LXXI. signed by him for raising Whitelock to the dignity of a CHAP. Viscount. This honour was declined by the Lord Commissioner; but under his former writ of summons to the House of Lords, it was considered that his blood was ennobled; he was treated as a Baron, and he was designated Lord Whitelock till the Restoration. * 1658. When the next anniversary of the great victories of Dunbar Sept. 3. and of Worcester came round Oliver expired, and it is generally Death of supposed that the day was still auspicious to him; but such Cromwell. had continued to be the success, as well as vigour of his administration, so much was he dreaded by foreign states, and so much was he respected at home, not only for raising the national credit to a pitch unknown since the days of the Plantagenets, but for the desire which he had shown to govern according to law, and to improve our institutions, that, if his life had been prolonged, there seems reason to think he might have overcome all the difficulties which surrounded him, and that, notwithstanding the imbecility of Richard, his sceptre might have been long borne by his posterity. Charles II. and in some points much better. The laws in general had their course, and were admirably administered.”— Burke, Remarks on Policy of the Allies. * I only find one other creation by Oliver above the degree of a Baron, "Viscount Howard of Morpeth, July 20. 1657, afterwards created by Charles II. Baron Dacre, Viscount Howard of Morpeth, and Earl of Carlisle, April 30. 1661." CHAP. LXXII. Sept. 3. 1658. Proclama. tion of Richard as Lord CHAPTER LXXII. LORDS COMMISSIONERS OF THE GREAT SEAL FROM THE DEATH OF On the doubtful assertion that Oliver, according to the power conferred upon him by the Petition and Advice, had duly named his eldest son as his successor, Richard was immediately proclaimed Lord Protector, in London and throughout the kingdom, with all the solemnities practised on the accession of a new Sovereign. Nay addresses to him came pouring Protector. in from all classes in a manner greatly to lower the value of such supposed tokens of affection,— pledging "lives and fortunes" in his support,—and declaring, "that though the sun had set no night followed," and that, "though Providence by one sad stroke had taken away the breath from their nostrils, it had given them in return the noblest branch of that renowned stocka Prince distinguished by the lovely composition of his person, and still more by the eminent qualities of his mind." Fiennes and Lisle confirmed of Great The new Protector at first graciously confirmed the Great Seal to the military Lords Commissioners, Lord Fiennes and as Keepers Lord Lisle; but hearing loud complaints of their incompetency, he soon after, while sitting in Council, desired them to surrender joined with it, and he re-delivered it to them jointly with Lord Whitelock, in whose judicial integrity and ability he and the public entertained the highest confidence.* Seal, and Whitelock them, Jan. 22. 1659. Jan. 27. 1659. Writs of summons for a new parliament having been issued by the Lords Commissioners under the Great Seal, the parliament. session was opened by Richard according to royal forms, Opening of * "Dec. 30. I went about the business of the Great Seal, whereof I was now again made a Commissioner. Richard had a particular respect for me, and upon the 22d of this month, by advice of some near to him, without any seeking for it by me, I was sent for to Whitehall, where I met the two Lords Commissioners of the Seal, Fiennes and Lisle, and they together being called to the Council Chamber, the Great Seal was delivered to his Highness sitting in Council, and his Highness presently delivered it to Fiennes, Lisle, and me, as Keepers of the Great Seal of England."— Whit. 676. He adds that his appointment was generally attributed to Fiennes, who had found Lisle incompetent. LXXII. Commissioners of Seal sit in the Upper House as Peers. acknow except that having addressed both Houses himself in a very CHAP. sensible speech, he did not call upon any Keeper of the Great Seal farther to explain the reasons for assembling them. The three Commissioners, being all ennobled, took the oaths The three with the other Peers, Lord Whitelock presiding on the woolsack. But they could never get any farther recognition of the Great their "order" from the Commons than "that this House will transact with the persons now sitting in the other House as a House of Parliament for the present, without prejudice to the privilege of such Peers as have been faithful to the parliament, of being duly summoned to be members of that House." The parliament was soon found wholly unmanageable, and a Commons majority of Richard's council advised him to dissolve it, and refuse to to trust rather to the combination of military officers now ledge them. struggling for supreme rule. This step was strongly opposed by Lord Whitelock, who foretold that it would eventually lead to the destruction of the Protectorate; but he was overruled, and a commission was made out for dissolving the parliament, Lord Fiennes being named the head Commissioner. The commission being announced to the Lords, and the Commissioners having taken their seats under the steps of the throne, the Black Rod was ordered to summon the Commons to the bar; but they declared they would receive no communication from the Lords except by members of that House, and adjourned for three days. Lord Fiennes, however, in the absence of Parliament the Commons, ordered the commission to be read, and, in the name of his Highness the Lord Protector, dissolved the parliament. A proclamation under the Great Seal communicated the information to the nation the same afternoon.* By this dissolution Richard had signed his own deposition. Although he continued to reside at Whitehall he was deserted by all the world, and the government was in complete abeyance till the council of officers thought fit to restore the Long Parliament, thinking they would have a better chance of power by possessing such an instrument under their control. A majority of the surviving members were Presbyterians and Royalists, but they were still prevented by violence from 3 Parl. Hist. 1544. dissolved, April 18. 1659. LXXII. CHAP. entering the House, and the "Rump," consisting chiefly of those who had voted for the King's death, did not exceed the number of seventy. May 7. 1659. Lord again in of Com mons, May 9. The new House of Lords had vanished like a morning mist, and Whitelock was allowed to take his place in the Commons as member for Buckinghamshire, for which he had been returned in 1640; but he was much too moderate and the House too much of a trimmer to be in favour with the ruling faction, and their first step was to deprive him and his colleagues of the custody of the Great Seal. Two days after the Rump reassembled they agreed to a resolution "that a new Great Seal be with all speed prepared and brought into this House, according to the form of the last Great Seal made by authority of this parliament, and that the last Great Seal be brought into this House to be broken before the parliament." New Great Seal ordered by Rump. May 14. Ordinance for new Great Seal. A new Great Seal being made, an act was passed for appointing Lenthal the sole Keeper of it for eight days, and for ordering the old Great Seal to be broken.* The old Seal being brought into the House by Lord Whitelock, was accordingly broken by a smith into several pieces, which were given to the Ex-commissioners for their fees, and the new Seal was put into the hands of Lenthal as "Lord Keeper for the Commonwealth." There being great difficulty in the selection of those who were permanently to hold it, another act was passed to continue him some time longer in the office. · "An act for the Great Seal of England."- -"Be it enacted by this present parliament and the authority of the same, that the Seal on the side wherof is engraven the maps of England, Ireland, and the Isles of Jersey, Guernsey, and Man, with the arms of England and Ireland, and this inscription, viz. The Great Seal of England, 1651,' and on the other side the sculpture of the parliament sitting, with this inscription, viz. In the third year of freedom, by God's blessing restored, 1651,' shall from henceforth be the Great Seal of England, and none other, and shall be and is hereby authorised and established to be of the like force, power, and validity, to all intents and purposes, as any Great Seal of England hath heretofore been or ought to be, and that Wm. Lenthal, Speaker of the parliament, be and he is hereby nominated, constituted, and appointed Keeper of the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of England, to have, hold, exercise, and enjoy the said office to the said Wm. Lenthal, from this 14th day of May, 1659, for the space of eight days from hence next ensuing, and no longer, and that in as full, ample, and beneficial manner to all intents and purposes as any Lord Chancellor of England, Lord Keeper, or Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal may, might, should, or ought to have had, exercised, or enjoyed the same."- Scobel's Acts. LXXII. In the meanwhile the parliament resolved "that the Court CHAP. of Chancery be thoroughly reformed and regulated, and that the whole profits, fees, and perquisites arising from the office Act for reof Keeper of the Great Seal, should be sequestered and go forming to the use of the Commonwealth."* Court of Chancery. Fountain, missioners The nomination of the new Commissioners of the Great Bradshaw, Seal was referred to "the Council of State " or "Committee Terryll,and of Safety," and they recommended Bradshaw, who had pre- new Comsided at the King's trial, with Terryll and Fountain, two of Great lawyers known only for their violent republican principles. Seal. There was an objection made to the appointment of such men, but it was carried by a majority of 43 to 15. The Commissioners were introduced into the House, and marching up to the table, with three reverences to the Speaker received the Great Seal from him after he had administered to them the following oath, "You shall swear that you shall Oath adbe true and faithful to this Commonwealth, as it is declared by parliament, without a single person, Kingship, or House of Peers, and that you shall well and truly execute the office of Commissioners of the Great Seal of England, according to the best of your skill, knowledge, and power.” † ministered to them. sion for They were ordered to pass a Commission under the Great CommisSeal to authorise the Master of the Rolls, with certain Judges hearing and Masters in Chancery, to hear causes after taking the causes. prescribed oath of allegiance to the Commonwealth, and abjuration of Kingship and House of Peers. These three Commissioners remained in possession of the Great Seal for five months, while the "Rump" was permitted to sit, and was ostensibly the supreme power in the state; but I do not find any account of their judicial proceedings. § In the distracted condition to which the nation was reduced, the administration of justice must have been nearly suspended, and the executive government was carried on jointly by the parliament and the council of officers. * Com. Jour. vii. 670. Whitelock, 680. The oath was administered to them "holding up their hands," from which I conjecture that the ceremony of kissing the book was then abolished. Com. Jour. vii. 728. § During all this time Bradshaw had been ill of a quartan ague, of which he died on the 31st of October, "a stout man and learned in his profession; no |