reasons as before, this expedition, the so-called Second Bishops' War (1640) came to nought, and the king, much against his will, was obliged to summon Parliament once more. Meeting of the Long Parliament; Execution of Strafford.The new Parliament, famous as the Long Parliament, met in November, 1640, and at once impeached Strafford, and passed a Bill making it compulsory for Parliament to meet every three years, even if not summoned (Triennial Bill). Under the leadership of John Pym, a strong Presbyterian, the impeachment of Strafford was proceeded with, that is to say, he was accused by the Commons and put on trial before the Lords. But difficulties being found in proving a formal charge of treason, the Commons changed the process, and brought in a Bill of Attainder. A foolish attempt of the king-who was always ill-advised by his French queen-to seize the Tower of London, so frightened the House of Lords that it passed the Bill.1 Charles, who had solemnly promised his devoted minister that not a hair of his head should be touched, was base enough to give his assent to the Bill. Strafford accordingly was executed on May 12. In December 1640 the Commons had presented to the king the Grand Remonstrance-a huge document of 206 clauses setting forth the grievances of the nation and the remedies proposed. The king made a reply. The discussion gave rise to the distinct Royalist party. Abolition of Abuses.-Parliament then proceeded (1641) to abolish the Courts of High Commission (ante, p. 151) and Star Chamber (ante, p. 127), and to put a stop to all the illegal and high-handed procedure of Tudor and Stuart times. If Charles had honestly accepted the situation thus created, 1 A Bill, when passed by both Houses of Parliament, and assented to by the king, becomes an Act. A Bill of Attainder passed through exactly the same stages as any other Bill. Its effect was to attaint the person aimed at, that is to say, to authorize his execution, deprive him of all civil rights, and forfeit his property. He might or might not be heard in his defence. The process was used for the last time in 1697 against Sir John Fenwick, and was abolished in Queen Victoria's reign. and had been willing to act as a constitutional monarch, willing to respect the liberties of the people and the authority of Parliament, all might have been well. But he always dreamt of overthrowing Parliament by force, and cherished hopes that he might find in Scotland the means of doing so, by giving way to the wishes of the Scots in Church matters. Irish Rebellion, 1641.-During the same eventful year, 1641, a terrible rebellion broke out in Ireland, beginning on October 22 in Ulster and gradually spreading over the whole island. At first the rising was confined to the native Irish, who sought to win back the lands taken from them by the plantation' or confiscation policy, but after a short time the Anglo-Irish Catholic lords joined the rebels. Awful atrocities were committed by the insurgents, and many thousands of the Protestant English settlers, including women and children, were either killed outright or destroyed by want and cold. It was evident that the rebellion could be crushed only by sending a large force from England, but the House of Commons was so much occupied with other matters, and so unwilling to trust the king with men and money which might be used to attack English liberties as planned by Strafford, that few troops were sent and the disturbances were allowed to continue for years. The Commons, more interested in the quarrel with the king and Church, proceeded to impeach twelve bishops. Attempted Arrest of the Five Members.-Charles, acting rashly on the advice of his French queen, who did not rightly understand English affairs, decided to retort by going down in person to the House of Commons in order to arrest five members of the House who had opposed his policy, and were accused of treasonable correspondence with the Scots. When he arrived, the 'birds had flown', as he remarked with annoyance, so that his intended stroke failed. A few days later the members were brought back to the House in triumph. Civil War.-Parliament now demanded the control of the militia, or trained bands (commonly called 'train-bands ') a force of about 160,000 men, which had been reorganized by James I, and was descended from the ancient Saxon fyrd, or shire-levies (ante, p. 63). That demand could not possibly be accepted by the king and it was now clear that the issue between him and Parliament must be decided by arms. Both sides began to collect troops. The Parliament men assembled at Northampton under the command of Lord Essex. Charles raised the Royal Standard at Nottingham on August 22, 1642, and the Civil War began. It lasted for nine years, until September 3, 1651, when Oliver Cromwell's crowning mercy' of Worcester stopped the fighting. Religion and Politics.-In order not to interrupt the story of political events, little has been said about the conflict on Church affairs in England; but the student, however faint may be his personal interest in such matters, must try to realize clearly that the struggle between Charles and Parliament was due to differences in religion even more than to the resistance of the people against royal despotism in relation to life, liberty, and property. At that time the principles of the Reformation, especially in their Calvinist form, had gripped the hearts of the English people, most of whom were ardent Protestants, hating and dreading all teaching or ceremonies tending to recall the errors and practice of the foreign Church of Rome. The War of the Sects.-The question of the supremacy of the Crown over the Anglican Church as against that of the Pope was no longer of interest, that issue having been settled in favour of the English view. The small and weak minority who still held by the Romanist creed and worship had little influence and could hardly obtain leave to live. But, as between different shades of Protestant opinion, disputes raged hotly and the press poured forth a torrent of pamphlets. The party in the English Church which liked the government of the Church by bishops, and loved forms of worship with a good deal of ceremony, joined usually with the Catholics in supporting the king, the ally of the bishops. The other Protestants, described in general terms as Puritans, who hated bishops, disliked all ceremony in worship, and favoured a severe mode of life with little amusement, generally took the side of the Parliament. Thus religious disputes were mixed up inseparably with political differences. Divergence of opinion on religious questions was made more bitter by the opposition of the king to the Parliament on matters of taxation and so forth, while the party divisions of politicians were inflamed by the heat of sectarian hatred, so that Englishmen were ready to shed each other's blood in battle. Archbishop Laud.-Charles, like his father, believed firmly that Church affairs could not be managed properly except by bishops. We have seen how that creed brought him into trouble in Scotland. Many people in England who had no objection to bishops, disliked that their authority should be pressed too far. William Laud, an eminent Oxford divine, who became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633, stretched the power of the bishops to its extreme limit, and caused deep discontent by the use which he made of the Courts of Star Chamber and the High Commission to enforce his policy of compelling everybody to worship God in the same fashion. Cruel sentences were passed on people who refused to conform or who opposed the archbishop by their writings. His proceedings had a large share in provoking the Civil War, which, like the Thirty Years' War in Germany (ante, p. 175), then drawing to a close, was more a conflict between opposed religious ideals than between royal despotism and popular freedom in the affairs of daily life. LEADING DATES Accession of James I (VI of Scotland). The Main Plot'; conviction of Sir W. Raleigh First Parliament Gunpowder Plot 'Plantation' of Ulster Death of Salisbury and Prince Henry; rise of Carr Fall of Carr; rise of Villiers; embassy of Sir T. Roe Meeting of Long Parliament'; execution of Strafford Outbreak of Civil War Aug. 22, 1642 CHAPTER XVII THE CIVIL WAR; THE COMMONWEALTH AND THE Relative Strength of the Combatants.—At the moment when both parties to the quarrel decided that the questions at issue could not be settled without fighting, the material advantages lay with the Parliament, which received the support of the navy and principal ports and controlled London and the south-east, then the most populous, wealthy, and advanced section of the country. The numbers of soldiers assembled at Northampton under the command of Lord Essex were much greater than those gathered round the royal standard at Nottingham. But, as some compensation, the king was stronger in cavalry, an arm of great importance in those days. The royal horse was commanded by Prince Rupert, son of the Elector Palatine and the king's sister, (ante, p. 175) a bold, dashing leader of a charge, but wanting in the cool judgement needed by a good general. Battle of Edgehill.-The first fight took place at Edgehill in Warwickshire (October 23, 1642), and, although not very decisive, opened up the king's road to Oxford, which became his head-quarters. The royal army was not strong enough to |