then in London, to be given, with a
letter, to Fleetwood as Commander-in-chief, that so it might be
brought before the General Council of Officers. On the 22nd the
House, having heard of the nature of the Petition, required that the
original document should be forthcoming for inspection, and that
Fleetwood should at once produce his copy. The copy sufficed for all
purposes of information. The Petition consisted of a Preamble and
five Articles. It was full of a spirit of dissatisfaction, with
complaints of the prevalence everywhere of "apostates, malignants,
and neuters"; but its specific demands were two. One was that the
semi-Cromwellian petition of the General Council of Officers at
Wallingford House of date May 12, 1659 (ante pp. 449-450), "may not be
laid asleep, but may have fresh life given unto it." The other was
that Fleetwood, whose term of office was just expiring, should be
fixed in the Commandership-in-chief, that Lambert should be made
general officer and chief commander next under him, that Desborough
should be third as chief officer of the Horse, and Monk fourth as
chief commander of the Infantry. On the 23rd these demands, and the
attitude which they signified, were discussed in the House, with shut
doors, and in great excitement, Hasilrig leading the fury. Here was
latent Cromwellianism, or threatened single-person Government over
again, the soft Fleetwood to stop the gap meanwhile, but Lambert,
once he was made general officer and nominally second, to emerge as
the new Cromwell! This was what was felt, if not said; and it was
resolved "That this House doth declare that to have any more general
officers in the Army than are already settled by the Parliament is
needless, chargeable, and dangerous to the Commonwealth." A motion
for censoring the Petition was negatived by thirty-one to twenty-five
(Neville and Scott telling for the minority); but it was ordered that
Fleetwood should communicate the Resolution to the officers of the
Army and admonish them of their irregular proceedings.[1]

[Footnote 1: Commons Journals of dates; Parl. Hist., III. 1562;
Phillips, 654-656 (where the Petition itself is given).]

Wallingford House itself now took up the controversy, There were
meetings and meetings of the General Conncil of the officers,
cautious at first, but gradually swelling into a chorus of anger over
the indignity put upon their brethren of Lambert's northern
expedition. There were dissenters who want