" he said, "if I should trust it to any one person or more
to fill up the vacancies of the Army otherwise than it is in the
_Petition and Advice_--which directs that the
commanders-in-chief of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the other
field-officers, should be from time to time supplied by me, with the
consent of the Council, leaving all other commissioned officers only
to my disposal--I should therein break my trust and do otherwise than
the Parliament intended. It may as well be asked of me that I would
commit it to some other persons to supply the vacancies in the
Council, in the Lords' House, and all other magistracies. I leave it
to any reasonable man to imagine whether this be a thing in my power
to do.... There hath also been some discourse about a
Commander-in-chief. You know how that stands in the _Petition_
and _Advice_, which I must make my rule in my government, and
shall through the blessing of God stick close to that. I am not
obliged to make _any_ Commander-in-chief: that is left to my own
liberty, as it was in my father's; only, if I will make any, it must
be done by the consent of the Council. And by the Commander-in-chief
can be meant no other than the person who _under me_ commands
the whole Army, call him what you will--'Field-Marshal,'
'Commander-in-chief,' 'Major-General,' or 'Lieutenant-General.' ...
Commander-in-chief is the genus; the others are the species. And,
though I am not obliged to have any such person besides myself to
command all the forces, yet I _have_ made one: that is, I have
made my brother Fleetwood Lieutenant-General of all the Army, and so
by consequence commander-in-chief [_under me_]; and I am sure I
can do nothing that will give him more influence in the Army than
that title will give him, unless I should make him General
[_instead of me_]; and I have told you the reasons why I cannot
do that." Altogether, the speech, and the modesty with which it was
delivered, produced very considerable effect for the moment upon the
officers. Whalley, Goffe, Berry, and others are understood to have
shown more sympathy with Richard in consequence; there was respect
for his firmness among people generally when it came to be known;
and, though the meetings at Wallingford House and Desborough's house
were continued, action was deferred. One effect, however, had been to
rouse the dormant Anti-Cromwellianism of the Army-men, and to bring
out, more than Fleetwood and Desborough intended, tha