King sided with this view. Not
only was the dissolution of Parliament pronounced, but just as Henry
VIII and Elizabeth had done, Charles I proceeded to punish the members
who had offended against his dignity in their speeches. He first of
all decided not to call Parliament together again. He declared that he
had now abundantly proved that he loved to rule by the help of
Parliament; that he had been compelled against his wish by the last
proceedings to desist from the attempt, and that he would not renew it
until his people had learnt to know him better. He said that he should
consider it presumption if any time were prescribed to him for
reassembling Parliament; that Parliament ought to be summoned, held,
and dissolved, solely at the discretion of the King.

The great advantage of Parliament in this conflict consisted in its
ability to appeal to legal precedents of past centuries in its favour.
What had once rendered the continuance of the ascendancy of
Parliament impossible, the danger into which it had plunged the common
interests of the kingdom, was now forgotten. The laws of those times
had not been repealed, but had only been modified and curtailed in its
own favour by the sovereign power, which had grown strong since that
time. Every position, new or unusual at the moment, which Parliament
maintained was, if not laid down in former ordinances, yet at all
events so logically inferred from them, that it appeared customary and
in accordance with primitive law. If on the contrary Charles I
maintained the prerogative which his father had exercised, and which
Queen Elizabeth and the House of Tudor in general had possessed, he
was placed in the awkward position of appearing to act without the
countenance of the laws. He now resolved to govern, at least for a
time, without the aid of Parliament. Many of his ancestors had done
exactly the same; but since their time attachment to parliamentary
government had become part of the national feeling. It now appeared
not only to represent fully the liberties, but also especially the
most popular religious tendencies of the country.

Whether under these circumstances the King would have succeeded in
giving effect to his ideas, even if more peaceful times had ensued,
was from the beginning extremely doubtful.[499]

NOTES:

[483] Al. Contarini, Aug. 14, 1628. 'Carleton mi soggionse che
certamente la flotta si volgerebbe in ajuto del re di Danimarca,
quando Piu non fosse necessa