House of Lords Journal Volume 5: 30 May 1642

Die Lunæ, videlicet, 30th of May.

Prayers.

The Lord Wharton was appointed to sit as Speaker this Day.

Ships with the Magazine from Hull arrived in the River.

Fo Warrant to be given for receiving it at The Tower.

The Lord Admiral signified to the House, "That his Lordship hath received a Letter from the Earl of Warwicke, brought by the Captains that were sent to Hull for the convoying of the Magazines, which are brought to The Tower of London; and the Captains desire that they may be discharged:" To that Purpose, moved, "That a Warrant may (fn. 1) be given, for receiving the said Magazine at The Tower."

For the Captains of the Ships to be thanked for their Conduct.

His Lordship further offered to the Consideration of this House, "Whether it were not fit to have the Captains called in, and to have Thanks given for their Care and Readiness to perform the Commands of the Parliament concerning the Magazine; and whether it were not fit to propound to the House of Commons, for some Gratuity to be given to the Captains and Soldiers that brought up the Magazine from Hull."

Thanks given to Captains Driver and Swanley.

The Two Captains (videlicet, Captain Driver and Captain Swanley) were called in; and had Thanks given them, in the Name of the House, by the Speaker, for their Fidelity and Care in bringing the Magazines from Hull.

The House Resolved, To have a Conference with the House of Commons, to acquaint them herewith.

Message to the H. C. to acquaint them with it, and about the Propositions to be sent to the King.

A Message was sent to the House of Commons, by the Master of the Rolls and Doctor Ayliffe:

To desire a Conference, touching some Demands or Propositions to be presented to the King; and touching the Arrival of the Magazine from Hull.

Lord Keeper's Petition.

Next, a Petition of the Lord Keeper was read, in hæc verba.

(Here enter it.)

This to be considered of further hereafter.

After this, the Speaker acquainted the House, "That he hath received a Letter, directed to the Speaker of the House of Peers;" which the House commanded to be read, in hæc verba:

Charles R.

Letter from the King, with a Message in Answer to the Petition of both Houses for disbanding His Guard.

Right Trusty and Well-beloved, We greet you well. Our Will and Command is, That you receive, and forthwith read in Our House of Peers, to be afterwards communicated to Our House of Commons, Our Message inclosed, being in Answer to the Petition of both Our said Houses (presented to Us at Our City of Yorke the 23d of this Month, with Three Votes of the 20th), concerning the disbanding Our Guard; and for so doing, this shall be your Warrant.

"Given at Our Court at Yorke, the 26th of May, 1642."

(Here enter the Message.)

Ordered, That Copies may be delivered forth of the Depositions that were brought in this Day by Auditor Brinley.

The Messengers return this Answer:

Answer from the H. C.

That the House of Commons will give a present Meeting, as is desired.

E. of Peterborough excused.

Ordered, That the Earl of Peterborough is excused for his Absence this Day.

Osbalstons, King's Servants, Privilege.

The Petition of Tho. Osbalston and Symon Osbalston was read; shewing, "That they, being the Servants in Ordinary to the King, are arrested, contrary to the Privilege of Parliament."

The Effect of the Conference was:

Subject of the Conference.

To let the House of Commons know, that the Lords have prepared certain Propositions, or Demands, which, if the House of Commons consents to, are to be sent to the King, thereby to let all the World see, that the Parliament seeks nothing but the Good and Peace of the King and Kingdom.

"And further, that this House conceives that the Captains and Seamen, who have brought the Magazine from Hull, have expressed great Diligence in the Voyage, with much Duty and good Affection to the Parliament: They do therefore think fit, that this Care of theirs should be taken Notice of, not only by verbal Expressions, but that, by some Gratuity, they and others may be encouraged to the same Obedience upon the like Occasions."

The House was adjourned during Pleasure, and the Lords went to the Conference; which being ended, the House was resumed.

Message from the H. C. with an Order for raising Voluntiers for Ireland.

A Message was brought from the House of Commons, by Mr. Oliver Cromewell:

To desire their Lordships Concurrence in an Order for some Lords, and divers others, to beat a Drum, for the raising of Voluntiers, for the Service of Ireland.

(Here enter the Order.)

The Order.

Entered poslea with Additions.

Whereas the Forces of Horse and Foot, Voluntiers, which shall be sent over into Ireland by Force of an Act made this present Session of Parliament, intituled, "An Act for the speedy and effectual reducing of the Rebels in His Majesty's Kingdom of Ireland to their due Obedience to His Majesty and the Crown of England," may, by virtue of the same Act, be raised by the Direction of the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled: It is therefore Ordered, by the said Lords and Commons, That additional Forces, of One Thousand Soldiers, Voluntiers, besides Officers, shall and may be forthwith raised, for the said Expedition; and that, for the better effecting thereof, the several Commanders hereafter named; videlicet, the Right Honourable Robert Lord Brooke, Baron of Beauchamp, Commander in chief, the Right Honourable Alexander Forbes, Baron of Castle Forbes, John Humphries, Serjeant Major, Captain Beaton, Captain Nicholas Crispe, Captain Wm. Weldon, Captain Hugh Price, Captain Wm. Hull, Captain Longe, Captain John Anderson, and their several Lieutenants, Ensigns, and other Officers, shall and may have Liberty to beat up Drums, in all Places within the Kingdom of England and Dominion of Wales, and thereby or otherwise to raise and levy so many Soldiers, Voluntiers, as shall suffice to make up unto every of the said Captains One complete Company of One Hundred Foot, besides Officers, to be employed in the foresaid Service."

To be considered of To-morrow.

Answer to the H. C.

The Messengers were called in, and told, "That their Lordships will send them an Answer, by Messengers of their own, in convenient Time."

Lords at York.

Mr. John Pyckeringe, upon Oath, declared what Lords he met going to Yorke, and did see at Yorke:

These Lords to be sent for.

Ordered, That these Lords shall be sent for, to appear here the 8th of June next; or else this House will proceed to Judgement against them, according to their Offences.

Message from the H. C. to put the Militia in Execution in several Counties.

A Message was brought from the House of Commons, by the Lord Grey of Groby:

To desire to give Order, That the Militia may be put into Execution in the Counties of

and with a Letter and Papers from the Committees at York.

2. To communicate to (fn. 2) their Lordships a Letter, and certain printed Papers, which they have received from their Committees at Yorke.

Militia to be put in Execution.

The Lord Brooke, Lieutenant for Warwickeshire, informed the House, "That the Militia will be put into Execution in that County on Tuesday come Sevennight."

The Earl of Stamford said, "He would go down about it whensoever this House will command him."

Letter from the Committees at York.

1. The Letter was read, dated the 29th of May, 1642.

(Here enter it.)

Habeas Corpus for an Ensign imprisoned there.

Ordered, That a Habeas Corpus shall be sent, for the Ensign that is imprisoned at Yorke.

Proclamation to prevent the Trained Bands arming themselves.

2. A Proclamation was read, to forbid the Trained Bands to put themselves into Arms, &c.

(Here enter it.)

Message from York in Print.

3. A printed Book, containing the Message sent this Morning from Yorke.

Answer to the H. C.

The Messengers were called in, and told, "That the Militia shall be put into Execution in those Counties as they have desired, with all Expedition."

Petition of Northumberland.

A Petition was presented, in Behalf of the County of Northumberland, which was read, as follows:

(Here enter it.)

Thanks to the Petitioners.

The House, by the Speaker, returned Thanks for their Care and Affections expressed in this Petition; and their Lordships will take their Petition into speedy Consideration.

Lord Keeper's Petition.

To the Right Honourable the Lords assembled in Parliament.

The humble Petition of Edward Lord Littleton, Keeper of the Great Seal,

"Sheweth,

That, in his Person, he is very willing to submit to your Lordships Order of the 23d of this Instant May, so far as is possible for him to perform; he being in so weak a Condition of Body, as appears by the Affidavit annexed, that he is not able to travel at present towards Westm. without Danger of his Life: And further beseecheth your Lordships to be informed of this Truth, That Saturday last, about Two of the Clock in the Afternoon, was the First Time that he ever heard of his going to Yorke, when he received His Majesty's Command, under His Sign Manual and Privy Signet, to take his Journey immediately, without Reply or Delay, towards Yorke, and to keep the same secret, whereunto he was enjoined upon his Allegiance and Fidelity, and other Obligations; which he taking into Consideration, with his Oaths formerly taken, conceived he was bound in Conscience to do it, and doth humbly beg your Lordships Pardon for not asking Leave, which he could not possibly do, the House not sitting till Monday, and himself enjoined to take his Journey instantly: And he further taketh the Boldness to inform your Lordships, that the King's Majesty hath expressly commanded him, upon his Allegiance, not to depart from Him: And lastly, beseecheth your Lordships to continue him in your good Opinion, until he shall advise or consent unto any Thing against the Public Good of the Commonwealth; and he shall daily pray for your Lordships Increase of Happiness.

"Edward Littleton."

Peaker's Affidavit of the Lord Keeper's Illness.

Tobias Peaker, Servant to the Lord Keeper, maketh Oath, "That, upon Monday Night last, being the 23d Day of this Instant May, he conceived that his said Lord would then have died; and that he is at the present troubled with divers Infirmities and Diseases, so that he is not able to travel, without endangering his Life."

The King's Message, in Answer to the Petition of both Houses.

We cannot but extremely wonder, that the causeless Jealousies concerning Us, raised and somented by a malignant Party in this Kingdom, which desires nothing more than to snatch themselves particular Advantages out of a general Combustion (which Means of Advantage shall never be ministered to them by Our Fault or Seeking), should not only be able to seduce a weak Party in this Our Kingdom, but seem to find so much Countenance even from both Houses, as that Our raising of a Guard (without further Design than for the Safety of Our Person, an Action so legal, in Manner so peaceable, upon Causes so evident and necessary) should not only be looked upon, and petitioned against by them, as a causeless Jealousy, but declared to be the raising of a War against them, contrary to Our former Professions of Our Care of Religion and Law: And we no less wonder that this Action of Ours should be said (in a very large Expression) to be apprehended by the Inhabitants of this Country as an Affrightment and Disturbance to Our People, having been as well received here, as it is every where to be justified; and (We speak now of the general, not of a few seduced Particulars) assisted and sped by this Country with that loyal Affection and Alacrity as is a most excellent Example set to the rest of the Kingdom, of Care of Our Safety upon all Occasions, and shall never be forgotten by Us, nor (We hope) by Our Posterity; but shall be ever paid to them in, that which is the proper Expression of a Prince's Gratitude, a perpetual vigilant Care to govern them justly, and to preserve the only Rule by which they can be governed, the Law of (fn. 3) the Land: And We are confident, that, if you were yourselves Eye-witnesses, you would see so the contrary, as to give little present Thanks, and hereafter little Credit, to your Informers: And if you have no better Intelligence of the Inclinations and Affections of the rest of the Kingdom, certainly the Minds of Our People (which to some Ends and Purposes you represent) are but ill represented to you.

Have you so many Months together not contented yourselves to rely for Security (as your Predecessors have done) upon the Affections of the People, but, by your own single Authority, raised to yourselves a Guard (and that sometimes of no ordinary Numbers and in no ordinary Way); and could not all those Pikes and Protestations, that Army on one Side, and that Navy on the other, persuade Us to command you to disband your Forces, and to content yourselves with your ordinary (that is no) Guard, or work in Us an Opinion that you appeared to levy War against Us, or had any further Design? and is it possible that the same Persons should be so apt to suspect and condemn Us, who have been so unapt in the same Matter (upon much more Ground) to tax or suspect them? This is Our Case, notwithstanding the Care and Fidelity of Our Parliament: Our Fort is kept by armed Men against Us, Our proper Goods first detained from Us, and then, contrary to Our Command, by strong Hand, offered to be carried away (in which at once all Our Property as a private Person, all our Authority as a King, are wrested from Us); and yet for Us to secure Ourself in a legal Way (that Sir John Hotham may not, by the same Forces, or by more raised by Pretence of the same Authority, for they say he raiseth daily some, and We know it no new Thing for him to pretend Orders that he cannot shew, continue the War that he hath levied against Us, and as well imprison Our Person as detain Our Goods, and as well shut Us up in Yorke as shut Us out of Hull) is said to be esteemed a Cause of great Jealousy to the Parliament, a raising War against them, and (fn. 4) of Danger to the whole Kingdom; while these Injustices and Indignities offered to Us are countenanced by them, who ought to be most forward in Our Vindication and their Punishment, and in Observation of their Oaths, and of the Trust reposed in them by the People, and to avoid the Dissolution of the present Government: Upon which Case the whole World is to judge, whether We had not Reason not wholly to rely upon the Care and Fidelity of Our Parliament, being so strangely blinded by malignant Spirits as not to perceive Our Injuries, but to take some Care of Our own Person, and, in Order to that, to make Use of that Authority which the Laws declare to be in Us: And whether this Petition, with such a threatening Conclusion, accompanied with more threatening Votes, gives Us not Cause rather to increase than diminish Our Guards, especially since We saw, before the Petition, a printed Paper, dated the 17th of May, underwritten Henry Elsing, Cler. Dom. Com. commanding (in the Name of both Lords and Commons) the Sheriffs of all Our Counties to raise the Power of all those Our Counties, to suppress such of Our Subjects as, by any of Our Commands, shall be drawn together, and put (as that Paper calls it) in a Posture of War; charging our Officers and Subjects to assist them in the Performance thereof, at their Perils: For though We cannot suspect that this Paper, or any bare Votes not grounded upon Law or Reason, or Quotations of repealed Statutes, should have an ill Influence upon Our good People, who know their Duties too well not to know that to take up Arms against those who upon a legal Command (that is, Ours) come together to a most legal End (that is, Our Security and Preservation) were to levy War against Us, and who appear in this County (and We are confident they are so throughout the Kingdom) no less satisfied with the Legality, Conveniency, and Necessity of these Our Guards, and no less sensible of the Indignities and Dangers (which makes it necessary) than We are Ourself; yet, if that Paper be really the Act of both Houses, We cannot look upon it but as the highest of Scorns and Indignities, first, to issue Commands of Force against Us; and, after those have appeared useless, to offer by Petition to persuade Us to that which that Force should have effected.

"We conclude this Answer to your Petition with Our Counsel to you, that you join with Us in exacting Satisfaction for that unparalleled and yet unpunished Act of Sir John Hotham's; and that you command Our Fort and Goods to be returned to Our own Hands; that you lay down all Pretences (under Pretence of Necessity, or declaring what is Law) to make Laws without Us, and by Consequence but a Cypher of Us; that you declare effectually against Tumults, and call in such Pamphlets (punishing the Authors and Publishers of them) as seditiously endeavour to disable Us from protecting Our People, by weakening, by false Aspersions, and new false Doctrines, Our Authority with them, and their Confidence in Us; the Particulars of which Tumults and Pamphlets We would (long since) have taken Care that Our Learned Counsel should have been enabled to give in Evidence, if, upon Our former Offer, we had received any Return of Encouragement from you in it. And if you do this, you then (and hardly till then) will persuade the World that you have discharged your Duty to God, the Trust reposed in you by the People, and the fundamental Laws and Constitutions of the Kingdom, and employed your Care and utmost Power to secure the Parliament (for We are still a Part of the Parliament, and shall be till this well-founded Monarchy be turned to a Democracy), and to preserve the Peace and Quiet of the Kingdom, which, together with the Defence of the Protestant Profession, the Laws of the Land, and Our own just Prerogative (as a Part of, and a Defence to, those Laws), have been the main End which, in Our Consultations and Actions, We proposed to Ourself."

Adjourn.

Nona cras.