mise founded on perjury to the Republic. But on the
26th of October, after much consultation, the Council of State gave
place to a new Supreme Executive, chosen by the Wallingford--House
officers, and called _The Committee of Safety._ It consisted of
twenty-three persons, as follows:--

Whitlocke (made also_ Lord Keeper of the Great Seal_, Nov. 1).

Colonel Robert Bennett
Colonel James Berry
Henry Brandreth
Colonel John Clerk
Desborough
Fleetwood
Sir James Harrington
Colonel Hewson
Cornelius Holland
Alderman Ireton
Sir Archibald Johnstone of Wariston
Lambert
Henry Lawrence
Colonel Robert Lilburne
Ludlow
Major Salway
William Steele (Chancellor of Ireland)
Walter Strickland
Colonel William Sydenham
Robert Thompson
Alderman Tichbourne
Sir Henry Vane.

The combination of persons is curious. Some were mere inserted
ciphers, and others would not act. Whitlocke, who was earnestly
pressed by the officers to give to the body the weight and reputation
of his presence, had very considerable hesitations, but did consent,
chiefly on the ground, as he tells us, that he might be able to
counteract the extravagant communistic tendencies of Vane and Salway,
and so prevent mischief. It is perhaps stranger to find Vane and
Salway themselves on the list. Of late, however, Vane had been
detaching himself from the group of more intense Parliamentarians and
seeing prospects for his ideas from conjunction, rather with the
Army-men. So with Salway, Ludlow had been nominated on the new body
at a venture. Thinking he might be wanted to help the Rump in their
struggle with the Army, he had returned from Ireland, leaving Colonel
John Jones as his _locum tenens_ there; and he had not heard the
astonishing news of Lambert's action till his landing on the Welsh
coast. He had then wavered for a while between going back to Ireland
and coming on to London, but had decided for the latter. Before his
arrival in town he had heard of his nomination to the Committee of
Safety and resolved not to accept it. He was more willing than usual,
however, to make the best of circumstances; he consented even to
shake hands with Lambert when he first met him; and, though not
concealing his opinion that Lambert's act had been utterly
unjustifiable, and that a restitution of the Rump even yet was the
only proper amends, he would not go entirely with those friends of
his who were working for that end, as he th