hat it leaves
no room to doubt of the veracity of Piercy's evidence; and
consequently acquits the king of this terrible plot of
bringing up the army, which made such a noise at the time,
and was a pretence for so many violences.

** Clarendon, vol. i. p. 266.

The two ruling passions of this parliament were, zeal for liberty, and
an aversion to the church; and to both of these, nothing could appear
more exceptionable than the court of high commission, whose institution
rendered it entirely arbitrary, and assigned to it the defence of the
ecclesiastical establishment. The star chamber also was a court which
exerted high discretionary powers and had no precise rule or limit,
either with regard to the causes which came under its jurisdiction, or
the decisions which it formed. A bill unanimously passed the houses to
abolish these two courts; and in them to annihilate the principal and
most dangerous articles of the king's prerogative. By the same bill,
the jurisdiction of the council was regulated, and its authority
abridged.[*] Charles hesitated before he gave his assent. But finding
that he had gone too far to retreat, and that he possessed no resource
in case of a rupture, he at last affixed the royal sanction to this
excellent bill. But to show the parliament that he was sufficiently
apprised of the importance of his grant, he observed to them, that this
statute altered in a great measure the fundamental laws, ecclesiastical
and civil, which many of his predecessors had established.[**]

* Clarendon, vol. i. p. 283, 284. Whitlocke, p. 47. Rush.
vol. iii. p. 1383, 1384.

** Rush. vol. v. p. 30.

By removing the star chamber, the king's power of binding the people by
his proclamations was indirectly abolished; and that important branch of
prerogative, the strong symbol of arbitrary power, and unintelligible
in a limited constitution, being at last removed, left the system of
government more consistent and uniform. The star chamber alone was
accustomed to punish infractions of the king's edicts: but as no courts
of judicature now remained except those in Westminster Hall, which take
cognizance only of common and statute law, the king may thenceforth
issue proclamations, but no man is bound to obey them, It must, however,
be confessed, that the experiment here made by the parliament was not a
little rash and adventurous. No government at that time appeared in the
world, nor is p