756 The HISTORY of the PURITANS. Chap. X. K. Charles 1. black rod, with an allowance of five pounds a day for their ex- r64r. pences. The prote/ta- The adverfaries of the bithops in both bottles were extremely pleafed with tion illegal. their unadvifed conduct ; one faid, it was the finger of God, to bring that to pafs which otherwife could not have been compafled. There was but one gentleman in the whole debate that (poke in their behalf, and faid, hedid notbelieve they were guilty of high treafon, but that they were Claren. fiark mad, and therefore defired they might be feat to Bedlam. Lord Vol. II. Clarendon cenfures this proteftation, as proceeding from the pride and paf- P. 355 fion of archbifhop Williams; he admits that the eleven bithops were ill advifed, in going into his meafures, and fuffering themfelves to be pre- cipitated into fo batty a refolution, though he is certain there could be nothing of high treafon in it. However their behaviour gave fuch fcandal and offence, even to thofe who paflionately defired to pre- ferve their function, that they had no compaf ion or regard for their per- fons. Reafonsof it. The obje&ions that I have met with againft the proteftation are thefe ; Firft, that it tended to deftroy the very being of parliaments, becaufe it put a ftop to all laws, orders, votes, and refolutions made in the abfence of the bithops. Secondly, the pretence of the bifhops is hereby made fo effential, that no at can pals without them, which is claiming a nega- tive voice like the kings. 2'hirdy, the bithops defiring the king to com- mand the clerk of the houle of peers to enter their proteftation on record, was derogatory to the the rights of parliament, as though the king by his command could make a record of parliament. Fourthly, the annul- ling all laws that might be made at this time, when Ireland was in fo much danger from the breaking out of the irijh mafl'acre, was a fort of confpiring with the rebels to deftroy that kingdom. Fifthly, It was faid, that befides the unwarrantable expreßïons in the proteftation, the form of prefenting and tranfmitting it was unjutlifiable. Apologyfar. On the other hand it was laid on behalf of the bifhops, that here was thebilkps. a manifeft force put upon them ; and a violence offered to the freedom of one member of parliament, is a violence offered to the whole ; that therefore they had a right to proteft, and guard their privileges, with- out being accountable for the ill confequences that might follow. Yet furely this manner ofafferting their privilege was irregular ; fhould they not have petitioned the lords to fecure their paffage to parliament, rather than have put a negative upon all their proceedings? I have met with only one learned writer who commends the hilltops upon this occafion, Collyer's and he advances them, its romantic language, to the rank of heroes; E"I' Hitt' his words are thefe, " Had the bithops done lels they had fallen (hors of Vo1g1 P 9 " that fortitude which might juftly be expected from them. They had '6 rearm
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