To the Rochellais it was a terrible lesson against putting faith in English kings. When they were seduced to surrender their peace and prosperity to the promises of protection and religious liberty by Charles, the town contained fifteen thousand souls; when they opened their gates to their own sovereign, they were reduced to four, and these the most ghastly shadows of men from famine. All this destruction and misery was the work of Charles and Buckingham.
This event had greatly grieved the protestants in England, and it was whilst the public was brooding over these matters, and over fresh acts of arbitrary oppression in the star-chamber and Court of High Commission, as well as by the continued levy of tonnage and poundage and other duties, that Charles called together parliament. It had been prorogued to the 20th of October, but met on the 20th of January, 1629. The king sent the commons a message, desiring them to proceed to vote the tonnage and poundage without delay, this having been neglected by the parliament in the last session; but the house insisted on going first into the grievances. These were two-fold—such as related to the constitution, and such as affected the faith of the nation. Charles had not only persisted in the enforcement of revenue without parliament, and had dared to tamper even with the Petition of Rights after he had granted it, but had issued a new edition of the articles of the church, into which he had introduced a clause to suit the intentions of himself and his great ecclesiastical adviser, Laud, now made bishop of London. The Commons agreed to take the religious question first, declaring that the business of the kings of this earth should give place to the business of the King of heaven.
Popery and Arminianism were the things which the puritans held in almost equal horror. In reference to popery they inquired what was the reason that the laws regarding it were relaxed? and that out of ten individuals who had been arraigned for receiving ordination in the church of Rome, only one had been condemned, and the execution of that one respited? Two committees wore appointed to inquire from the judges on what grounds they had refused to receive evidence tendered against the recusants at their trial, and of the attorney-general by what authority he had discharged the persons in question, on their giving bail for their re-appearance. Every member was bound to give all the information to the house in his power regarding the relaxation of the penal laws, and all attempts or warrants to stay proceedings against the papists.
But the growth and favour of Arminianism in high places was the most absorbing subject of animadversion. Laud, now bishop of London, was bent not only on introducing Arminianism to its fullest extent, but ceremonies and rites merging fast into Catholicism. Therefore the puritans declared the heresy of Arminianism to be the spawn of popery. Laud had notions of church government as absolute as Charles had of civil government. All the promotions by him were of Arminian clergymen. Montague was become bishop of Chichester, Mainwaring was a bishop, and all those who meant to get preferment saw plainly that they must profess Arminianism, and the love of gorgeous ceremonies and plenty of surplices.
The passage which Charles had introduced into the new authorised edition of the articles was, "The church hath power to decree rites and ceremonies, and hath authority in matters of faith." Mr. Pym called upon the house to take a covenant for the maintenance of their religious rights, which were in danger; and both he and others denounced the introduction of idolatrous ceremonies into the church by Charles and others. Sir John Elliot protested vehemently against the introduction of the new clause into the articles. He called on the house to enter not a mere resolution but a "vow" on its journals against it, which was done; namely, "that the commons of England claimed, professed, and avowed for truth, that sense of the articles of religion which were established in parliament in the thirteenth year of queen Elizabeth, which by the public acts of the church of England, and by the general and current exposition of the writers of that church, had been declared unto them, and that they rejected the sense of the Jesuits, Arminians, and all others wherein they differed from it."
The king sent the house a message, desiring them to leave matters of religion, and proceed to pass the vote for tonnage and poundage. This led to a sharp debate betwixt the court party and the opposition. The courtiers lauded the goodness of the king, and the enlargement of their liberties which he had granted; but Mr. Coriton replied bluntly, "When men speak here of neglect of duty towards his majesty, let them know we know no such thing, nor what they mean. I see not how we neglect the same. I see it is all our heart's desire to expedite the bill of tonnage and poundage in due time. Our business is still put back by their messages, and the business in hand is God's. And his majesty's things are certainly amiss, and every one sees it; but woe be unto us if we present not the same to his majesty!"
On the 2nd of February the house, instead of the vote of tonnage and poundage, presented to the king "an apology" for delaying that bill, and containing a complaint of his majesty's encroaching on the orders and privileges of their house by three messages in two days, urging them to change inconveniently the orders of their proceedings. Charles replied by a message through secretary Coke that he was as zealous for the faith as they were, but must again think it strange that the business of religion should be an obstruction to his business. He once more desired them to pass the vote for the tonnage and poundage, adding one of his mischievous and most impolitic threats, of quickening them by other means if they did not.
The house resenting this ill-advised message, went on discussing the affairs of the church. Mr. Kirton, who had in the last session talked of cutting the throats of all traitorous ministers, now declared Laud and Neile, bishop of Winchester, to be at the bottom of all the troubles that were now come upon them and their religion. On the 11th of February, in the committee on religion, Oliver Cromwell made his first appearance as a speaker in that house, a circumstance of great mark, seeing what the honourable member afterwards grew into. He said, "He had heard by relation from one Dr. Beard, that Dr. Alablaster had preached flat popery at Paul's Cross, and that the bishop of Winchester had commanded him, as his diocesan, that he should preach nothing to the contrary. Mainwaring, so justly censured in
