1579

CHAP. Ous articles. That the prelates, emboldened by XL. her royal protection, had affumed a decifive power in all queftions of religion, and required that every one should implicitly fubmit his faith to their arbitrary determinations: That the love, which he bore his fovereign, forbade him to be filent under fuch abufes, or to facrifice, on this important occafion, his duty to fervile flattery and complaifance: And that, as no earthly creature was exempt from fault, fo neither was the queen herself; but in impofing this fervitude on her faithful commons, had committed a great, and even dangerous, fault against herself and the whole commonwealth ***

144

IT is easy to observe, from this speech, that, in this dawn of liberty, the parliamentary ftyle was ftill crude and unformed; and that the proper decorum of attacking minifters and counsellors, without interefting the honor of the crown, or mentioning the perfon of the fovereign, was not yet entirely established. The commons expreffed great displeasure at this unufual licence: They fequeftered Wentworth from the house, and committed him prifoner to the ferjeant at arms. They even ordered him to be examined by a committee, confifting of all thofe members who were alfo members of the privy - council; and a report to be next day made to the houfe. This committee met in the star-chamber, and wearing the aspect of that arbitrary court, fummoned Wentworthto

145

XL.

1579.

appear before them, and anfwer for his behaviour. c A г.
But though the commons had difcovered fo little
delicacy or precaution, in thus confounding their
own authority with that of the ftar-chamber;
Wentworth better understood the principles of
liberty, and refused to give these counsellors any
account of his conduct in parliament, till he were
fatisfied, that they acted, not as members of the
privy-council, but as a committee of the houfe ""*.
He juftified his liberty of fpeech by pleading the
rigor and hardship of the queen's meffages; and
notwithstanding that the committee fhowed him,
by inftances in other reigns, that the practice of
fending fuch meffages was not unprecedented, he
would not agree to exprefs any forrow or repent-
ance. The iffue of the affair was, that, after
a month's confinement, the queen fent to the
commons, informing them, that, from her special
grace and favor, fhe had reftored him to his
liberty and to his place in the house "". By this
feeming lenity, fhe indirectly retained the power,
which she had affumed, of imprisoning the mem-
bers, and obliging them to anfwer before her for
their conduct in parliament. And Sir Walter
Mildmay endeavoured to make the houfe fenfible
of her Majesty's goodness, in fo gently remitting
the indignation, which fhe might juftly conceive
at the temerity of their member: But he informed
them, that they had not the liberty of speaking
what and of whom they pleased; and that indif-

146

Ibid. r. 244.

XL.

1579.

147

148

CHA P. creet freedoms, used in that house, had, both in the prefent and foregoing ages, met with a proper chaftifement. He warned them, therefore, not to abufe farther the queen's clemency; left fhe be conftrained, contrary to her inclination, to turn an unfuccessful lenity into a neceffary severity **. THE behaviour of the two houfes was, in every other refpect, equally tame and fubmiffive. Inftead of a bill, which was at firft introduced for the reformation of the church, they were contented to prefent a petition to her majefty for that purpose: And when he told them, that she would give orders to her bishops, to amend all abuses, and if they were negligent, fhe would herself, by her fupreme power and authority over the church, give fuch redress as would entirely fatisfy the nation; the parliament willingly acquiefced in this fovereign and peremptory decifion +9

149

THOUGH the commons fhowed fo little spirit in oppofing the authority of the crown they maintained, this feffion, their dignity against an encroachment of the peers, and would not agree to a conference, which, they thought, was demanded of them in an irregular manner. They acknowledged, however, with all humblenefs, (fuch is their expreffion) the fuperiority of the lords: They only refused to give that house any reason for their proceedings; and afferted that, where they altered a bill fent them by the

147 D'Ewes, p. 259.

148

Ibid.

149

P. 252. Ibid. p. 257.

peers, it belonged to them to defire a conference, c HA P. not to the upper houfe to require it "5.

350

THE Commons granted an aid of one fubfidy and two fifteenths. Mildmay, in order to fatisfy the house concerning the reasonablenefs of this grant, entered into a detail of the queen's past expences in fupporting the government, and of the increasing charges of the crown, from the daily increase in the price of all commodities. He did not, however, forget to admonish them, that they were to regard this detail as the pure effect of the queen's condefcenfion, fince she was not bound to give them any account how the employed her treasure "".

XL.

1579,

С НА Г.

XLI. 1580.

Affairs of
Scotland.

THE
HE greatest and most abfolute fecurity, that
Elizabeth enjoyed during her whole reign, never
exempted her from vigilance and attention; but
the scene began now to be more overcast, and
dangers gradually multiplied on her from more
than one quarter.

THE earl of Morton had hitherto retained Scotland in ftrict alliance with the queen, and had alfo reftored domeftic tranquillity to that kingdom: But it was not to be expected, that the factitious and legal authority of a regent would long maintain itself in a country unacquainted with law and order; where even the natural dominion of hereditary princes fo often met with oppofition and controul. The nobility began a-new to break into factions: The people were difgufted with fome inftances of Morton's avarice: And the clergy, who complained of farther encroachments on their narrow revenue, joined and increafed the