4.: The Restraint of the Earls of Arundel and Bristol. - Samuel Rawson Gardiner, The Constitutional Documents of the Puritan Revolution, 1625-1660 [1906]
Edition used:
The Constitutional Documents of the Puritan Revolution, 1625-1660, selected and edited by Samuel Rawson Gardiner (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906).
About Liberty Fund:
Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.
Copyright information:
The text is in the public domain.
Fair use statement:
This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit.
- Preface to the Second Edition
- Introduction
- I.: To the Meeting of the Third Parliament of Charles I. [—— 1628.]
- II.: From the Meeting of the Third Parliament of Charles I to the Meeting of the Long Parliament. [1628-1640.]
- III.: From the Meeting of the Long Parliament to the Outbreak of the Civil War. [1640-1642.]
- IV.: From the Outbreak of the Civil War to the Execution of the King. [1642-1649.]
- V.: The Commonwealth and Protectorate. [1649—1660.]
- Part I: From the Accession of Charles I to the Meeting of the Third Parliament of His Reign.
- 1.: Speech of Sir Nathaniel Rich, Proposing Terms On Which the House of Commons May Be Prepared to Grant Supply.
- 2.: Protestation of the Commons.
- 3.: Documents Relating to the Impeachment of the Duke of Buckingham.
- 4.: The Restraint of the Earls of Arundel and Bristol.
- 5.: The King’s Letter and Instructions For the Collection of a Free Gift.
- 6.: Commission For Raising Tonnage and Poundage With Impositions.
- 7.: The Commission and Instructions For Raising the Forced Loan In Middlesex.
- 8.: The Case of the Five Knights, Before the Court of King’s Bench.
- Part II: From the Meeting of the Third Parliament of Charles I. To the Meeting of the Long Parliament.
- 9.: Notes of a Bill Brought In By Sir Edward Coke to Secure the Liberties of the Subject.
- 10.: The Petition of Right.
- 11.: The Remonstrance Against Tonnage and Poundage.
- 12.: The King’s Speech At the Prorogation of Parliament At the End of the Session of 1628.
- 13.: The King’s Declaration Prefixed to the Articles of Religion.
- 14.: Resolutions On Religion Drawn By a Sub-committee of the House of Commons.
- 15.: Protestation of the House of Commons.
- 16.: The King’s Declaration Showing the Causes of the Late Dissolution.
- 17.: The Declaration of Sports 1 .
- 18.: Act of the Privy Council On the Position of the Communion Table At St. Gregory’s.
- 19.: Specimen of the First Writ of Ship-money.
- 20.: The King’s Case Laid Before the Judges, With Their Answer 2 .
- 21.: Extracts From the Speech of Oliver St. John In the Ship-money Case.
- 22.: Extracts From the Argument of Sir Robert Berkeley, Justice of the King’s Bench.
- 23.: The Scottish National Covenant.
- 24.: Petition of Twelve Peers For the Summoning of a New Parliament.
- 25.: The King’s Writ Summoning the Great Council.
- Part III: From the Meeting of the Long Parliament to the Outbreak of the Civil War.
- 26.: The Root and Branch Petition.
- 27.: The Triennial Act.
- 28.: The Protestation.
- 29.: The Act For the Attainder of the Earl of Strafford.
- 30.: The Act Against Dissolving the Long Parliament Without Its Own Consent.
- 31.: The Tonnage and Poundage Act.
- 32.: The Ten Propositions.
- 33.: Bill On Church Reform Bead Twice In the House of Lords 1 .
- 34.: The Act For the Abolition of the Court of Star Chamber.
- 35.: The Act For the Abolition of the Court of High Commission.
- 36.: Act Declaring the Illegality of Ship-money.
- 37.: Act For the Limitation of Forests.
- 38.: Act Prohibiting the Exaction of Knighthood Fines.
- 39.: Resolutions of the House of Commons On Ecclesiastical Innovations.
- 40.: Order of the House of Lords On the Services of the Church.
- 41.: Extract From the Instructions to the Committee In Scotland, Proposed By the House of Commons.
- 42.: The King’s Speech to the Recorder of the City of London.
- 43.: The Grand Remonstrance, With the Petition Accompanying It.
- 44.: The King’s Proclamation On Religion.
- 45.: The King’s Answer to the Petition Accompanying the Grand Remonstrance.
- 46.: The Impeachment of One Member of the House of Lords, and of Five Members of the House of Commons.
- 47.: A Declaration of the House of Commons Touching a Late Breach of Their Privileges.
- 48.: The Clerical Disabilities Act.
- 49.: The Impressment Act.
- 50.: The Militia Ordinance.
- 51.: The Declaration of the Houses On Church Reform.
- 52.: The King’s Proclamation Condemning the Militia Ordinance.
- 53.: The Nineteen Propositions Sent By the Two Houses of Parliament to the King At York.
- 54.: Declaration of the Houses In Defence of the Militia Ordinance.
- 55.: The King’s Letter Sent With the Commissions of Array to Leicestershire.
- 56.: The Votes of the Houses For Raising an Army.
- Part IV: From the Outbreak of the Civil War to the Execution of the King.
- 57.: The Propositions Presented to the King At the Treaty of Oxford.
- 58.: The Solemn League and Covenant.
- 60.: The Ordinance Appointing the Second Committee of Both Kingdoms.
- 61.: The Propositions of the Houses Presented to the King At Oxford, and Subsequently Discussed At the Treaty of Uxbridge.
- 62.: The King’s Propositions to Be Discussed At Uxbridge.
- 63.: The Self-denying Ordinance.
- 64.: The Negative Oath.
- 65.: Order of the Two Houses For Taking Away the Court of Wards.
- 66.: The Propositions of the Houses Sent to the King At Newcastle.
- 67.: The King’s First Answer to the Propositions Presented At Newcastle.
- 68.: The King’s Second Answer to the Propositions Presented At Newcastle.
- 69.: Suggested Answer to the Propositions Drawn Up For the King By the Leading Presbyterians and a Small Number of the Independents, and Forwarded By the French Ambassador to Cardinal Mazarin to Be Laid Before Queen Henrietta Maria.
- 70.: The King’s Third Answer to the Propositions Presented At Newcastle.
- 71.: The Heads of the Proposals Offered By the Army.
- 72.: The King’s Answer to the Propositions of Parliament.
- 73.: Letter of Charles I to the Speaker of the House of Lords.
- 74.: The Agreement of the People, As Presented to the Council of the Army.
- 75.: The Four Bills, With the Propositions Accompanying Them.
- 76.: The Engagement Between the King and the Scots.
- 77.: Additional Articles of the Engagement.
- 78.: The King’s Reply to the Four Bills and the Accompanying Propositions.
- 79.: The Vote of No Addresses.
- 80.: The Act 1 Erecting a High Court of Justice For the King’s Trial.
- 81.: The Agreement of the People.
- 82.: The Charge Against the King.
- 83.: The King’s Reasons For Declining the Jurisdiction of the High Court of Justice.
- 84.: The Sentence of the High Court of Justice Upon the King.
- 85.: The Death Warrant of Charles I.
- Part V: The Commonwealth and Protectorate
- 86.: Act Appointing a Council of State.
- 87.: Engagement Taken By the Members of the Council of State.
- 88.: The Act Abolishing the Office of King.
- 89.: An Act Abolishing the House of Lords.
- 90.: An Act Declaring England to Be a Commonwealth.
- 91.: An Act Declaring What Offences Shall Be Adjudged Treason.
- 92.: Engagement to Be Taken By All Men of the Age of Eighteen.
- 93.: Act Repealing Several Clauses In Statutes Imposing Penalties For Not Coming to Church.
- 94.: Act For the Settlement of Ireland.
- 95.: Declaration By the Lord General and the Council On the Dissolution of the Long Parliament.
- 96.: Summons to a Member of the So-called Barebones Parliament.
- 97.: The Instrument of Government.
- 98.: An Ordinance By the Protector For the Union of England and Scotland.
- 99.: An Ordinance By the Protector For Elections In Scotland.
- 100.: An Ordinance By the Protector For Elections In Ireland.
- 101.: The Constitutional Bill of the First Parliament of the Protectorate.
- 102.: The Humble Petition and Advice.
- 103.: The Additional Petition and Advice.
- 104.: The Writ Summoning Richard Cromwell to the House of Lords of the Protectorate.
- 105.: The Declaration of Breda.
- Appendix: the Navigation Act.
4.
The Restraint of the Earls of Arundel and Bristol.
A.
Complaint of the House of Lords in Arundel’s case.
[March 14, 1626. Lords’ Journals, iii. 526. See Hist of Engl. vi. 91, 92.]
The Earl of Arundel being committed by the King to the Tower, sitting the Parliament, the House was moved, to take the same into their consideration, and so to proceed therein, as they might give no just offence to His Majesty, and yet preserve the privilege of Parliament.
The Lord Keeper thereupon signified to the House, that he was commanded to deliver this message from His Majesty unto their Lordships, viz. That the Earl of Arundel was restrained for a misdemeanour which was personal unto His Majesty, and lay in the proper knowledge of His Majesty, and had no relation to matters of Parliament.
B.
Petition of the Earl of Bristol.
[March 30, 1626. Lords’ Journals, iii. 544. See Hist of Engl. vi. 94.]
The petition of the Earl of Bristol, for his writ of summons, being referred to the Lords Committees for privileges, &c., the Earl of Hertford reported the same, on this manner, viz.
My Lords, whereas the Earl of Bristol hath preferred a petition unto this House, thereby signifying that his writ of summons is withheld from him . . . this petition being referred unto the Committee for privileges, and after diligent search, no precedent being found that any writ of summons hath been detained from any peer that is capable of sitting in the House of Parliament; and considering withal how far it may trench into the right of every member of this House, whether sitting by ancient right of inheritance or by patent, to have their writs detained; the Lords Committees are all of opinion, That it will be necessary for this House humbly to beseech His Majesty, that a writ of summons may be sent to this petitioner, and to such other Lords to whom no writ of summons hath been directed for this Parliament, excepting such as are made incapable to sit in Parliament by judgment of Parliament or any other legal judgment.
Whereupon the Duke of Buckingham signified unto the House, That upon the Earl of Bristol’s petition, the King had sent him his writ of summons.
C.
Lord Keeper Coventry’s Letter to the Earl of Bristol .
[March 31, 1626. Lords’ Journals, iii. 563.]
My very good Lord, By His Majesty’s commandment I herewith send unto your Lordship your writ of summons for the Parliament, but withal signify His Majesty’s pleasure herein further; That, howsoever he gives way to the awarding of the writ, yet his meaning thereby is not to discharge any former direction for restraint of your Lordship’s coming hither; but that you continue under the same restriction as you did before, so as your Lordship’s personal attendance is to be forborne . . .
Thomas Coventry.
Dorset Court,
March 31, 1626.
D.
The remonstrance and petition of the Peers on the restraint of the Earl of Arundel.
[April 19, 1626. Lords’ Journals, iii. 564. See Hist. of Engl. vi. 92.]
May it please your Majesty, we, the Peers of this your realm now assembled in Parliament, finding the Earl of Arundel absent from his place, that sometimes in this Parliament sat amongst us, his presence was therefore called for, but hereon a message was delivered unto us from your Majesty by the Lord Keeper, that the Earl of Arundel was restrained [&c., as above, p. 44]. This message occasioned us to enquire into the acts of our ancestors . . . and after diligent search both of all stories, statutes and records that might inform us in this case, we find it to be an undoubted right and constant privilege of Parliament, that no Lord of Parliament, the Parliament sitting, or within the usual times of privilege of Parliament, is to be imprisoned or restrained without sentence or order of the House, unless it be for treason or felony, or for refusing to give surety for the peace . . . wherefore we, your Majesty’s loyal subjects and humble servants, the whole body of the Peers now in Parliament assembled, most humbly beseech your Majesty, that the Earl of Arundel, a member of this body, may presently be admitted, with your gracious favour, to come, sit, and serve your Majesty and the Commonwealth in the great affairs of this Parliament. And we shall pray, &c.
This remonstrance and petition being read, it was generally approved of by the whole House, and agreed to be presented unto his Majesty by the whole House .
On April 17, Bristol, who had come to London and justified his action that the King’s writ of summons was of greater weight than a letter from the Lord Keeper, accused Buckingham before the House of Lords. On the 21st, Charles accused him of high treason before the same House.
Arundel was at last released on June 5.
Titles (by Subject) 