307 proceed, but that he would confirme his spmtt in the truth, and lead him by a right-enlightened conscience; and finding no check, but a confirmation in his conscience tha t it was his duty to act as he did, he, upon serious debate, both privately and in his addresses to God, and in conferences with conscientious, upright, unbiassed persons, proceeded to sign the sentence against the king. Although he did not then believe but it might one day come to be againe disputed among men, yett bo th he and others thought they could not refuse it without giving up the people of God, whom they had led forth and engaged themselves unto by the oath of God, into the hands of God's and their enemies, and therefore he cast himselfe upon God's protection, acting according to the dictates of a conscience which he had sought the Lord to guide, and accordingly the Lord did signalize his favour afterwards to him.' After the death of the king it was debated and resolv'd to change the forme of government from monarchical! into a commonwealth, and the house of lords was voted dangerous and useless thereunto, and dissolved . A councell of state was to be annually chosen for the management of affaires, :;ccountable to the parliament, out of which, consisting of 40 councellors and a president, 20 were every t The accoun t here given of Col. H utchinson~s motives in this great transaction i's most ingenuous, and lays hi s conduct fairly open to the di scussion and dec ision of the reader, who, according to hi s own feelings, will determine it for himse lf to be commendable, censurahle, or vwial. The leg islature unanimously voted it venial.-It would be an invidi ous,. but not a ''ery d iflicult task, to point out the persons who, by their p alitic declensiom, failed of sav ing their li\'es and estates; but it is worthy notice· that Fairfax, after the restoration, with that ingenuousness ·which belonged to him, declared (Ludlow, vol. iii. p. 10), u that if any person must be excepted from pardon u for the death of the king, he knew no man that deserv.ed it ntore than hi mself~ who 11 being general of the army, and having power sufllcient to prevent the proceedings 11 against the king, had not thought fi t to use it to th a.t end." It is needless to multiply examples, one reasoning extending to i:he whole ..
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