A. C. 1681. Charles, in his anfwer, faid he was forry to find them fo much attached to the bill of exclufion, against which his own opinion was confirmed by that of the lords. He recommended to them the confideration of fome other means for maintaining the proteftant religion: he wished they would take cognizance of the state of the nation, and the fituation of Christendom, in such a manner as would enable him to fuccour Tangier, fupport his alliances, and fecure the peace of the kingdom. Before they received this anfwer, they had brought in a bill for exempting proteftant nonconformifts from the penalties impofed by an act in the reign of queen Elizabeth, and it paffed through both houses: but the clerk of the crown concealed it, by the king's order; fo that when he came to the house, it was not to be found. He had always declared for a general indulgence, the benefit of which would have extended to his catholic fubjects: but he thought the prefbyterians, whofe intereft predominated in this parliament, had little reafon to expect he would indulge them with an exclufive toleration. The commons drew up articles of impeachment against lord chief-juftice Scroggs, for having endeavoured to ftifle the confpiracy; and for having diffmiffed the grand jury of Middlefex in an irregular manner, when the duke of York was prefented as a popish recufant. They concurred with the lords in voting that there actually was, and had been for feveral years, a horrible confpiracy in Ireland, hatched by the papifts, to maffacre the proteftants, and overturn the established government of that kingdom; and that the hope of feeing the duke of York upon the throne of England, had encouraged the faid confpiracy. The lower house, after violent debates upon the king's last answer, refolved, that the act of exclufion was the only fufficient fecurity for the king's life, the pro

teftant

testant religion, and the established government : A.C. 1681. that, until such an act should pass, the commons could not grant any fupplies, without endangering the king's person and the proteftant religion, and betraying the people they reprefented: that all those who had advised his majesty to perfift in oppofing the bill of exclufion, had given pernicious counfel, were favourers of popery, and enemies to the king and kingdom. They refolved that an address fhould be prefented to the king, defiring he would remove from his prefence and councils the earls of Halifax, Worcester, Clarendon, Feverfham, and Laurence Hyde. They voted, that whoever should lend money, or promote loans to the king, upon the customs, excife, or other taxes, or accept or purchase tallies, or anticipations, upon the king's revenues, should be deemed an enemy to parliaments, and profecuted as fuch by the two houses.

parliament.

These violent proceedings plainly demonftrated The king that they either intended to involve the kingdom diffolves the in a civil war, or hoped the king's easy temper would be intimidated or influenced into a desertion of his brother's intereft. Their infolence, however, served only to excite his refentment, without impairing his refolution. The duchefs of Portfmouth fell upon her knees, and begged he would not ruin himself for the fake of his brother. Mr. Sidney, his ambaffador at the Hague, tranfmitted to him a memorial written by Fagel, penfionary of Holland, to prove that the king could not fupport the duke of York, without abandoning the interefts of Europe. He refifted all importunities and remonftrances with furprising fortitude; and, rather than injure his brother, refolved to prorogue the parliament. This was a power which he had not, like his father, refigned. The commons receiving intimation of his design, before he went to the house of lords, voted, in a tumultuous manner, that

whoever

A. c. 1681. whoever advised his majefty to prorogue the parliament, was a traitor to the king, the kingdom, and the protestant religion, a penfioner of France, and one who favoured the interefts of that crown: that, in the opinion of the house, the acts made in the reign of queen Elizabeth, against popish recufants, ought not to extend to proteftant diffenters; and that the profecution of proteftant nonconformifts is an oppreffion upon the subject: that it weakens the proteftant intereft, encourages popery, and is productive of dangerous confequences to the kingdom: that thanks be given to the city of London for their loyalty, care, and vigilance, in the prefervation of the king and the proteftant religion: that, in the opinion of the house, the great fire of London was kindled by the papists, in order to introduce popery and arbitrary power: that an addrefs be prefented to his majefty, defiring him to restore the duke of Monmouth to all his offices, of which he had been divested by the influence of the duke of York. These votes had scarce paffed when the usher of the black rod came and fummoned them to the upper houfe, where the king pafled fome bills; and then the chancellor prorogued them till the twentieth day of January. In three days after this prorogation, the mayor and common-council of London presented an address to his majefty, befeeching him to re-affemble the parliament at the appointed time, that they might regulate the important affairs of the kingdom. This remonftrance ferved only to irritate the king, who iffued a proclamation, diffolving the parliament. At the fame time he convoked another to meet on the twenty first day of March, at Oxford.

Spirit and

Though he knew the intereft of the prefbyterians violence of ftill prevailed in all the corporations, he refolved to try every expedient for obtaining a parliament that should be left implacable; and he was defirous of

the whips.

meeting

meeting them at a distance from London, which A. C. 1681. had been always unpropitious to him and his family. It was not without reafon that he dreaded the inhabitants of this opulent city. They re-elected the four members who had reprefented them in the two last parliaments. They prefented them with an address of thanks for their endeavours to obtain an act of exclufion against the duke of York. They expreffed their hope that the members would never agree to any fupplies, until the kingdom fhould be fecured against popery and arbitrary power; and declared they would fupport them with their lives and fortunes. The example of London was followed by almost all the corporations in the kingdom; fo that the king forefaw he should be at the head of the fame parliament he had diffolved. The duke of Monmouth, with fifteen peers, prefented an address to the king, petitioning that his majesty would not affemble the parliament at Oxford, where the two houses could not meet with fafety, or debate with freedom, while exposed to the attempts of the papifts, a great number of which had infinuated themselves into his majesty's guards. This was a mortifying remonftrance to Charles, who would not favour the petitioners with any anfwer, but eyed them with looks of indignation.

harris,

Each party had for fome time reviled and ridi- Information culed the other in pamphlets and libels; and this by Fitzpractice was attended with a remarkable incident. One Fitzharris, an Irish papist, dependent on the duchefs of Portsmouth, for whofe perufal he used to purchase those occafional fatires, proposed to a Scotchman of the name of Everhard, to write a libel against the king and the duke of York. The Scot was actually a fpy for the exclufionifts. He believed this was a fcheme to entrap him, and refolved to retort the intended mischief on the head of Fitzharris. He affented to the propofal, and they

N° 74.

N

A.C. 1681. they agreed to meet in a house where Everhard had previously posted Sir William Waller, an eminent juftice of the peace, and two other perfons, within hearing. There Fitzharris and Everhard compofed a virulent libel against the king and his brother, replete with treafon and fcurrility. Waller immediately informed the king of this tranfaction, and obtained a warrant for apprehending Fitzharris, in whofe pocket the libel was found. Seeing himfelf in the hands of juftice, and knowing the management of all the former trials had been left to the country-party, he refolved to deferve their favour, and declared he had been employed by the court to write the libel, that the odium of it might be thrown upon the exclufionifts. He faid the intention of the miniftry was to fend copies of it to all the leaders of the oppofition, and to arreft them immediately, as perfons engaged in a confpiracy, the belief of which this paper would ferve to con'firm. He likewife pretended to make new dif coveries about the popish plot, and told a great many improbable circumstances, which he had invented for the purpose. He was at firft committed to Newgate; but the king, either believing that the oppofite party would tamper with him, or hoping that he might be rendered useful to the defigns of the court, granted an order for removing him to the Tower, where he is faid to have been practifed upon by Hawkins the chaplain, to own he was fuborned by the country-party.

Parliament When the parliament affembled at Oxford, the at Oxford. members on both fides were armed and attended by their friends and adherents, as if they had expected an immediate rupture. The representatives of London, in particular, were furrounded by a numerous band of horfemen, diftinguished by knots of ribbons infcribed "No popery, no flavery." The king's fpeech to this parliament was

couched