Select Biographies Author:Robert Southey 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: sions, says that he was a common spokesman for sectaries, and maintained their part with stubbornness. Whatever part indeed Cromwell took up would be well mainta... more »ined, and the time was now approaching when he was to take a conspicuous one. A rebellion broke out in Scotland, where no disaffection had been suspected. By prudent measures it might easily have been averted, by vigorous ones it might easily have been crushed ; and both were wanting. The King raised an army which, by the management of designing persons, and the mismanagement of others, was rendered useless. A treaty was made by which nothing was concluded; all the savings of the preceding years were wasted in this disgraceful expedition ; and Charles, who had so long governed without a parliament, was now compelled to call one, for the purpose of obtaining supplies. The majority of that parliament consisted of men who knew their duty to their king and country, and, in asserting the constitutional liberties of the people, would have sacredly preserved the rights of the crown, wherein those liberties have their surest safeguard. There were however some persons, of great ability, who were determined upon effecting some change both in the ecclesiastic and civil institutions of the land, not having acknowledged to others, nor perhaps to themselves, how far they were willing that that change should extend. The state of their mind was well expressed by Cromwell, who, when Sir Thomas Chichley and Sir Philip Warwick asked him with what concessions he would be satisfied, honestly replied, " I can tell you, Sirs, what I would not have, though I cannot tell what I would." This parliament was hastily dissolved by the counsel of Sir Henry Vane the elder, and Herbert the solicitor-general: the latter acted with no worse motives than ...« less