lord-lieutenant of Ireland, he had no other view but to ftretch the prerogative-royal, and increase the king's revenues. His proud and haughty carriage had given no lefs offence to the public than his actions, whereby he strove to establish an arbitrary power. He was therefore the first among those who passed for the authors of the grievances upon whom the ftorm fell.

On the eleventh of November, eight days after the opening of the parliament, Mr. Pym having defired and obtained his defire of the commons, that the doors of the house might be locked, and the outward room cleared of ftrangers, informed them, that there were feveral complaints against the earl of Strafford,. which gave juft grounds to accufe him of hightreafon. The houfe having received this information, immediately appointed a committeeof feven, who withdrew into another room,, and conferring together, reported fhortly after, that it was their opinion, there was juft caufe to impeach the earl of Strafford. Then Mr. Pym was ordered to go to the house of lords, and accufe the earl of high treason, in the name of the commons. He had orders

alfo to tell the lords, that the commons would, in due time, produce the articles of accufation,. and defrred that the accufed might, till then,

be put in fafe cuftody. The earl of Strafford had that very day quitted the army, and taken his place in the houfe of lords.. He had been apprited before he left the army that a defign

was

was formed to attack him: but, whether through pride, or a perfuafion that, having done nothing without the king's authority, he was fecure, he flighted the advice, and would be present in the parliament. Indeed, fome months before, the king's protection was more than fufficient to screen him from all danger; but the face of affairs was changed, and it feems furprising that a perfon of fo excellent an understanding, could imagine, that the king was able to protect him at fuch a junc

ture.

No fooner had the commons impeached the earl, but the lords committed him to the cuftody of the black-rod, and some days after fent him to the Tower. The process against him could not be ready to be tried till the twenty-second of March, 1640-1. The trial lafted till the twelfth of April, and then the commons, who had been prefent all the while, perceiving, doubtless, that the fentence would not prove as rigorous as they defired, resolved to proceed against the earl by way of bill of attainder.

They voted, therefore, on the fixteenth and nineteenth of April, that it was fufficiently proved, that the earl of Strafford had endea voured to fubvert the fundamental laws of the kingdom, and introduce an arbitrary and tyrannical government into the realms of En land and Ireland; and that, confequently, he was guilty of high-treafon.

On the twenty-firft of the fame month, the bill of attainder was paffed, there being two hundred and four for it, and fifty-nine against it. The bill met with fo great oppofition in the house of peers, that it was very doubtful whether it would be paffed or thrown out; for which reafon, on the twenty-fourth, was prefented to both houfes a petition, subscribed by above forty thousand inhabitants of London, fetting forth the causes of their fufpicions and fears; and, amongst others, that juftice was not yet executed upon the earl of Strafford; and, that there was reafon to dread fome fecret plot against the parliament.

The twenty-eighth of April, the commons fent a meffage to the lords, that they had received information, that the earl of Strafford had a defign to make an escape out of the Tower; that the guard about him was weak; and therefore defired he might be kept clofe prifoner, and his guards itrengthened; to which the lords confented.

The first of May, the king came to the parliament, and, in a fpeech to both houses, faid, That, having been prefent at the trial of the earl of Strafford, he could not in confcience condemn him of high-treafon, though he thought him guilty of mifdemeanours: therefore he defired the lords to find fome way to bring him out of this great freight. The commons were very much troubled and difcontented with this fpeech, and directly ad

journed

journed till the third of May; on which day a great multitude at Westminster infulted and threatened the lords, as they were going to the house, crying out, Juftice! Justice!

It was no easy matter for the lords to avoid doing what the commons defired. In the first place, they had infpired the nation with fuch a terror, that no one durft oppofe their refolutions, for fear of being thought to have ill defigns, and exposed to inevitable ruin. Secondly, the people still continued to flock about Westminster, and openly threatened the lords. Thirdly, the multitude prefented the fame day a petition to the lords, demanding justice against the earl of Strafford, and that their lordships would pleafe to free them from the fear of a confpiracy. Fourthly, on the morrow, being the fourth of May, the people getting together again at Weftminster in greater numbers than the day before, fome incendiaries pafted up against a wall in the old palace-yard, the names of fifty-fix members, and called them Straffordians, and betrayers of their country. Laftly, the fame day the multitude prefented to the lords another petition, faying that they understood the Tower was going to receive a garrifon of men, not of the hamlets, as ufually, but confifting of other perfons, under the command of a captain, a great confident of the earl of Strafford's ; which was done to make way for the earl's escape. Upon

$

Upon this petition, the houfe fent fix peers to go and examine Sir William Balfour, lieutenant of the Tower, about the truth of the matter. Balfour answered, it was true he had his majefty's order to receive one hundred men into the Tower, and captain Billingly to command them, and to receive only fuch men as the captain fhould bring to him; but underftanding now their lordship's pleafure, he would receive no other guard into the Tower but the hamlet-men.

The lords further declared, at a conference with the commons, that they were drawing to a conclufion of the bill of attainder; but were fo encompaffed with multitudes of people, that they might be conceived not to be free; and therefore defired the commons to join with them, to find out fome way to fend the people to their homes. Then they debated the proteftation which had before been drawn up in order to be figned by all the members; the purport of which was, that each member fhould do all that lay in his power to defend the religion of the church of England, and the privileges of parliament; and fhould do all in his power to bring to condign punishment all that by force or confpiracy should do any thing against either.

This proteftation being paffed, and taken by four hundred and thirty-three commoners, and one hundred and fix lords, including the bishops and judges, the commons ordered Dr.

Burgess