicates herself
" only to please a king, and continues faithful to
" him, ought not to be branded with any name or
" mark of infamy, but hath been always looked
" upon by all persons well-bred as worthy of re-
" spect :" and to this purpose the history of all the
amours of his grandfather were carefully presented
to him, and with what indignation he suffered
any disrespect towards any of his mistresses.

But of all these artifices the chancellor had no ap-
prehension, out of the confidence he had in the in-
tegrity of the king's nature ; and that though he
might be swayed to sacrifice his present affections
to his appetite, he could never be prevailed upon to
entertain a real suspicion of his very passionate
affection and duty to his person. That which
gave him most trouble, and many times made
him wish himself in any private condition sepa-
rated from the court, was that unfixedness and irre-
solution of judgment that was natural to all his fa-
mily of the male line, which often exposed them

I 2



116 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

I G66. all to the importunities of bold, and to the snares nf
~" crafty, men.

One day the king and the duke came to the chan-
cellor together ; and the king told him with a very
visible trouble in his countenance, " that they were
" come to confer and advise with him upon an affair
" of importance, which exceedingly disquieted them
one Tai- both. That Dick Talbot" (which was the fami-

bot, an , . _. . t _ _

irishman, liar appellation, according to the ill custom of the
JsaLlnate court, that most men gave him) " had a resolution
the duke of to assass i na te the duke of Ormond. That he had

Or mono.

" sworn in the presence of two or three persons
" of honour, that he would do it in the revenge of
" some injuries which, he pretended, he had done
" his family : that he had much rather fight with
" him, which he knew the duke would be willing
" enough to do ; but that he should never be able
" to bring to pass ; and therefore he would take his
" revenge in any way that should offer itself. And
" every body knew that the man had courage and
" wickedness enough to attempt any thing like it.
" That the duke of Ormond knew well enough that
" the fellow threatened it, and was like enough to
" act it ; but that he thought it below him to appre-
" bend it ; and that his majesty came to the notice
" of it by the earl of Clancarty, to whom sir Rotert
" Talbot, the elder brother of the other, told it, to
" the end that the earl might give the duke notice
" of it, and find some way to prevent it ; and the
" earl had that day informed the king of it, as the
" best way he could think of to prevent it. " His ma-
jesty said, " there remained no doubt to l)e made of
" the truth of it ; for there were two or three more
" of unquestionable credit who had heard him use



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 117

" the same expressions: and that* he had first spoken 1666.
" with his brother, whose servant he was, whom he ~~
" found equally incensed as himself; and that they
" came immediately together to consult with him
" what was to be done. "

The chancellor knew all the brothers well, and A " accou

of this

was believed to have too much prejudice to them man's fa.
all. They were all of an Irish family, but of an- with the



cient English extraction, which had always inhabit-
ed within that circle that was called the Pale ; brothers -
which, being originally an English plantation, was
in so many hundred years for the most part degene-
rated into the manners of the Irish, and rose and
mingled with them in the late rebellion : and of this
family there were two distinct families, who had
competent estates, and lived in many descents in the
rank of gentlemen of quality ; and those brothers
were all the sons, or the grandsons, of one who was
a judge in Ireland, and esteemed a learned man.
The eldest was sir Robert Talbot, who was by much Sir Robcrt

* Talbot, the

the best ; that is, the . rest were much worse men : a eldest.
man, whom the duke of Ormond most esteemed of
those who had been in rebellion, as one who had less
malice than most of the rest, and had recommended
to the king as a person fit for his favour. But be-
cause he did not ask all on his behalf, which he
must have done for a man entirely innocent, this re-
fusal was looked upon as the highest disobligation.

The second brother was a Jesuit, who had been peter, the
very troublesome to the king abroad, and had be-
haved himself in so insolent a manner, that his ma-
jesty had forbidden him his court ; after which he
went into England, and applied himself to the ruling
power there, and was by that sent into Spain, at

i 3



118 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1666. the time when the treaty was at Fuentarabia be-



tween the two crowns, to procure that England
might be included in that peace, and the king ex-
cluded, and not to be suffered to remain in Flanders.
Of all which his majesty having advertisement, sent
positive orders to sir Harry Bennet his resident then
in Madrid to complain of him, and to desire don
Lewis de Haro, that he might receive no counte-
nance in that court. But the Jesuit had better and
more powerful recommendation ; and was not only
welcome there, but (which was very strange, consi-
dering his talent of understanding) in a short time
got so much interest in the resident, that he re-
ceived him into all kind of familiarity and trust, and
undertook to reconcile the king to him, and was as
good as his word : and from the time of his majesty's
return, or rather from the return of sir Harry, Ben-
net, he was as much and as busy in the court as if
he were a domestic servant. And after the queen
came to Whitehall, he was admitted one of her al-
moners; and walked with the same or more freedom
in the king's house (and in clergy habit) than any of
his majesty's chaplains did; who did not presume
to be seen in the galleries and other reserved
rooms, where he was conversant with the same con-
fidence as if he were of the bedchamber.
Gilbert, The third brother was Gilbert, who was called 1
called Co. Colonel Talbot from some command he had with
the rebels against the king. And he had likewise
been with the king in Flanders, that is, had lived in
Antwerp and Brussels whilst the king was there ;
and being a half-witted fellow did not meddle with

' called] Not in JMS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 119

any thing nor angered any body, but found a way J666.
to get good clothes and to play, and was looked upon ~
as a man of courage, having fought a duel or two
with stout men.

The fourth brother was a Franciscan friar, of wit Thomas,

the fourth,

enough, but of so notorious debauchery, that he was a Francis-
frequently under severe discipline by the superiors
of his order for his scandalous life, which made him
hate his habit, and take all opportunities to make
journeys into England and Ireland : but not being
able to live there, he was forced to return and put
on his abhorred habit, which he always called his
" fool's coat," and came seldom into those places
where he was known, and so wandered into Ger-
many and Flanders, and took all opportunities to be
in the places where the king was ; and so he came
to Cologne and Brussels and Bruges, and being a
merry fellow, was-the more made of for laughing at
and contemning his brother the Jesuit, who had not
so good natural parts, though by his education he
had more sobriety, and lived without scandal in his
manners. He went by the name of Tom Talbot,
and after the king's return was in London in his
man's clothes, (as he called them,) with the natural
license of an Irish friar, (which are a people, for the
most part, of the whole creation the most sottish
and the most brutal,) and against his obedience,
and all orders of his superiors, who interdicted him
to say mass.

The fifth brother was this Dick Talbot, who gave Richard,
the king and the duke the trouble mentioned before, the person
He was brought into Flanders first by Daniel concernetl '
O'Neile, as one who was willing to assassinate
Cromwell ; and he made a journey into England

I 4



120 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 666. with that resolution not long before his death, and
"after it returned into Flanders ready to do all that
he should be required. He was a very handsome
young man, wore good clothes, and was m without
doubt of a clear, ready courage, which was virtue
enough to recommend a man to the duke's good
opinion ; which, with more expedition than could be
expected, he got to that degree, that he was made
of his bedchamber; and, from that qualification.
embarked himself after the king's return in the pre-
tences of the Irish, with such an unusual confi-
dence, and upon private contracts with very scan-
dalous circumstances, that the chancellor had some-
times at the council-table been obliged to give him
severe reprehensions, and often desired the duke to
withdraw his countenance from him. He had like-
wise declared very loudly against the Jesuit, and,
though he had made many addresses unto him by
letters and by some friends who had credit with
him, would never, from the time of the king's re-
turn, be persuaded to speak with him, and had once
prevailed with the king so far, that he was forbid to
come to the court ; but he had a friend, who after
some time got that restraint off again. The chan-
cellor had likewise observed the friar to be too fre-
quently in the galleries, and sometimes drunk there,
and caused him to be forbid to come into the court :
and the eldest brother, towards whom he had rather
kindness than prejudice, finding many obstructions
in his pretences, was persuaded to think him not his
friend. And so he got the reproach of being an
enemy to the whole family.

m was] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 121

This consideration did really affect the chancellor, 1 666.
so that he appeared more reserved and more wary"
in this particular proposed by the king and by the
duke, than he used to be. He said, " that in many
" respects he was not so fit to advise in this parti-
" cular as other men were. Though this man's be-
" haviour was so scandalous that it deserved exem-
" plary punishment, yet he did not conceive any pre-
" sent danger from it : that he would deny it and
" repent it, and give any other satisfaction that
" would be required or assigned ; and then his ma-
" jesty and the duke would be prevailed with to
" take off their displeasure. And therefore it would
" be better n not to make such a matter public,
" which, considering the person and the circum-
" stances, would make a deep impression upon the
" minds of all wise men ; than, after the world takes
" notice of it, to pass it over with a light and ordi-
" nary punishment. " The king interrupted him as
he was going on, and told him, " there was no dan-
" ger of that, and that he would deal freely with
" him. That as the offence was in itself unpar-
" donable, so he and his brother were resolved to take
" this opportunity and occasion to free themselves
" from the importunity of the whole family : that
" all the brothers were naughty fellows, and had no
" good meaning. " And thereupon his majesty en-
larged with much sharpness upon the Jesuit and
friar, with charges upon both very weighty and un-
answerable ; and the duke upon this man who was
the subject of the debate : and both concluded,
" that they should be in great ease by the absence

" it would be better] Omitted in MS.



122 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 666. " of all of them, which should be enjoined as soon
~ " as a resolution should be taken in this particular. "
The chancellor knew that there was somewhat
else, which was not so fit to be mentioned, that had
offended them both as much ; and thought he had
reason to believe that they would be both resolute
in the punishment, and that they had deliberated it
too long to depart from the prosecution. He there-
fore advised, " that the gentleman should be pre-
" sently apprehended and examined upon the words,
" which some witness should be ready to affirm :
" and that thereupon he should be sent to the Tower,
" and the next day that his majesty should inform
" the privy-council of the whole, which without
" question would give direction to his attorney ge-
" neral to prosecute this foul misdemeanour in such
" a manner, that should put this gentleman in such
" a condition, that he should not trouble the court
" with his attendance; and other men should by
" his example find, that their tongues are not their
" own, to be employed according to their own mali-
" cious pleasures. "

He is sent The person was the same night sent to the Tower ;

Tcwer by an ^ both the king and the duke declared themselves,
r^'ad * n * ne P resence ^ their servants and many others,
to be as highly offended, and as positively resolved
to take as much vengeance upon the impudent pre-
sumption of the offender as the rigour of the law
would inflict, as ever they had done upon any oc-
currence and accident in their lives : and if they
had had persons enough about them, who out of a
just sense of their honour would have confirmed

ever] if



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 123

them in the judgment they were of, it would have 1 666.
been in nobody's power to have shaken them. But"
as from the first day of his commitment, the ser-
vants near the person both of the king and duke
presumed, against all ancient order, (which made it
a crime in any to perform those civilities to persons
declared to be under his majesty's displeasure,) to
visit Mr. Talbot, and to censure those who had ad-
vised his commitment; SOP after some few days,
when they thought the duke's passion in some de-
gree abated, the lord Berkley confidently told the
duke, " that he suffered much in the opirtion of the
" world, in permitting a servant of so near relation <i
" to be committed to prison for a few hasty and
" unadvised words to which he had been provoked ;
" and that it was well enough known that it was
" by the contrivement and advice of the chancellor,
" who was taken notice of to be an enemy to that
" whole family, nor any great friend to any of his
" highness's servants ; and if he had that credit to
" remove any of them from his person, there would
" in a short time be few of them found in his
" court. "

This was seconded by all the standers by ; and
though it did not suddenly work its effect, yet the
continual pressing it by degrees weakened the reso-
lution : and the same offices being with equal im-
portunity performed towards the king, and with the
more zeal after it was published that the whole was
done by the chancellor's procurement ; both his ma-
jesty and his highness grew weary of their severity,
and, upon conference together, resolved to interpose

v so] and 'i relation] relation to his person



124 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

with the duke for his remission, who disdained to
~ make himself a prosecutor in such a transgression.
ut won And so the prisoner returned to Whitehall, with the

released by .

the artifice advantage which men who have been unjustly im-
usually receive : and all men thought he



enemies, triumphed over the chancellor, who, how uncon-
cerned soever, knew every day the less how to be-
have himself. And this unhappy constitution grew
so notorious, (for there were too many instances of
it,) that all men grew less resolute in matters which
concerned the king and drew the displeasure of
others upon them, which was like to prove unpro-
fitable to them.

The pariia- According to their last prorogation the parliament

nient meets. . . <-,

convened again upon the one and twentieth of Sep-
The king's tember ; when the king told them, " that he was
" very glad to meet so many of them together again,
" and thanked God for their meeting together again
" in that place. " He said, " little time had passed
" since they were almost in despair of having that
" place left to meet in. They saw the dismal ruins
" the fire had made ; and nothing but a miracle of
" God's mercy could have preserved what was left
" from the same destruction. "

His majesty told them, " he need make no ex-
" cuse to them for having dispensed with their at-
" tendance in April ; he was confident they all
" thanked him for it : the truth is, he desired to
" put them to as little trouble as he could ; and he
" could tell them truly, he desired to put them to
" as little cost as was possible. He wished with all
" his heart that he could bear the whole charge of
'* the war himself, and that his subjects should reap
" the whole benefit of it to themselves. But he had



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 125

" two great and powerful enemies, who used all the ifififi.
" ways they could, fair and foul, to make all the
" world to concur with them ; and the war was
" more chargeable by that conjunction, than any
" body thought it would have been. He needed
" not tell them the success of the summer, in which
" God had given them great success ; and no ques-
" tion the enemy had undergone great losses ; and
" if it had pleased God to have withheld his late
" judgment by fire, he had been in no ill condition. "
His majesty confessed, " that they had given him
" very large supplies for the carrying on the war :
" and yet," he told them, " that if he had not, by
" anticipating his own revenue, raised a very great
" sum of money, he had not been able to have set out
" the fleet the last spring ; and he had some hope
" upon the same credit to be able to pay off the great
" ships as they should come in. They would con-
" sider what was to be, done next, when they were
" well informed of the expense : and he would leave
" it to their wisdoms, to find out the best expedients
" for the carrying on the war with as little burden
" to the people as was possible. " He said, " he
" would add no more than to put them in mind,
" that their enemies were very insolent ; and if
" they were able the last year to persuade their mi-
" serable people whom they misled, that the con-
" tagion had so wasted the nation, and impoverished
" the king, that he would not be able to set out
" any fleet ; how would they be exalted with this
" last impoverishment of the city, and contemn all
" reasonable conditions of peace ? And therefore
" he could not doubt but that they would provide
" accordingly. "



126 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1GGG. Indeed the king did not till now understand the
' damage he had sustained by the plague, much less
what he must sustain by r the fire. Monies could
neither be collected nor borrowed where the plague
had prevailed, which was over all the city and over
a great part of the country ; the collectors durst not
go to require it or receive it. Yet the fountains
remained yet clear, and the waters would run again :
but this late conflagration had dried up or so stopped
the very fountains, that there was no prospect when
they would flow again. The two great branches of
the revenue, the customs and excise, which was the
great and almost inexhaustible security to borrow
money upon, were now bankrupt, and would neither
bring in money nor supply credit : all the measures
by which -computations had been made were so
broken, that they could not be brought to meet
again. By a medium of the constant receipts it had
been depended upon, that what had been borrowed
upon that fund would by this time have been fully sa-
tisfied with all the interest, whereby the money would
have been replaced in the hands to which it was due,
which would have been glad to have laid it out again ;
and the security would have 8 remained still in vigour
to be applied to any other urgent occasions : but now
the plague had routed all those receipts, especially
in London, where the great conduits of those re-
ceipts still ran. The plague and the war had so
totally broken and distracted those receipts, that the
farmers of either had not received enough to dis-
charge the constant burden of the officers, and were
so far from paying any part of the principal that
was secured upon it, that it left the interest unpaid
r by] from * would have] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 127

to swell the principal. And now this deluge by fire
had dissipated the persons, and destroyed the houses, ~
which were liable to the reimbursement of all ar-
rears ; and the very stocks were consumed which
should carry on and revive the trade. And the third
next considerable branch of the revenue, the chim-
ney-money, was determined; and the city must be
rebuilt before any body could be required to pay for
his chimneys.

This was the true state of the crown, if all other
inconveniences and casual expenses had been away,
and all application to things serious had been made
by all persons concerned. And this woful prospect
was in view when the parliament met again ; which
came not together with the better countenance by
seeing all hopes abroad with so sad an aspect, and
all things at home (that troubled them much more)
appear so desperate in many respects. Yet within
few days after the king had spoken to them, the
house of commons being most filled with the king's
servants, the gentlemen of the country being not
yet come, there was a faint vote procured, " that
" they would give a supply to the king proportion -
" able to his wants," without mentioning any sum,
or which way it should be raised : nor from that mi-
nute did they make the least reflection upon that
engagement in many months after. Whilst the ene-
mies, much more exalted than ever, believed, as
they had good cause, that they should reap a much
greater benefit by the burning of London than they
had from the contagion.

When the numbers of the members increased, the Discontents
parliament appeared much more chagrined than it
had hitherto done ; and though they made the same



128 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1666. professions of affection and duty to the king they



had ever done, they did not conceal the very ill
opinion they had of the court and the continual riot-
ings there: and the very idle discourses of some
(who were much countenanced) upon the miserable
event of the fire made them even believe, that the
former jealousies of the city, when they saw their
houses burning at such a distance from each other,
were not without some foundation, nor without just
apprehension of a conspiracy, and that it had not
A commit- been diligently enough examined ; and therefore
pointed to they appointed a committee, with large authority to
IhJ'cause"* send for and examine all persons who could give
of the fire. an y information concerning it.

When any mention was made of the declaration
they had so lately passed, for giving the king sup-
ply, and " that it was high time to despatch it, that
" all necessary provisions might be made for the
" setting out a fleet against the spring;" it was an-
swered with passion, " that the king's wants must
" be made first to appear before any supply must be
" discoursed of: that there were already such vast
" sums of money given to the king, that there was
" none left in the country ; nor could any commo-
" dities there, upon which they should raise where-
" with to pay their taxes, be sold for want of mo-
" ney, which was all brought to London in specie,
" and none left to carry on the commerce and trade
" in the country, where they could not sell their corn
" or their cattle or their wool for half the value. "

They who had not sat in the parliament at Ox-
ford were exceedingly vexed, that there had been so
much given there, so soon after the two millions and
a half had been granted ; and said, " if the king



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 129

" wanted again already, that he must have been 1666.
" abominably cheated, which was fit to be examined. ~~
" That the number of the ships, which had been set
" out by the king in several fleets since the begin-
" ning of this war, was no secret ; and that there
" are men enough who are acquainted with the
" charge of setting out and manning and victual-
" ling ships, and can make thereby a reasonable com-
" putation what this vast expense can amount to :
" and that they cannot but conclude, that if his ma-
" jesty hath been honestly dealt with, there must
" remain still a very great proportion of money to
** carry on the war, without need of imposing more
" upon the people, till they are better able to bear it.
" And therefore that it was absolutely necessary, that
" all those, through whose hands the money had
" passed, should first give an exact account of what
" they had received,' and what and how they had
" disbursed it : and when that should appear, it
" would be seasonable to demand an addition of
" supply, which would be cheerfully granted. "

And for the better expedition of this (for every
body confessed that the time pressed) it was proposed,
" that forthwith a bill should be prepared, which
" should pass into an act of parliament, in which
" such commissioners should be appointed as the
" houses should think fit, Ito examine all accounts of
" those who had received or issued out any monies
" for this war ; and where they found any persons
" faulty, and who had broken their trust, they
" should be liable to such punishment as the parlia-
" ment should think fit :" and a committee was pre- A bin

, . ,, 1*1 brought in

sently named to prepare such a bill accordingly. f or inspect-
This proposition found such a concurrence in theJJJjJ[*

VOL. III. K



130 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1666. house, that none of the court thought fit to oppose
~ it ; and others who knew the method to be new, and
liable to just exceptions, thought it to as little pur-
pose to endeavour to divert it : and so all motions
for present supply were to be laid aside till a more
favourable conjuncture ; and the overture had been
contrived and put on by many who seemed not to
like it, which is an artifice not unusual in courts or
parliaments.

The persons, who were principally aimed at, (for
no doubt they believed that others would be com-
prehended,) were sir George Carteret, the treasurer
of the navy, through whom all that expense had
passed, who had many enemies upon the opinion
that his office was too great, and the more by the ill
offices sir William Coventry was always ready to do
him ; and the lord Ashley, who was treasurer of all
the money that had been raised upon prizes, which
could not but be a great proportion. The former
was a punctual officer and a good accountant, and
had already passed his account in the exchequer for
two years, upon which he had his " quietus est ;"
which was the only lawful way known and practised
by all accountants to the crown, who can receive a
good discharge no other way : and he was ready to
make another year's account. But what method
commissioners extraordinary by act of parliament
would put it into, he could not imagine, nor be well
satisfied with. The other, the lord Ashley, had more
reason to be troubled, for he was by his commission
exempted from giving any other account but to the
king himself, which exemption was the only reason
that made him so solicitous for the office ; and he
well knew that there were great sums issued, which



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 131

could not be put into any public account: so that 1666.
his perplexity in several respects was not small. ~~
And they both applied themselves to the king for
his protection in the point.

His majesty was no less troubled, knowing 1 that upon which
both had issued out many sums upon his warrants, coLuuf the
which he would not suffer to be produced; and E"mmittee.
called that committee of the privy-council with
which he used to advise, and complained of this
unusual way of proceeding in the house of commons,
which would terrify all men from serving his majesty
in any receipts; to which employment men sub-
mitted because they knew what they were to do,
and what they were to suffer. If they made their
account according to the known rules of the exche-
quer, their discharge could not be denied ; and if they
failed, they knew what process would be awarded
against them. But to account by such orders as
the parliament should prescribe, and to be liable to
such punishment as the parliament would inflict,
was such an uncertainty as would deprive them of
all rest and quiet of mind ; and was in itself so un-
just, that his majesty declared " that he would never
" suffer it : that he hoped it would never find a con-
" sent in the house of commons ; if it should, that
" the house of peers would reject it ; but if it should
" be brought to him, he was resolved never to give
" his royal assent. " There was no man present,
who did not seem fully to concur with his majesty
that he should never consent to it : " however, that
" the best care and diligence should be used, that it
" might never be presented to him, but stopped in

1 knowing] knew
K 2



132 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 666. " the houses ; and to that purpose, that the mem-
~" bers should be prepared by giving them notice of

" his pleasure. "

The chan- The chancellor upon this argument, in which he
yen his discerned no opposition, enlarged himself upon what
vy 'freely: he had often before put his majesty in mind of;
" that he could not be too indulgent in the defence
",of the privileges of parliament; that he hoped he
" would never violate any of them :" but he desired
him " to be equally solicitous to prevent the ex-
" cesses in parliament, and not to suffer them to
" extend their jurisdiction to cases they have no-
" thing to do with ; and that to restrain them within
" their proper bounds and limits is as necessary, as
" it is to preserve them from being invaded. That
" this was such a new encroachment as had no bot-
" torn ; and the scars were yet too fresh and green
" of those wounds which had been inflicted upon
" the kingdom from such usurpation. " And there-
fore he desired his majesty " to be firm in the reso-
" lution he had taken, and not to depart from it ;
" and if such a bill should be brought up to the
" house of peers, he would not fail in doing his duty,
" and speaking freely his opinion against such inno-
Which is vations, how many soever it might offend. " All

toon re- .

ported a- which discourse of his was in a short time after
prejudice, "communicated to those, who would not fail to make
use of it to his disadvantage.

There was a correspondence by this time begun
and warmly pursued between some discontented
members of the house of peers, who thought their
parts not enough valued, (and the duke of Bucking-
ham was in the head of them,) and some members
of the house of commons, who made themselves



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 133

remarkable by opposing all things which were pro- 1666.
posed in that house for the king's service, or which ~~
were like to be grateful to him, as sir Richard Tem-
ple, Mr. Seymour, and Mr. Garraway, and sir Robert
Howard ; who were all bold speakers, and meant to
make themselves considerable by saying, upon all
occasions, what wiser men would not u , whatever
they thought.

The duke of Buckingham x took more pains than The duke of

, , , . . Bucking-

Was agreeable to his constitution to get an interest ham at the

in all such persons, invited them to his table, pre- opposition?
tended to have a great esteem of their parts, asked
counsel of them, lamented the king's neglecting his
business, and committing it to other people who
were not fit for it ; and then reported all the license
and debauchery of the court in the most lively co-
lours ? , being himself a frequent eye and earwitness
of it. He had a mortal quarrel with the lady, and
was at this time so much in the king's displeasure,
(as he was very frequently,) that he forbore going
to the court, and revenged himself upon it by all
the merry tales he could tell of what was done
there.

It cannot be imagined, considering the loose life
he led (which was a life more by night than by day)
in all the liberties that nature could desire or wit
invent, how great an interest he had in both houses
of parliament ; that is, how many in both would fol-
low his advice, and concur in what he proposed.
His quality and condescensions, the pleasantness of
his humour and conversation, the extravagance and
sharpness of his wit, unrestrained by any modesty

" not] Omitted in MS. -\ colours] courage

x of Buckingham] Not in MS.

K 3



134 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1666. or religion, drew persons of all affections and in-

clinations to like his company ; and to believe that

the levities and the vanities would be wrought off
by age, and there would enough of good he left to
become a great man, and make him useful to his
country, for which he pretended to have a wonderful
affection and reverence ; and that all his displeasure
against the court proceeded from their declared ma-
lignity against the liberty of the subject, and their
desire that the king should govern by the example
of France. He had always held intelligence with
the principal persons of the levelling party, and pro-
fessed to desire that liberty of conscience might be
granted to all; and exercised his wit with most
license against the church, the law, and the court.

The king had constant intelligence of all his be-
haviour, and the liberty he took in his discourses of
him, for which he had indignation enough : but of
this new stratagem to make himself great in parlia-
ment, and to have a faction there to disturb his bu-
siness, his majesty had no apprehension, believing it
impossible for the duke to keep his mind long bent
upon any particular design, or to keep and observe
those hours and orders of sleeping and eating, as
men who pretend to business are obliged to; and
that it was more impossible, for him to make and
preserve a friendship with any serious persons, whom
. he could never restrain himself from abusing and
making ridiculous, as soon as he was out of their
company. Yet, with all these infirmities and vices,
he found a respect and concurrence from men of
different tempers and talents, and had an incredible
opinion with the people.

The great object of his dislike, displeasure, and



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 135

hatred, was the duke of Ormond, who being his 1666.
equal in title, and superior in credit with the king, His hatred
and at least equal to him in all other respects, he *
looked upon him" as his rival ; and that his constant
attendance upon the king through all his fortunes,
was a reproach to him for not having performed his
duty that way, and gave him a general reputation
in the kingdom with all men who had been faithful
to the crown. The duke of Ormond's younger son
had married his niece, who was the heir apparent
of his house ; to which, though he had given his
consent when he saw it was not in his power to
contradict it, yet he pretended that the duke had
made many promises of friendship to him which he
had not made good ; whereas in truth the other did
really desire, and had heartily endeavoured, to do
him all the good offices he could with the king,
which some other new extravagance of his own dis-
appointed and made uneffectual. Let the ground
and reason be what they will, he did not dissemble
to hate the duke of Ormond heartily, and to be will-
ing to undertake the prosecution of any complaint
against him ; of which, in that distempered and dis-
jointed condition of Ireland, there could not be oc-
casion wanting z , as soon as it was known that such
a patron was ready to undertake their defence. And
it cannot be denied, (the spirit of envy is so power-
ful,) that there were too many, who had no affection
for the duke of Buckingham, who were yet willing
that any thing should be done to the prejudice of
the duke of Ormond, who they thought eclipsed the
nobility of England.

7 there could not be occasion wanting] could not be wanting

K 4



136 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1666. There had been for many months a great mur-
~ mur, rather than complaint, " of the great damage
" the kingdom in general sustained by the importa-
" tion of such great quantities of Irish cattle, which
*' were bred there for nothing, and transported for
" little, that they might well undersell all the cat-
" tie here ; and from hence the breed of cattle in
" the kingdom was totally given over, and thereby
" the land would yield no rent proportionably to
" what it had ever done : and that this was a prin-
" cipal cause of the want of money in the country,
" which could only be remedied by a very strict act
" of parliament, to forbid the importation of any
" sort of cattle out of Ireland into this kingdom. "
A bin And some of them who had most thought of the

brought

into the matter had prepared a bill, and brought it into the

house of _

commons house ot commons, where it was read. At first it
S^portaJion underwent very calm and reasonable debates. Very
cauie Sh manv members of several counties desired, " that
" their counties might not undergo any damage for
" the benefit of other individual places. " They pro-
fessed " that their counties had no land bad enough
" to breed : but that their great traffick consisted in
" buying lean cattle, and making them fat, and
" upon this they paid 'their rent ; and if the bringing
" over Irish cattle should be restrained, their coun-
" ties must be undone. " And this appeared to be
the case of very many counties in England. And
the complaint was of so new a nature, that it had
never been heard of in England till some few
months before this meeting in parliament ; only it
had been mentioned in the parliament at Oxford, as
a grievance to the northern counties, which com-
plained no less of the Scots than of the Irish cattle ;



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 137

and the bill that was at this time brought into the 1666,
house of commons provided as well against the one"
as the other.

Whether this complaint originally proceeded from
the damage which the people of some counties sus-
tained, or thought they sustained, which made their
members in parliament press the restraint with
much earnestness, (and it cannot be denied that
many worthy men were passionate in it, who were
not like to be- engaged in particular and factious
contests, to comply with the humours of other men,)
is not easy to other men to judge of than those who
sat in the houses, and observed the manner and the
passion in which those debates were carried. And
it cannot be denied but that, how innocently soever
the grievance first came to be mentioned, and to be
recommended to the consideration and wisdom of
the house, the carrying it on was with unusual heat
and passion, different from what appeared in the
transaction of any other business, that had an aspect
only to the public : and it was observed, that the
cabal that is mentioned before, between some of the
house of peers and of the house of commons, began
at this time to meet more frequently, and were
united in the driving on this affair ; which suddenly
grew to be insisted on as of that importance, that
there could be no debate begun with reference to the
giving money to the king, till this bill were first
passed.

In the mean time the council of Ireland had the The privy-
alarm of what was intended before the parliament, Ireland re-
and did not only write to the king himself, but a ^
large letter to the lords of the privy-council, in billf
which they represented the present distracted con-



138 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 666. dition of that kingdom, " that there were more than
~ " one hundred thousand persons who had nothing else
" to live upon but their droves of cattle ; out of
" which they twice a year sent as many as they
" could spare into England, which enabled them to
" pay their rents, and return such goods and mer-
" chandise from thence as the kingdom stood a in
" need of;" for no money in specie was returned
upon that commerce. " That if this liberty of
" trade, which they had enjoyed in all ages, should
" be taken from them, the king's army could not be
" supported, nor the government maintained, but
" the kingdom must necessarily be ruined ; and pro-
" bably a new rebellion, in so general a discontent
" as this restraint would administer, might be again
** entered into : and therefore they desired, that at
" least some years might be allowed to that traffick
" which had been always enjoyed ; to the end that
" some other husbandry might be introduced into
" the kingdom, by which the people might live,
" and which the government would endeavour to
" plant with all possible dib'gence and encourage-
" ment. "

*

The king The king himself was so much moved with those
wT. ns e letters, that he declared, " that he could neither in
" justice nor in conscience consent to such a bill,
" which upon pretence of benefit to one of his king-
" doms might and must be so mischievous to the
" other two," (for Scotland, as is said, was yet com-
prehended as well as Ireland :) " that he was equally
" king to b all, and obliged to have an equal care of
" all ; and never to consent to any thing that might

* stood] Omitted in MS. b to] of



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 139

" be prejudicial to either of the other, especially if 1666.
" the benefit to the one were not proportionable to, ~~
" and as evident as, the damage was to the other. "
And upon these grounds he recommended to them,
" to give such a stop to this bill, that it might never
" be presented to him ; for if it were, he must posi-
" tively reject it :" and without doubt his majesty
at that time did not resolve any thing more within
himself, than never to give his royal assent to that
bill.

The letters from Ireland did not make the same The privy-
impressions upon the lords of the council, who were v^TiTm '"
very much divided in their opinions, even they f
whose zeal for the king's service was most unques- il -
tionable. Some were, upon the sole consideration
of the injustice of it, and the mischief that it would
produce in Ireland, positively against ever consent-
ing to it, and as positive that it might be stopped in
the house of commons, or thrown out of the lords'
house, that it should never come to the king: others
did as much believe that it was a real grievance, in
which the subject should have relief; and insisted
much, " that in a point evidently for the benefit and
" advantage of England, Ireland ought not to be
" put into the scale, because it would be some incon-
" venience there. " Some did in truth think that
the king was too much inclined to favour the Irish,
and in that respect were well content that this bill
should be a mortification to them : and there wanted
not others, who in dark expressions (which grew
clearer when the matter came into the house of peers)
seemed to think, " that the estates in Ireland were
" more valuable than they were in England ; and that
" some noblemen of that kingdom lived in a higher



140 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1666. " garb, and made greater expenses, than the noble-

" men in England were able to do ; which had not

" been in former times. " But they never considered,
that those noblemen had nothing but what descend-
ed to them from their ancestors; and that they
had faithfully adhered to the king, and undergone
as much damage for doing so, as any men had
done.

The house of commons seemed much more mo-
rose and obstinate than it had formerly appeared to
be, and solicitous to grasp as much power and au-
thority as any of their predecessors had done, though
no doubt with no ill intention : and c it may be
this would not have so much appeared, if there had
been the same vigour in those who had used to con-
duct the king's business in that house, as there had
used to be. But that spirit was much fallen. The
chief men of the court, upon whose example other
men looked, were much more humble than they had
used to be, and took more pains to ingratiate them-
selves than to advance the interest of their master :
and instead of pressing what was desirable upon the
strength of reason and policy, as they had used to
do, and by which the major part of the house had
usually concurred with them, they now applied
themselves with address to those, who had always
frowardly opposed whatsoever they thought would
be grateful to the king ; and desired rather to buy
their votes and concurrence by promises of reward
and preferment, (which is the most dishonourable
and unthrifty brokery that can be practised in a par-
liament, which from this time was much practised,

r and] nor



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 141

and brought many ill things to pass,) than to pre- 1666.
vail upon those weighty and important arguments"
which would bear the light. Which low artifice
raised the insolence of those, which would, as easily
as it had been, have been still overruled and sup-
pressed ; and was quickly discerned by those others,
who, upon the principles of honour and wisdom, had
hitherto swayed the house in all matters of public
concernment, and who now concluded by those new
condescensions that the former sober spirit and reso-
lution was laid aside, and that peevish men would be
compounded with ; and so resolved to sit still or look
on, till the success of this stratagem might be dis-
cerned.

And by this means the bill for Irish cattle was
driven on with more fury, and the other concerning
accounts more passionately spoken of; whilst every
day not only many of those, who had constantly ob-
served the advice that had been given them on the
behalf of the king, fell off to the other party, but
many of his household servants concurred in the bill
for Ireland ; whilst the rest, who did not yet think
fit to do so, applied themselves to the king for his
leave that they might do the same. And sir William
Coventry, who had now by his insinuations and
communication made himself very grateful to the re-
fractory party, persuaded the king, " that the house
" had taken the Irish bill so much to heart, that
" they would never enter upon the debate of money,
" till that had passed the house and was sent to the
" lords, who no doubt, upon the knowledge of his
" majesty's mind and resolution, would easily throw
" it out. That if his servants continued obstinate in
" opposing it below, they should but provoke and



142 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1666. " anger the house, and render themselves useless to
"""" other parts of his majesty's more important busi-
** ness : whereas if they did now gratify the house by
" concurring with them in this matter, they should
" make themselves acceptable, have credit enough to
" divert the bill of accounts, and presently to dispose
" every body to enter upon the matter of supply. "

The king was not pleased with the counsel, but
had a very good opinion of the counsellor, who he
believed could not but judge aright of the temper
of those with whom he had sat and conversed so
long : and so his majesty told him, " he was con-
" tented he should follow the dictates of his own
" judgment and conscience ;" and the same answer
he gave to all such members of the house of commons
The bin, who came to receive his orders. And after all this,
opposition, * ne bill was carried with great difficulty, and long
opposition given to it by those members of several
counties, which professed, " that the bringing over
" the Irish cattle was so much for their benefit, that
" they could not live well without it," and were ex-
ceedingly perplexed that it should pass ; which yet
they hoped would be prevented in the house of
peers : and so the bill was in great triumph, and by
all the members, (as in cases they much delight in
is usual,) presented to the house of peers.

And the commons no sooner repaired to their own
house, than they assumed the debate upon the ac-
counts, with the same fervour they had pursued the
other bill of Ireland, and with the same declaration,
" that they would not enter upon the subject of
" money, till they saw what success that bill would
" likewise have ;" and appearing every day more out
of humour, expressed less reverence towards the



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 143

court. And some expressions were frequently used, 1666.
which seemed to glance at the license and disorders"
and extravagant expense of that place, not without
some reflections which aimed at the lady, and at the
exorbitant power exercised by her. And this impe-
rious way of proceeding confirmed those in their wa-
riness, who had no mind to oppose or contradict the
party that they would and meant should prevail :
but they the more endeavoured to render themselves
gracious to the leaders, as being willing to ad-
minister fuel to the fire the others intended to
kindle; and, so they might preserve themselves,
were very willing to expose other ministers to the
jealousy of them, who they thought would not be
quiet without some sacrifice. And thus they alarmed
the king with the new apprehensions, " that the
" house, which had yet dutiful intentions, if they
" were crossed in what they designed for his service,
" might be provoked to be bolder with his majesty
" than they had been yet, and to mention the preva-
" lence of the lady," which every body knew the
duke of Buckingham would have been glad to have
contributed to. And with these continued repre-
sentations, but especially with their old argument of
casting it out by the house of peers, where his power
could not be doubted, they at last prevailed with
the king to leave all men to themselves in the busi- ' rhe bi " f r

inspecting

ness or the accounts, (where there was a greater public ac -
concurrence,) as he had done in the Irish bill : and p s "<] S by
so that bill likewise was transmitted to the lords. mlm~
And at this time many wise men thought, that it The pro-
would have been very happy for the king if he would dUwfvTng
have dissolved the parliament, and presently after mentanhi
called another ; which would have discovered many tinie>



144 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1666. combinations, when the actors had found themselves
~" excluded from entering again upon the stage ; and
it would have appeared, that all the storms had
been raised by those winds which had their birth
in the king's own house. And such a dissolution
(to t which the king himself was enough inclined)
would have been very popular throughout the king-
dom, which naturally doth not love long parlia-
ments, and exceedingly detested this for having
only given away their money, and raised a war of
which they saw no end nor possible benefit, without
passing any good laws for the advancement of the
peace and happiness of the kingdom. And very few
of those, who had gotten credit in the house to ob-
struct what the king desired, were men of any in-
terest or reputation with the people.

But as nobody was forward publicly to own and
avow this counsel, the consequence whereof they
knew if it were not consented to; so they who
meant to do themselves more good by the present
indisposition and distemper, than they could propose
from a new convention of men utterly unknown,
and who were like enough to bring prejudice against
their own particulars, used all the means they could
devise to divert the king from that inclination.
They told him, " that he would never have such
" another parliament, where he had near one hun-
" dred members of his own menial servants and their
" near relations, who were all at his disposal ; by
" which they had incurred so much prejudice in the
" country, that very few of thm would ever be
" elegted again. That the present distemper was
" contracted by accidents and mistakes, and would
" vanish upon very reasonable condescensions, and



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. H5

"in another prorogation: whereas if it should be 1666.
" dissolved and new writs sent out, the people would"
" return none but presbyterians and known enemies
" to the church, and such who were most notori-
" ously disaffected to the court. " And this argu-
ment, pressed by men who had no more affection
for the church than the Quakers had, prevailed with
most of the bishops to dissuade the king from
hearkening to any such advice; when they had
much more reason to expect a stronger party in a
new parliament, and might have observed that their
friends fell from them every day in both houses, and
that the court was not propitious to them, of which
they had afterwards a sad experience, and which
they might then have well foreseen.

The house of peers was no sooner possessed of the Great ani-
bill against Irish cattle, but it was read, and a mar- the house of
vellous keen resolution appeared in many to use all t ,' e bJii P '
expedition in the passing it ; though if the matter if*
itself had been without exception, there were so
many clauses and provisos in it so derogatory to the
king's honour and prerogative, that many thought it
a high disrespect to his majesty to admit them into
debate. But of these anon. The duke of Bucking-
ham appeared in the head of those who favoured the
bill, with a marvellous concernment : and at the
times appointed for the debate of it, contrary to his
custom of coming into the house, indeed of not ris-
ing till eleven of the clock, and seldom staying above
a quarter of an hour, except upon some affair which
he concerned himself in, he was now always present
with the first in a morning, and stayed till the last
at night ; for the debate often held from the morn-

VOL. in. i.



146 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1666. ing till four of the clock in the afternoon, and
""sometimes till candles were brought in.

And it grew quickly evident, that there were
other reasons which caused so earnest a prosecution
of it, above the encouragement of the breed of cattle
in England : insomuch as the lord Ashley, who next
the duke of Buckingham appeared the most violent
supporter of the bill, could not forbear to urge it as
an argument for the prosecuting it, " that if this bill
** did not pass, all the rents in Ireland would rise in
" a vast proportion, and those in England fall as
" much ; so that in a year or two the duke of Or-
" mond would have a greater revenue than the earl
" of Northumberland ;" which made a visible im-
pression in many, as a thing not to be endured.
Whereas the duke had indeed at least four times the
proportion of land in Ireland that descended to him
from his ancestors, that the earl had in England ;
and the revenue of it before the rebellion was not
inferior to the other's. But nothing was more ma-
nifest, than that the warmth of that prosecution in
the house of peers in many lords did proceed from
the envy they had of the duke's station in one king-
dom, and of his fortune in the other.

And the whole debate upon the bill was so dis-
orderly and unparliamentary, that the like had never
been known : no rules or orders of the house for the
course and method of debate were observed. And
there being, amongst those who advanced the bill,
fewer speakers than there were of those who were
against it, those few took upon them to speak
oftener than they ought to do, and to reply to every
man who declared himself to be of another opinion :



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 147

and when they were put in mind of the rule of the \6G6.
house, " that no man should speak above once upon
" the same question," they called presently to have
the house resolved into a committee, which any sin-
gle member may require, and then every man may
speak as often as he please ; and so the time was
spent unprofitably without the business being ad-
vanced. In the mean time the house of commons
proceeded as irregularly, in sending frequent mes-
sages to hasten the despatch of the bill, when they
knew well the debate of every day : and it was fre-
quently urged as an argument, "that the house of
" commons was the fittest judge of the necessities
" and grievances of the people ; and they having
" passed this bill, the lords ought to conform to their
" opinion. " In fine, there grew so great a license
of words in this debate, and so many personal reflec-
tions, that every day some quarrels arose, to the
great scandal and dishonour of a court that was the
supreme judicatory of the kingdom.

The duke of Buckingham, who assumed a liberty
of speaking when and what he would in a dialect
unusual and ungrave, his similes and other expres-
sions giving occasion of much mirth and laughter,
one day said in the debate, "that whoever was
" against that bill had either an Irish interest or an
" Irish understanding:" which so much offended the
lord Ossory, who was eldest son to the duke of Or-
mond, (who had very narrowly escaped the censure
of the house lately, for reproaching the lord Ashley
with having been a counsellor to Cromwell, and
would not therefore trust himself with giving a pre-
sent answer,) that d meeting him afterwards in the

rf that] but
I, 2



148 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1666. court, he c desired the duke "that he would walk
~ " into the next room with him ;" and there told
The lord him, "that he had taken the liberty to use many
fen^thS "" loose and unworthy expressions which reflected
Bucking- " u Pn the whole Irish nation, and which he him-
ham. se jf resented so much that he expected satisfaction,
" and to find him with his sword in his hand ;"
which the duke endeavoured to avoid by all the fair
words and shifts he could use, but was so far pressed
by the other, whose courage was never doubted,
that he could not avoid appointing a place where
they would presently meet, which he found the
other would exact to prevent discovery, and there-
fore had chosen rather to urge it himself than to
send a message to him. And so he named a known
place in Chelsea Fields, and to be there within less
than an hour.

The lord Ossory made haste thither, and expect-
ed him much beyond the time ; and then seeing
some persons come out of the way towards the place
where he was, and concluding f they were sent out
to prevent any action between them, he avoided
speaking with them, but got to the place where his
horse was, and so retired to London. The duke
was found by himself in another place on the other
side of the water, which was never known by the
name of Chelsea Fields, which he said was the place
he had appointed to meet.

Finding that night that the lord Ossory was not
in custody, and so he was sure he should quickly
hear from him, and upon conference with his friends,
that the mistake of the place would be imputed to

e he] Not in MS. ' and concluding] he concluded



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 149

him ; he took a strange resolution, that every body 1 666.

wondered at, and his friends dissuaded him from.

And the next morning, as soon as the house was sat,

the lord Ossory being likewise present that he might

find some opportunity to speak with him, the duke

told the house, "that he must inform them of some- The duke of

i r> i i i Bucking-

" what that concerned himself ; and being sure that ham in-
" it would come to their notice some other way, he
" had therefore chose to acquaint them with it him- afiair -
" self;" and thereupon related "how the lord Ossory
" had the day before found him in the court, and
" desired him to walk into the next room, where
" he charged him with many particulars which he
" had spoken in that place, and in few words told
" him he should fight with him ; which though he
" did not hold himself obliged to do in maintenance
" of any thing he had said or done in the parlia-
" ment, yet that it being suitable and agreeable to
" his nature, to fight with any man who had a
" mind to fight with him,'' (upon which he enlarged
with a little vanity, as if duelling were his daily ex-
ercise and inclination,) " he appointed the place in
" Chelsea Fields, which he understood to be the
" fields over against Chelsea; whither, having only
" gone to his lodging to change his sword, he hast-
" ened, by presently crossing the water in a pair of
" oars, and stayed there in expectation of the lord
" Ossory, until such gentlemen," whom he named,
" found him there, and said, they were sent to pre-
" vent his and the lord Ossory's meeting, whom
" others were likewise sent to find for the same pre-
" vention. Whereupon, concluding that for the
" present there would be no meeting together, he
" returned with those gentlemen to his lodging,

L 3



150 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

IMG. " being always ready to give any gentleman sa-
" tisfaction that should require it of him. "

Every body was exceedingly surprised with the
oddness and unseasonableness of the discourse, which
consisted, with some confusion, between aggravat-
ing the presumption of the lord Ossory, and making
the offence as heinous as the violating all the privi-
leges of parliament could amount unto ; and magni-
fying his own courage and readiness to fight upon
any opportunity, when it was clear enough that he
had declined it by a gross shift : and it was won-
dered at, that he had not chosen rather that some
other person might inform the house of a quarrel
between two members, that it might be examined
and the mischief prevented. But he believed that
way would not so well represent and manifest the
lustre of his courage, and might leave him under an
examination that would not be so advantageous to
him as his own information : and therefore no per-
suasion and importunity of his friends could prevail
with him to decline that method.

The lord Ossory seemed out of countenance, and
troubled that the contest was like to be only in that
place, and cared not to deny any thing that the
duke had accused him of ; only " wondered, that he
" should say he had challenged him for words
" spoken in the house, when he had expressly de-
" clared to him, when his grace insisted much upon
" the privilege of parliament to decline giving him
any satisfaction, that he did not question him for
" any words spoken in parliament, but for words
" spoken in other places, and for affronts, which he
" had at other times chosen to bear rather than to
"disturb the company. " He confessed, "he had



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 151

" attended in the very place where the duke had 1666.
" done him the honour to promise to meet him ;"
and mentioned some expressions which he had used
in designing it, which left the certainty of it not to
be doubted.

When they had both said as much as they had a
mind to, they were both required, as is the custom,
to withdraw to several rooms near the house : and
then the lords entered upon debate of the trans-
gression ; many insisting " upon the magnitude of
" the offence, which concerned the honour and safety
" of the highest tribunal in the kingdom, and the
" liberty and security of every member of the house,
" That if in any debate any lord exceeded the modest
" limits prescribed, in any offensive expressions, the
" house had the power and the practice to restrain
" and reprehend and imprison the person, according
" to the quality and degree of the offence ; and that
*"' no other remedy or examination could be applied
" to it, even by the king himself. But if it should
" be in any private man to take exceptions against
" any words which the house finds no fault with, and
" to require men to justify with their swords all
" that they say in discharge of their conscience, and
" for the good and benefit of their country ; there is
" an end of the privilege of parliament and the free-
" dom of speech : and therefore that there could not
" be too great a punishment inflicted upon this no-
" torious and monstrous offence of the lord Ossory,
" which concerned every lord in particular, as much
" as it did the duke of Buckingham ; who had car-
" ried himself as well as the ill custom and iniquity
" of the age would admit, and had given no offence

L 4



152 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1666. " to the house, towards which he had always paid
~ " all possible respect and reverence. "

They who considered the honour and dignity only
of the house, and the ill consequence of such viola-
tions as these, which way soever their affections
were inclined with reference to their persons, were
all of opinion, " that their offences were so near
" equal that their punishment ought to be equal :
" for that besides the lord Ossory's denial that he
" had made K any reflection upon any words spoken
" in parliament, which was. the aggravation of his
" offence, there was some testimony given to the
" house by some lords present, that the lord Ossory
" had complained of the duke's comportment to-
" wards him before those words used in the house
" by him, of the Irish interest or Irish understand-
" ing, and resolved to expostulate with him upon
" it ; so that those words could not be the ground
" of the quarrel. And it was evident by the duke's
" own confession and declaration, that he was as
" ready to fight, and went to the place appointed by
" himself for encounter ; which made the offence
" equal. " And therefore they moved, " that they
" might be both brought to the bar, and upon their
" knees receive the sentence of the house for their
" commitment to the Tower. "

Some, who would shew their kindness to the duke,
were not willing that he should undergo the same
punishment with' the other, until some lords, who
were known not to be his friends, were very earnest
" that the duke might receive no punishment, be-
*' cause he had committed no fault ; for that it was

s made] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 153

" very evident that he never intended to fight,' and 1666.
" had, when no other tergiversation would serve his ~
" turn, prudently mistaken the place that was ap-
" pointed by himself;" which was pressed by two or
three lords in such a pleasant manner, with reflec-
tion upon some expressions used by himself, that his
better friends thought it would be more for his ho-
nour to undergo the censure of the house than the
penalty of such a vindication : and so they were They are

, __. both sent

both sent to the 1 ower. to the

And during the time they remained there, the
bill against Ireland remained in suspense, and un-
called for by those, who would not hazard their
cause in the absence of their strongest champion.
But the same spirit was kept up in all other argu-
ments, the displeasure, that had arisen against each
other in that, venting itself in contradictions and
sharp replies in all other occasions ; a mischief that
is always contracted from the agitation of private
affairs, where different interests are pursued ; from
whence personal animosities arise, which are not
quickly laid aside, after the affair itself that pro-
duced those passions is composed and ended. And
this kind of distemper never more appeared, nor
ever lasted longer, than from the debate arid con-
testation upon this bill.

Those two lords were no sooner at liberty, and
their displeasure towards each other suppressed or
silenced by the king's command, but another more
untoward outrage happened, that continued the

_ A scuffle

same disturbance. It happened that upon the de- between
bate of the same affair, the Irish bill, there was a Baking-
conference appointed with the house of commons, in ^ n *" r ^ His
which the duke of Buckingham was a manager ; and" f D '"-

Chester ;



154 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

I6fifi. as they were sitting down in the painted chamber,
"which is seldom done in good order, it chanced that
the marquis of Dorchester sat next the duke of
Buckingham, between whom there was no good
correspondence. The one changing his posture for
his own ease, which made the station of the other
the more uneasy, they first endeavoured by justling
to recover what they had dispossessed each other
of, and afterwards fell to direct blows ; in which the
marquis, who was the lower of the two in stature,
and was less active in his limbs, lost his periwig,
and received some rudeness, which nobody imputed
to his want of courage, which was ever less ques-
tioned than that of the other.

The misdemeanour, greater than had ever hap-
pened, in that place and upon such an occasion, in
any age when the least reverence to government
was preserved, could not be concealed ; but as soon
as the conference was ended, was reported to the
house, and both parties heard, who both confessed
enough to make them undergo the censure of the
house. The duke's friends would fain have justified
him, as being provoked by the other ; and it was
evident their mutual undervaluing each other always
disposed them to affect any opportunity to manifest
For which it. But the house sent them both to the Tower ;
comiaittod from whence after a few days they were again re-
Towlr. leased together, and such a reconciliation made as
after such rencounters 'is usual, where either party
thinks himself beforehand with the other, as the
marquis had much of the duke's hair in his hands
to recompense for his ll pulling off his periwig, which
he could not reach high enough to do to the other.

h his] the



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 155

When all things were thus far quieted, the bill 1666.
was again entered upon with no less passion for the
stock that had been wasted. - The arguments which Ar gments

urged

were urged against the bill for the injustice of it a gainstthe

. Irish bill iu

were \ " that they should, without any cause or de- the house
" merit on their part, or any visible evidence of a pee
" benefit that would accrue from it to this kingdom,
" deprive his majesty's two other kingdoms of a pri-
" vilege they had ever been possessed of: that they
" might as reasonably take away the trade from any
" one county in England, because it produced some
" inconvenience to another county more in their
" favour : that the large counties of Norfolk, Suf-
" folk, Kent, and other provinces, would lose as
" much by the passing of this act, as the northern
" and any other counties would gain by it : that
" those two kingdoms might with the same justice
" press his majesty's concurrence, that they might
" have no trade with England, which would bring
" more damage to England by much, than it would
" gain by this act of restraint : and that it was
" against all the maxims of prudence, to run the dan-
" ger of a present mischief and damage, as this
" would produce in Ireland by the testimony of the
" lord lieutenant and council of that kingdom, only
" upon the speculation of a future benefit that might
" accrue, though it were yet only in speculation. "

These, and many other arguments of this kind,
which for the most part were offered by men who
had not the least relation to Ireland, made no other
impression, than that they were content to leave
Scotland out of the bill ; which increased their party

' were] Omitted in MS.



156 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

166G. against Ireland, and gave little satisfaction to the
""other, who did not so much value the commerce
with the other kingdom. And this alteration the
house of commons likewise consented to, but with
great opposition, since in truth that concession de-
stroyed the foundation upon which the whole fabric
of the bill was supported.
Against Then the debate fell upon some derogatory clauses

clauses in it

derogatory and provisos very contrary to his majesty's just pre-
* rogative and power, (for they made his majesty's
own license and warrant of no effect or authority,
but liable to be controlled by a constable ; nor would
permit the importation of 'three thousand beeves,
which, by an act of parliament in Ireland, were
every year to be delivered at Chester and another
port for the provision of the king's house ;) which
in many respects the house generally disliked, and
desired " that it might have no other style than had
" been accustomed in all the penal acts of parlia-
" ment which were in force, it being to be presumed,
" that the king would never dispense with any vio-
" lation of it, except in such cases as the benefit and
" good of the kingdom required it ; which might
" naturally fall out, if there should happen such a
" murrain amongst the beasts of that species, as had
" been these late years amongst horses, which had
" destroyed so many thousand, that good horses
" were now hard to be procured. And if the same
" or the like destruction should fall upon the other
" cattle, we should have then more cause to com-
" plain of the scarcity and the dearness of meat, than
" we have now of the plenty and cheapness, which
*' was the only grievance now felt, and which king-
" doms seldom complained of: and in such a case



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 157

" it would be very great pity, that the king should 1666.
" not have power enough to provide for the supply"
" of his subjects, and to prevent a common dearth. "
But this was again opposed with as much passion
and violence as had fallen out in any part of the de-
bate ; and such rude arguments used against such a
power in the king, as if the question were upon re-
posing some new trust in. him, whereas it was upon
divesting him of a trust that was inherent in him
from all antiquity : and " that it was the same thing
" to be without the bill, and not to provide against
" the king's dispensing with the not obeying it,
" whose inclinations were well known in this parti-
" cular ; and therefore the effect of them, and of the
" importunity of the courtiers, must be provided
" against. " And throughout this discourse there
was such a liberty of language made use of, as re-
flected more upon the king's honour, and indeed upon
his whole council and court, than had been k heard
in that house, but in a time of rebellion, without
very severe reprehension : and it so much offended
the house now, that, notwithstanding all the sturdy
opposition, it was resolved that those clauses and These

clauses are

provisos should be amended in some places, and to- amended by

ii i n i AI--IT the lords.

tally left out in others. And with the alteration
and amendments it was sent down to the house of
commons.

At this time the public affairs and necessities
were little looked after or considered. The fleet was
come into the ports, but there was 1 no money to
pay off the men : and what was equally mischievous,
there was no way to make the provisions for the

k than had been] as had not ' there was] Omitted in MS.

been



158 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1666. next spring, that the fleet might be ready for the
sea by the time the enemy would assuredly be out.
If the victualler were not supplied, who had much
money due to him, the season would be past in
which he was to buy the cattle that he must kill ;
and he complained how much he should suffer by
this bill of Ireland, which already raised the price
of all meats. And thei yards wanted all those tack-
lings and rigging and masts, without which another
fleet could not be sent out, and which could no
otherwise be provided than by ready money. The
king had anticipated all his own revenue, and was
ready to expose that for further security, but nobody
would trust. The new provisos in the bill of supply
at Oxford gave no new credit, but were found as mis-
chievous as any body had apprehended they would
be : and the bankers, who in all such occasions were
a sure refuge, wanted now credit themselves ; which
that they might not recover^ the parliament had
treated them as ill since they came together, that is,
with reproaches and threats, as they had done at
Oxford. In which kind of persecution sir William
Coventry, and some who followed him, led the van,
very much to the king's prejudice and against his
command ; but they excused themselves, upon the
credit it gave them in the house to do him service.

All this was well enough understood : and it was
as visible, that they intended to make it a forcible
argument for the passing the Irish bill, which, though
from different motives, was now become the sacri-
fice, without which they would not be appeased ;
and therefore, when the bill was sent to them with
those alterations and amendments, they rejected
them all, and voted. " that they would adhere to



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 159
their own bill without departing from a word of it, 16(56.



" except with reference to Scotland," from which The C011< _
they had receded. And if upon this very unusual ! 1U)ll V ld -

J * here to

return the house of peers had likewise voted, " that their ^11.
" they too would adhere," which they might regu-
larly have done, and would have been consented to
by the major part of the house if the question had
been then put ; there had been an end of that bill.
But that must not be suffered : the party that che-
rished it was too much concerned to let it expire in
a deep silence, and were numerous enough to ob-
struct and defer what they liked not, though not to
establish what they desired. Some of them, that is,
some who desired that the bill should pass, though
uncorrupted by their passions, did not like the ob-
stinacy of the house of commons in not departing
from some unusual clauses and pretences ; yet were
not willing to have the like vote for adhering to pass
in that house, which it might do when all other re-
medies should fail; and therefore moved, " that a
" conference might be required, in which such rea-
" sons might be given as might satisfy them. " Many
conferences, and free conferences, were held, in
which the commons still maintained their adherence
with a wonderful petulance : and those members,
who were appointed to manage the conferences,
took the liberty to use all those arguments, and the
very expressions, which had been used in the house
of peers, against leaving any power in the king to
dispense ; and added such other of their own as
more reflected on m his majesty's honour ; and yet
concluded as if they could say more if they were

tn on] upon



IfX) CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1666. provoked, upon which every man might make what
glosses he pleased, and the king himself was left to
his own imaginations.

An instance There need be no other instance given of the un-
M. . II of the heard of and incredible passion that was shewed in
thi* ff^r. ' n the transaction of that bill, than a particular that
related to the city of London. Upon the news of the
great fire in London, and the devastation that it
made there, there was so general a lamentation in
Ireland as might be expected from a neighbour pro-
vince, that had so great a commerce with and de-
pendance upon it. And the consent in this lamen-
tation was so digested, that the several provinces
had made a computation and division between them-
selves, and presented a declaration to the lord lieu-
tenant and council, " that they had so tender a sense
" of that calamity, that if they were able to raise
" money to administer some assistance to the city
" towards the reparation of their great loss, they
" would willingly offer and present it : but that not
" being in their power or possession, the great
" scarcity and want of money throughout that king-
" dom being notoriously known, but there being
" somewhat in their power to offer, which might at
" least testify their good-will, and not be wholly use-
" less towards the end they designed it ; they had
" agreed between themselves to give unto the lord
" mayor and city of London, to be n disposed of by
" them to such particular uses as they should judge
" most convenient, the number of thirty thousand
" Irish beasts, which should be delivered within
" such a time and at such ports," which were named,

11 to be] nnd to be



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 161

" to any such persons as should be appointed to re- 1666.
" ceive them. " And of this they desired the lord
lieutenant and council to advertise the king, and
likewise give notice to the city of London : both
which were done accordingly ; and the advertise-
ment arrived in the city in the time when this bill
was depending in the lords' house. Whereupon the
lord mayor and aldermen presented a petition to the
lords, with a proviso that they desired might be in-
serted in the bill that was before them, by which it
was provided, " that nothing contained in that bill
4< should hinder the city of London from enjoying the
** charitable donative of the thirty thousand cattle,
" but that they might have liberty to import the
" same. "

It can hardly be believed with what passion and
indignation this petition was received by the house,
what invectives were made against the city, " for
" their presumption in interposing their own parti-
" cular interest to obstruct the public affairs of the
*. * kingdom ;" and then the reflections which were
" made upon the council of Ireland, for giving coun-
" tenance to such an address, and becoming instru-
" ments themselves to promote and advance it:"
which they would not allow " to be an offering of
" charity, but a cheat and a cozenage by combination
" to elude an act of parliament, which they could not
" choose but hear of, and could not but believe that
*5 it was passed by this time. Which if it had been,
" and that power left in the king as had been pro-
" posed, they might now see how it would have been
" applied : for they could not doubt, but there would
" enough have advised the king, that he should gra-
" tify the city of London with a license for this im-

VOL. III. M



162 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1 666.