1620.] CHIEF JUSTICE MONTAGU MADE TREASURER. 149 envy of these things (which I think in themselves bear no great fruit), and rather take the thanks for ceasing them, than the note for maintaining them. But howsover, let me know your mind, and your Lordship shall find I will go your way. I cannot express how much comfort I take in the choice his Majesty hath made of my Lord Chief Justice to be Lord Treasurer;1 not for his sake, nor for my sake, but for the King's sake; hoping that now a number of counsels which I have given for the establishment of his Majesty's estate, and have lyen dead and buried deeper than this snow, may now spring up and bear fruit; the rather for that I persuade myself he and I shall run And yet I know well that in this doubling world cor unum et via una is rare in one man, but more rare between two. And therefore, if it please his Majesty, according to his prudent custom in such cases, to cast out now at his coming down some words which may the better knit us in conjunction to do him service, I suppose it will be to no idle purpose. one way. And as an old truant in the commission of the treasure, let me put his Majesty in remembrance of three things now upon his entrance, which he is presently to go in hand with: The first, to make Ireland to bear the charge thereof: The second, to bring all accounts to one purse in, the Exchequer: The third, by all possible means to endeavour the taking off of the anticipations, There be a thousand things moe; but these, being his Majesty's last commands to the Commissioners of the Treasury, (with such as in his Majesty's princely judgment shall occur) will do well to season his place. Your Lordship's most obliged friend, and faithful servant, 29 November, 1620. As soon as I had written this letter, I received your Lordship's letter touching my Lord Chief Justice, which redoubled my 1 He received the Treasurer's staff at Newmarket on the 3rd of December, took the oath on the 16th, and was created Baron Kimbolton and Viscount Mandeville on the 19th. "On Saturday last (says Chamberlain, writing on the 22d) the Lord Treasurer was solemnly sworn in the Exchequer, though it has been seldom seen, and few or no precedents to have it done out of the Term: but the Lord Chan cellor's opinion was that if there were none, this should stand for a precedent." S.P. vol. 118. no. 39. comfort, to see how his Majesty's thoughts, and mine his poor servant's, and your Lordship's met. I send inclosed names for the Speaker; and if his Majesty or your Lordship demand our opinion which of them, my Lord Chief Justice will tell you. It were well it were dispatched; for else I will not dine with the Speaker; for his drink will not be laid in time enough. I beseech your Lordship, care may be taken, that our general letter may be kept secret, whereof my Lord Chief Justice will tell you the reason. TO THE KING. 2 It may please your most excellent Majesty, According to your commandment, we have heard once more the proctors of the Prerogative-Court, what they could say; and find no reason to alter in any part our former certificate. Thus much withal we think fit to note to your Majesty, That our former certificate, which we now ratify, is principally grounded upon a point in law, upon the statute' of 21st Henry 8th, wherein we the Chancellor and Treasurer, for our own opinions, do conceive the law is clear, and your Sollicitor General concurs. Now whether your Majesty will be pleased to rest in our opinions and so to pass the patents; or give us leave to assist ourselves with the opinion of some principal Judges now in town, whereby the law may be the better resolved to avoid further questioning hereafter, we leave it to your Majesty's royal pleasure.3 This we represent the rather, because we discern such a confidence in the proctors and those upon whom they depend, as it is not unlike they will bring it to a legal question. And so 1 This paragraph is added in another hand. The "general letter" is the one immediately preceding, signed by all the Commissioners. 2 Gibson Papers, vol. viii. f. 136. Draught in Meautys's hand. Docketed in another, "The draught of the second certificate to his M. touching the engrossing of Wills. Dec. 12, 1620." 3 For the King's decision, see Buckingham's letter of the 17th of December to the Lord Chancellor and Lord Treasurer; p. 154. 1620.] PREPARATIONS FOR PARLIAMENT. 151 we humbly kiss your Majesty's hands, praying for your pre We have these two days past made report to the board of our Parliament committee; upon relation whereof, for some things we provide, for some things we arm. The King, by my Lord Treasurer's signification did wisely put it upon a consult, whether the patents which we mentioned in our joint letter were at this time to be removed by act of Council before Parliament. I opined (but yet somewhat like Ovid's mistress, that strove, but yet as one that would be overcomen) that yes. My reasons: That men would go better and faster to the main errand. That these things should not be staged nor talked of, and so the less fuel to the fire. That in things of this nature, the Council had done the like in former particulars which I enumerated, before Parliament, near Parliament, during Parliament; and that the Council was to keep their wonted centinel, as if they thought not of a Parliament. That there was enough left for the Parliament to desire in other patents, as concealments, ctc. The reasons on the other side were: That it would be thought but an humouring of the Parliament (being now in the Calends of a Parliament) and that after Parliament they would come up again. 'Gibson Papers, vol. viii. f. 137. Fair copy by Meautys, with corrections and interlineation in Bacon's hand. Docketed, "The Lo. Chancellor Verulam touching some things to be prepared for a Parliam'." There is a copy in the Tanner MSS. (290, f. 242) which was printed by Blackbourne and agrees with this copy as it stood before the corrections were made. That offered graces, by reason and experience leese their thanks. That they are to be suffered to play upon some things, since they can do nothing of themselves. That the choosing out of some things when perhaps their minds might be more upon other things would do no great effect. That former patents taken away by act of Council were upon the complaints of particular persons, whereas now it should seem to be done tanquam ex officio. To this I yielded, though I confess I am yet a little doubtful upon the point of suavibus modis. But it is true that if way be given, as I wrote to your Lordship in my last, to the taking away of some of them, it will sort to your honour. For other things, the Lords have put them in a very good way, of which I will give express account when I see his Majesty, as also of other observations concerning Parliament. For if his Majesty said well, that when he knew the men and the elections he would guess at the success; the prognosticks are not so good as I expected, occasioned by late occurrences abroad, and the general licentious speaking of state matters, of which I wrote in my last. God ever keep you. Your Lordship's most obliged friend, Dec. 16, 1620. I have not met with any such letter as Bacon here refers to as his 'last.' But it was probably one in which he had recommended the issuing of a proclamation against licentious speaking and writing on state matters. The King, approving the suggestion, had directed him to draw one up: which he did (as will be seen by Buckingham's letter of the 21st of December), and the King liked it and ordered him to lay it before the Council (which he did the next day) and have it published at once. A proclamation answering the description, and dated the 24th of December, is printed in Rymer's 1 This sentence stood originally in the MS. thus: "But it is trew the speech of these things in the lower house may be contemned, and yf way be given to them (as I wrote to your Lpp. in my last of some of them) it will sort to your honour.' It is altered by Bacon to this. "But it is trew that yf way be given as I wrote to yor Lpp. in my last to some the taking away of some of them it will sort to your honour." I conclude that that the first "", "9 some was left in by accident. 1620.] CAPTURE OF PRAGUE BY THE BAVARIANS. 153 'Fœdera; and (being no doubt the same) will be found in its place a little further on. The "late occurrences abroad were the defeat of Frederick at Prague on the 29th of October, and the capture of the city by the Bavarians. The news was first heard in England on the 24th of November, and so exasperated the popular hatred of Gondomar that he thought it necessary to apply to the Council for protection, who granted him a guard for his house. Among the political writings which the time brought forth was one entitled "Vox populi, or News from Spain, which may serve to warn both England and the United Provinces how far to trust to Spanish pretences." It was in the form of an imaginary conversation, and had come out just before. The Government were enquiring after the author;' who had taken the precaution to put himself out of reach; and it was probably one of the specimens of "lavish discourse and bold censure in matters of state" which suggested to Bacon the expediency of the Proclamation. The disaster of Prague did not materially affect the preparations for the coming Parliament; for it tended only to strengthen and stimulate the popular desire for the defence of the Palatinate; and the more the House of Commons was bent upon that, the more easy it would be to deal with about domestic matters. But it did very materially alter the position of the Government upon the question, and opened a new prospect of settlement. Hitherto James had been unable to support his son-in-law without supporting what he conceived to be an unjustifiable rebellion--a bad cause. He was ready to support him only on condition that he resigned what he had no right to-which was the throne of Bohemia; but this Frederick would not do when he might, and since the war began he could hardly be asked to do it: for he could not with honour abandon his post while the enemy were at his gates, except upon conditions for his Protestant subjects more favourable than could be obtained. Now however-being a fugitive, without crown, people, army, or ally, he might without dishonour confess himself beaten and give up the game. By renouncing his pretensions to the Bohemian throne he would at once relieve James from his perplexity, 1 "Besides divers other businesses of the council here... I have another in hand, which is the discovery of that seditious book called Vox populi, whereof I have a hope to find out the author, and am now busy about it, having upon search of a suspicious person found out another pamphlet in his chamber of the like nature entitled Sir Walter Ralegh's ghost, or a conference between Gondomar the Friar Confessor and Father Baldwin the Jesuit, at Ely-house in Holborn. I assure your Lordship it is as seditious a book as the other, if not much worse, but not yet printed.' Naunton to Buckingham, 28 Nov. 1620. Fortescue Papers, p. 143. |