48o The HIS T _O R Y of the PuRITANS.· Vat. II. pOliver · When the parliament met according to app~:ntment, the reverend Dr. 11°~~~:r. Owcn preached before the~1, his t~xt was, Jfa. xiv. 32. What jhall o 11 e ~· then anjwer the mejfengers if the natzon? that the Lord hatbfounded Zion ·and the poor if his people fball truft in it. From the Abbey, the protec~ tor went with the members to the painted chamber, where he made a fpeech and then difmiffcd them to their houfe; but to prevent their entering in– to debates about his title, a guard was placed at the door, with a paper of RECOGNITION for each member to fubfcribe, wherein they promife not to act any thing prejudicial to the government as it 7MS pablijhed unde; a PROTECTOR. Upon their fLJbfcribing this, if they were under no difqualification, they had a certificate of their return, and if their beimr approved by his HIGHNESS and COUNCIL. This meafure was certain!~ 'Ihey are ob– liged to re– 'cogniz;e the government. Whitl. p. 6.40. inconliftent with the freedom of parliaments; for if the crown has a ne– gative upon the return of the members, they are tools of the crown, and not reprefentatives of the people ; becaufe, though they are legally chofen and returned by the proper officer, a fuperior tribunal may fet them alide. Befides, if the parliament was to give a fanCl:ion to the new government, the recognition was abfurd, becanfe it obliged them to confent to that which they had no liberty to debate. It muft therefore be allowed, that CROMWELL's proteClor)hip was built folely upon the authority of the corm· cil if qflicers : This being one of thofe fundamentals which his highnefs would not fuffer any of his parliaments to debate. But 'tis highly pro– bable, that thefe firetches of power might be abfolutely unavoidable at this time, to maintain government under any form, and that without them the feveral parties would have fallen to pieces, and involved the nation in .confufion and a new war. The parliament in their humble petition and ad– 'Vice, guarded againft the exclufion of their members for the future, ex– cept by a vote of the houfe, which the protector freely confented to, fo that this was only a temporary expedient, and not to be made a precedent of; but at prefent almofi one hundred members refufed to fubfcribe, and were therefore excluded. The(e prefented a petition to the fitting mem– bers for redrefs, and were anfwered, that the proteClor had promifed to relieve them, if they could fhew caufe of complaint. But inftead of this, they appealed to the people iil a fevere remonftrance, charging his highnefs with invading their fundamental rights and liberties, and pre– venting the free meeting of the reprefentatives of the people in parlia– ment. To which it was replied, that if they would not fo much as own the protector, they had no colour or pretence to call themfelves members ~f parliament. 'Iheir a&ls. The fitting members having chofenSir<f'homasWiddrington their fpeaker, approved of the war with Spain, and voted fupplies to fupport his high– nefi
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