The life of John Milton - 1877 Author:David Masson Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: "Was there any likelihood that Parliament would act farther on the suggestions of Ireton's Draft Agreement of the feojile? Having set up a solid Council of State... more », might they not proceed to pass Ireton's great Reform Bill, with or -without that preliminary of a Plebiscite which Ireton had recommended? It is symptomatic of the state of mind of Parliament on this question that they had themselves given effect to that proposal of Ireton's paper which Ireton meant to corne into force only after their dissolution and the election of their successors. They had themselves set up a Council of State, and they had made it annual instead of biennial. This did not indicate any haste to dissolve, or to pass Ireton's Reform Bill. To understand why this should have been the case, we must take a survey of the circumstances in which the infant Republic was placed. CIBCOMSTANCES OF THE INFANT COMMONWEALTH:—DANGER FROM SCOTLAND : PROCLAMATION OF CHARLES II. THERE BY THE ARGYLE-M'ARRISTON GOVERNMENT : HATRED OF THE SCOTS TO THE COMMONWEALTH.—DANGER FROM IRELAND : PROCLAMATION OF CHARLES II. THERE BY ORMOND : SMALL HOLD OF THE COMMONWEALTH UPON IRELAND. — COURT OF CHARLES II. AT THE HAGUE: SCOTTISH NEGOTIATIONS AND INTRIGUES THERE : THE MARQUIS OF MONTROSE AGAIN.—SENTIMENTS OF THE VARIOUS FOREIGN POWERS. On the 5th of February, immediately after the news of the execution of Charles had reached Scotland, the Scots, disdaining the opportunity of converting their own little country also into a Republic, had proclaimed, at the Cross of Edinburgh, the exiled Prince Charles. They had proclaimed him not by the title of King of Scotland only, but by the full style and title of " Charles II., King of Great " Britain, France, and Ireland." An envoy from the Scottish Parliament had at once been despatched t...« less