Chap. n. '.the HIs T 0 R y of the PuRITANS. The parliament being thus violently difperfed, the fovereign power de· Common– volved on the council of officers, of which Cromwell was head, who pubw~alth • lifi1ed a declaration, jultifying his dilfolution of the late parliament, and ~· promifing to put the adminilhation into the hands of perfons of approved G. Crom. fidelity and honefl:y, and leave them to form it into what lhape they pleaf- a~l~~~~'nf0"n· • . et o_; o_u1cers ed. Accordingly April 30. another declaration was pubhlhed, figned a.Jfumethe by 0/iver Cromwel!, and thirty of his officers, nominating a new council governmenD. · of ltate to take care of the government, till a new reprefentative body of · men could be called together; and June 8. the general, by advice of his . council, fent the following fummons to one hundred and forty feleCl: perfans, out of the feveral counties of England, to meet at Weflminfler, in order to fettle the nation ; '' I 0/iver Crom·we!l captain-general, &c. do " hereby fummons and require you--being one of the perfons nominat- " ed by myfelf, with the advice of my council, perfonally to appear at " the council chamber at Whitehall, upon the fourth of July next enfuing ·. ''the date hereof, to take upon you the trult of the affairs of the common- " wealth; to which yon are hereby called and appointed to ferve as a " member for the county of--and hereof you are not to fail. Given , ~~ under my hand this 8th of June I 653· 0. CROMWELL. . Theft: were high aCl:s of fovereignty, and not to be jufl:ified but upon the fuppofition of extreme necdJity. The diflol ut ion of the long parlia– ment v;as an aCl: of violence, but not unacceptable to the people, as appear- · ed by the numerous addreifes from the army, the fleet, and other places, . approving the general's conduCl: and promifing to fl:and by him and his council in their proceedings; but then for the general himfelf, and ·thirty officers, to chufe reprefentatives for the whole nation, without interefl:ing any of the counties or corporations of England in the choice, would have deferved the bighelt cenfure under any other circumfiances. About one hundred and twenty of the new reprefentatives appeared at ?"he little' the time and place appoin ted, when the general after a fhort fpeech, de- parliament. livered them an il:Jlrument in parchment under his hand and feal, refigning into their hands, or the hands of any forty of them, fhe fupreme authority and governme nt of the commonwealth, limiting the time of their continuance to November 3· 1654· and emflowcring them, three months before their dilfolution, to make choice of others to fucceed them for a year, and they to provide fur a future fucceilion. It was much wondered, faysp. 534 • . Whitlock, that thefe gentlemen, many of whom were perfons of fortune and efiate, fhou!d accept of the·fupreme authority of the nation, upon fuch
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