vered to the world the falsehood of his narrative, but
because he proved that Buckingham, while in Spain, had professed himself
a Papist; which is false, and which was never said by Bristol. In all
the debates which remain, not the least hint is ever given that any
falsehood was suspected in the narrative. I shall further add, that even
if the parliament had discovered the deceit in Buckingham's narrative,
this ought not to have altered their political measures, or made them
refuse supply to the king. They had supposed it practicable to wrest the
Palatinate by arms from the house of Austria; they had represented it
as prudent to expend the blood and treasure of the nation in such an
enterprise; they had believed that the king of Spain never had any
sincere intention of restoring that principality. It is certain that he
had not now any such intention; and though there was reason to suspect,
that this alteration in his views had proceeded from the ill conduct of
Buckingham, yet past errors could not be retrieved; and the nation
was undoubtedly in the same situation which the parliament had ever
supposed, when they so much harassed their sovereign by their impatient,
importunate, and even undutiful solicitations. To which we may add,
that Charles himself was certainly deceived by Buckingham when he
corroborated his favorite's narrative by his testimony. Party
historians are somewhat inconsistent in their representations of these
transactions. They represent the Spaniards as totally insincere, that
they may reproach James with credulity in being so long deceived by
them. They represent them as sincere, that they may reproach the king,
the prince, and the duke with falsehood in their narrative to the
parliament. The truth is, they were insincere at first; but the reasons,
proceeding from bigotry, were not suspected by James, and were at last
overcome, They became sincere; but the prince, deceived by the many
unavoidable causes of delay, believed that they were still deceiving
him.]

[Footnote 2: NOTE B, p. 42. This petition is of so great importance,
that we shall here give it at length: Humbly show unto our sovereign
lord the king, the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons in
parliament assembled, That, whereas it is declared and enacted, by a
statute made in the time of the reign of King Edward I., commonly called
Statutum de Tallagio non concedendo, That no tallage or aid shall be
levied by the king or his heirs in