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A59018
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The secret history of K. James I and K. Charles I compleating the reigns of the four last monarchs / by the author of The secret history of K. Charles II and K. James II.
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Phillips, John, 1631-1706.
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1690
(1690)
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Wing S2339; ESTC R234910
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51,708
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182
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By this you see the advantage and benefit of one Wise Counsellor in a whole State and although Solomon says By the multitude of Councellors doth a Kingdom Flourish yet surely he intended they should be Wise Men that are Councellors for we had such a multitude of Councellors that a longer Table and a larger Council-Chamber was provided yet our State was so far from Flourishing that it had been almost utterly destroyed I shall now bring my Story to an end as I shall this King's Life although I have made some Digressions yet all pertinent to the Secret Intreagues of this King's Reign He now goes to his last Hunting-Journey I mean the last of the Year as well as his Life which He ever ended in Lent and was seized on by an extraordinary Tertian Ague which at that Season according to the Proverb was Physick for a King but King James did not find it so and poor King what was but Physick to any other was made Mortal to him Yet 't was not the Ague as himself Confessed to many of his Servants one of which crying Courage Sir this is but a small Fit the next will be none at all At which he most earnestly looked and said Ah! it is not the Ague afflicteth me but the black Plaster and Powder given me and laid to my Stomach and in truth the Plaster so troubled him that he was glad to have it pulled off and with it the Skin also Nor was it fair Dealing if he had sair Play which himself suspected often saying to Montgomery whom he trusted above all Men in his Sickness For God's sake look I have fair Play to bring in an Emperick to apply any Medicines whil'st those Physicians appointed to attend him were at Dinner nor could any but Buckingham Answer it with less than his Life Buckingham coming into the King's Chamber even when He was at the point of Death an honest Servant of the King 's crying Ah! my Lord you have Undone us all his poor Servants although you are so well provided you need not care At which Buckingham kickt at him who caught his Foot and made his Head first come to the Ground where Buckingham presently rising run to the Dying-King's Bed-side and cryed Justice Sir I am abused by your Servant and wrongfully Accused At which the poor King Mournfully fixed his Eyes on him as who would have said Not wrongfully yet without Speech or Sense It were worth the knowledge what his Confessions was or what other Expressions he made of himself or any other but that was only known to the dead Arch-Bishop Abbot and the then living Bishop Williams and the Lord-Keeper and it was thought Williams had blabbed something which incensed the King's Anger and Buckingham's Hatred so much against him that the loss of his Place could not be expiatory sufficient but his utter ruine must be determined and that for the great Crime of Lapsus Linguae Now having brought this King who was stiled the King of Peace to rest in all Peace the 27th of March his Son by Sound of the Trumpet was Proclaimed King by the Name of CHARLES the First His Father's Reign began with a great Plague and we have shewed what his Reign was His Son 's with a greater Plague the greatest that ever had been in these parts We come now to shew what his Reign was in the ensuing Discourse FINIS THE Secret History c. THE Misfortunes of this Monarch Son to King James with the uncouth dismal and unexpressible Calamities that happened thereupon appear yet so great a Sacrifice in the Opinions of all Interested by the Loss or Suborned by that natural Propensity inherent in the most to expunge or palliate the Lapses of unhappy Princes whose Indulgence is not seldom so defensive as to expiate for the Faults of those standing in a far remoter Relation than that of a Father that they have hitherto stoped my Pen from making any farther Progress that way till led on by a Zeal to Truth and illuminated from the brighter Judgments of others I found not only the Imprudent Commissions but voluntary Omissions of King James so much instrumental in the promotion of our late Unnatural Wars As it may justly be said He like Adam by bringing the Crown into so great a Necessity through profuse Prodigality became the Original of his Son's Fall who was in a manner compelled to stretch out his Hands towards such Gatherings and Taxes as were contrary to Law by which He fell from the Paradice of a Prince to wit The Hearts of his People though the best Polititians extant might miscarry in their Calculation of a Civil-War immediately to follow upon the Death of Queen Elizabeth in Vindication of the number of Titles and Opinions then current Yet the Beggarly Rabble attending King James not only at his first coming out of Scotland but through his whole Reign like a fluent Spring found still crossing the River Tweed did so far justifie the former Conjecture as it was only thought mistaken in relation to Time King James departing this Life at Theobald's the 27th day of March 1625. in the Fifty Ninth Year of his Age when He had Reigned Twenty Two Years compleat In the Afternoon of the same day Charles Prince of Wales his only Son then living was Proclaimed King of Great Britain France and Ireland The first thing He did was performing the Ceremonies of his Father's Funeral in which the King himself in Person followed as Chief Mourner He then proceeded to consummate the Marriage with Hentietta Maria Younger Daughter of the great Henry the Fourth King of France whom He had formerly seen in his Journey through that Country into Spain The King then called a Parliament which Assembled the 18th of June following to whom He represented in a short Speech The urgent necessity of raising a Subsidy since it would not agree with his Kingly Honour to shrink from the War with Spain which his Father upon solid Consideration had by consent of Both Houses undertakeâ— although prevented by Death from putting it in Execution c. The Parliament would not resolve on raising of Money till they had first presented their Two Petitions concerning Reasons of Religion and Complaint of their Sufferings which Points had been offered to his Father King James in the close of his last Parliament and by his Death were left hitherto unanswered In Both which they received satisfaction and likewise an account of the Arrears which were due to the Forces by Sea and Land together with an estimate of the future Charge and Expence of the Spanish War Upon which the King obtained of the Laiety Two Subsidies to be paid by Protestants and Four from Papists and Three Subsidies from the Clergy In this Parliament Dr. Montague the King's Chaplain was questioned for certain Tenets in his Answer to a Book called the Romish Dagger Divers Laws were Enacted in this Parliament as one about the Observation of the Lord's-Day and another
of Buckingham was designed Admiral who going to Portsmouth in order to hastening of Business one John Felton a Lieutenant Stabbed him to the Heart with a Knife Felton after he had committed the Fact did not Fly but voluntary acknowledged he was the Person and being asked What inclined him to commit so Barbarous an Act he boldly answered He Killed him for the Cause of God and his Country The Parliament was to have met in October but by reason of some ill News during this Expedition they were Adjourned to January 20. In which time the Merchants refusing to pay Custom had their Goods seized Complaint thereof being made to the Parliament the King Summons the Two Houses to the Banqueting-House at White-Hall and requires them to Pass the promised Bill of Tonnage and Poundage for ending all Differences since it was too precious a Jewel of the Crown to be so lightly forgone But the Commons answered That God's Cause was to be prefered before the King 's and that they would therefore in the first place consult about Religion And therefore they appointed one Committee for Religion and another for Civil Matters In the last was a Complaint about the Customs and the Farmers of the Customs were Challenged but the King excused them as acting by His Command Yet this being not clear to the Parliament they would have proceeded against them as Delinquents Whereupon the King sent them word That in Honour he could not nor would give way thereunto which so incensed the Parliament that they Adjourned themselves for some Days and then Meeting again the King Adjourned them till March 10. The Commons inraged thereat blamed their Speaker for admitting the Message and ordered Sir J. Elliot to draw up their Remonstrance which was in very high terms about the Tonnage and Poundage The Commons having prepared their Remonstrance about the Bill of Tonnage and Poundage they required their Speaker to put it to the Vote whether it should be Presented to the King or not but the Speaker refused it and according to the King's Order would have gone away but Mr. Hollis would not suffer him to stir till himself had read the Protestation of the House consisting of Three Heads I. Whosoever shall bring in any Innovation of Religion or by Favour seek to introduce Popery or Arminianism or other Opinions disagreeing to the Orthodox Church shall be reputed a Capital Enemy to this Kingdom and Common-Wealth II. Whosoever shall Counsel or Advise the Taking or Levying the Subsidies of Tonnage and Poundage without being granted by Parliament or shall be an Actor or Instrument therein shall be likewise reputed a Capital Enemy to the Common-Wealth III. If any shall yield voluntary or Pay the same not being granted by Parliament he shall be reputed a Betraver of the Liberties of England and an Enemy to the Common-Wealth These were so much disliked by the King that he immediately sent for the Serjeant of Mace out of the House of Commons but Sir M. Hobart took the Key from him and locking the Door would not suffer him to go forth At which the King being very much offended sends the Usher of the Black-Rod to Dissolve Them who was not admitted in Whereupon the King with his Guard of Pensioners were resolved to force their Entrance which the Commons having notice of they suddenly went all out of the House And this was the End of this Parliament After their Dissolution the King Published a Declaration setting forth the Cause thereof notwithstanding which it procured great Animosities in the People against the Prime Ministers of State which occasioned divers Libels to be dispersed abroad whereof one against Bishop Laud was found in the Dean of St. Paul's Yard to this effect Laud look to thy self to be sure thy Life is sought as thou art the Fountain of Wickedness Repent of thy Monstrous Sin before thou be taken out of the World And assure thy self that neither God nor the World can endure such a vile Whisperer and Councellor Some considering the unsuccessfulness of This and the Two former Parliaments advised the King never to Call any more And to that end the famous Book of Projects was Published and Addrest to the King proposing some Methods to prevent the Impertinency of Parliaments as he called them from time to time by the Example of Lewis XI of France who pretending that the Commons or Third part did encroach too much on the Nobility and Clergy Dissolved it and never after suffered the People freely to Elect their Representatives but nominated certain Eminent Persons himself instead thereof which is called L' Assembly des Notabiles or the Assembly of the Chief or Principal Men. Upon May 29. 1630. the Queen was Delivered of a Son at St. James's who was Christened Charles who afterwards Succeeded his Father in these Kingdoms by the Name of CHARLES the Second In the Year 1633. and the Ninth of His Majesty's Reign the King made a Journey into Scotland and was Solemnly Crowned at Edinborough June 18. And then the King Calls a Parliament and passed an Act for the Ratification of the Old Acts. In this Scotish Parliament that Nation shewed some sign of Disaffection to the King And the generality of the Common People would not suffer the Bishop of Dumblaine Dean of the King 's private Chapple there to perform Prayers twice a day after the English manner Neither durst they receive the Communion on their Knees nor wear a Surplice upon Sundays and Holy-Days In the Year 1634. the design of Ship-Money was first set on foot and Attorney-General Noy being consulted about it he pretends out of some Old Records to find an Ancient Precedent of raising a Tax on the Nation by the Authority of the King alone for setting out a Navy in case of Danger which was thereupon put in Execution And by this Tax the King raised by Writ above Twenty Thousand Pounds per Month though not without great Discontent both among the Clergy and Laiety The Discontent in Scotland began farther to increase and a Book was Published charging the King with indirect Proceedings in the last Parliament and a tendency to the Romish Belief And now to blow up these Scotch Sparks to a Flame Cardinal Richlieu sent over his Chaplain and another Gentleman to heighten their Discontents The Author of that Book was Seized and found to be abetted by the Lord Balmerino who was thereupon Arraigned by his Peers and Sentenced to Death but Pardoned by the King The latter end of the Year 1635. great Differences arose about Church Matters chiefly occasioned by Arch-Bishop Laud's strict and zealous enjoyning Ceremonies as placing the Communion-Table at the East-end of the Church upon an Ascent with Rails Altar-fashion with many other things not formerly insisted on and now vehemently opposed by those who were formerly called Puritans and Non-Conformists which caused them to be charged with Faction Yet some of the Episcopal Party asserted That the Communion-Table ought to stand in