o burn a quantity of his papers and to
deliver the great seal to the Speaker. So far was Fleetwood from
being in danger that they were considering whether he might not be
retained as Commander-in-chief. Ludlow, much to his surprise, found
himself among the accused. This, however, was not because of the
middle course he had taken in London through the late interruption,
though he had lost some credit by that with his Republican friends.
He had unfortunately left London on his way back to Ireland on the
very eve of that happy restitution of the Rump which he had despaired
of seeing, and it was in Ireland that his enemies were most numerous
and violent. He had hardly arrived among them and attempted to resume
his command when he received notice from the House that he and
Colonel John Jones, with Miles Corbet and Matthew Tomlinson, were
required to come over to answer certain charges against them relating
to their Irish government (Jan. 5). Ludlow and the others obeyed, and
found, on their arrival in London in February, that Sir Charles Coote
and other officers in Ireland had lodged an impeachment against them
for nothing less than high treason.[1]
[Footnote 1: Commons Journals of dates, and generally from Dec. 26,
1659 to Feb. 1659-60; Ludlow, 783-806; Whitlocke, IV. 384-392.]
Another business, natural in the circumstances, was the now too
familiar one of "re-modelling." Men not now satisfactory had to be
removed from all departments of the public service and more proper
men substituted. Whitlocke's great seal was given into new keeping,
and there were new judicial appointments. To supply vacancies caused
by the removal of defaulting officers in regiments, there began
again, too, on a considerable scale, that process of nomination for
new commissions and of delivery of the commissions by the Speaker
which had been so wearisome in the former session of the House. To
Whetham, Walton, Morley, Okey, Mosse, Alured, Hasilrig, Rich, Eyre,
Hacker, and others, retaining their former colonelcies, or promoted
to farther military trusts, there were added Colonels Camfield,
Streater, Smithson, Sanders, &c.; and now, as heretofore, one is
puzzled by the appearance of many persons as "colonels" who had the
title only from their places in the militia of their counties, or
from the courtesy custom of designating a retired army-man by his
former name of honour. Lambert, Desborough, and the eight others
ordered into seclusion, were, of c
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